Celebrate Picture Books and Inspire Imagination!

November is Picture Book Month, "an international literacy initiative that celebrates the print picture book during the month of November."

Different members of the literary community are posting their thoughts on the importance of picture books on the Picture Book Month blog.

Some examples:

Chris Barton: "...the subject of a picture book can introduce moms, dads, and little ones alike to unfamiliar faces of our fascinating world, which in turn can lead to some pretty marvelous conversations between generations."

Kelly Bingham: "Picture books teach us--young and old alike--lessons about ourselves, our world, our feelings, our realities."

Stefan Jolet: "Picture books unlock children's imaginations and inspire them."



And if you love writing picture books, the way I do, November is doubly exciting because it's also PiBoIdMo, Picture Book Idea Month! Author Tara Lazar created this fun challenge for picture book writers as an alternative to NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).

Participants try to come up with one idea for a picture book story on every day of the month. This year, I'm keeping track of my ideas on a calendar, and so far, I haven't had any trouble getting at least one idea per day. Some days, I end up with two or three. Too bad I don't have time to create a book for them all!