special post ~ pick a perfect egg

The luck of a sequel!

With March being the month of St. Patrick's Day and all things lucky, I thought I'd thank my   lucky stars for these three books. As a picture book writer, I know how lucky it is to hit upon an idea that can generate a sequel. PICK A PERFECT EGG, recently released into the world, is a follow-up on two previous book: PICK A PINE TREE and PICK A PUMPKIN. 

PICK A PUMPKIN was the first one written. It began as a short poem about a trip to a pumpkin patch to pick a pumpkin. But the adventure seemed to stop short with only picking, so I continued writing about carving and displaying the pumpkin. When I stepped back to review the complete text, I realized what I had written was actually a child's primer on how to make a jack-o'-lantern. Doing some market research, I discovered there were no books that explained the process of this holiday tradition.

My mind raced on to another holiday tradition that has a process -- decorating a Christmas tree -- and PICK A PINE TREE was soon written. The benefit of writing this sequel was that I had already created the template for how the text would flow. As in PICK A PUMPKIN, the story would follow children as they find the initial, plain, natural item (this time a pine tree) and transform it into a holiday wonder. In the pumpkin book, I worked on having readers engage their five senses, so I did the same in the pine tree book.

Lucky for me, my agent submitted both books at the same time. I'm not sure how unusual this is, but I don't think it happens often.

Walker Children's Books in London bought both manuscripts and chose to publish PICK A PINE TREE in 2017. Christmas is the bigger holiday, and also one that is more popular worldwide. PICK A PUMPKIN followed in 2019. 

Another bit of luck? Walker is a sister company of Candlewick Press in the US, so both books were published stateside, too.

I hit the jackpot with Walker's choice of illustrators. Jarvis is a master at capturing the joy and excitement of the holidays, along with the nostalgic feel of spending special times with family and friends. Picture books are a collaboration of words and text, and Jarvis has worked magic with the words I wrote.

A saying attributed to the Greek philosopher Seneca states, "Luck is the intersection of preparation and opportunity." However luck happens, I've been blessed by it and am grateful for it!

​~Rhyme Doctor Patricia Toht