Some Very Cool Things a Book Trailer Can Do

With my third picture book coming out, it's been really interesting to see the things all three book trailers do:

They're each 60 seconds or less.

They all intrigue folks about the story.

Every one hints at the art.

They have music that speaks to the emotional tone of the book.

Fascinatingly, each one does some things the others don't.

My first picture book was illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky, who created the amazing trailer for our picture book RED AND GREEN AND BLUE AND WHITE (Levine Querido.)

This one made a thematic promise, visually hitting story beats of difference (one house lit up blue and white for Chanukah and all the rest red and green for Christmas), of challenge (the sound of breaking glass), and the hope of a community coming together (hundreds of houses lit up red and green AND blue and white.)

My second picture book, just out, was illustrated by Jieting Chen, who creating this gorgeous trailer for our picture book LOVE OF THE HALF-EATEN PEACH (Reycraft.)

This trailer vets the book with blurbs from trade reviews and a well-known and best-selling picture book author, building interest by up-front pitching the story's value from respected third parties.

My third picture book comes out April 2025, and the trailer just released! Illustrated by Kelly Mangan, the trailer for LIKE THAT ELEANOR (Cardinal Rule Press) takes this curiosity-building approach:

What's fascinating here is that this one is all about setting up the characters and the problem, and it teases readers to want to read the book to find out the solution. It becomes all about "what happens?"

I admit that these are a decidedly not random assortment of book trailers, but I hope you also found it fascinating. Three different picture books. Three different approaches to book trailers.

There's so much book trailers can do!

What are some of your favorite book trailers for picture books, and what do they do?

Illustrate, Translate, and Write On,
Lee

Learn How To Draw a Face -- and Eyes! -- From Caldecott Award-winning Paul O. Zelinsky (courtesy of the Society of Illustrators)

Check out Paul's art tips in this remarkable video (it says it's part of their "Draw Along Videos" for kids but really it's for anyone interested in drawing people -- at whatever age you are.)

A Screen Shot from "Draw This! Paul O. Zelinsky"

The bit about where the pupil goes and how the eyelid is affected made me realize three things:

1) Paul is a seriously amazing illustrator.

2) To draw well, you really need to observe carefully - and illustrate what you see, not what you think you see.

3) I could observe faces more carefully.

I hope you'll enjoy this, too! (Click to learn more about Paul and watch the video.) 

Illustrate and Write On,

Lee

Wisdom from Multi-Award Winning Illustrator Paul O. Zelinsky

Paul wrote about receiving the Eric Carle Honor on his website here.

On September 27, 2018, Paul was honored by the Eric Carle Museum for playing "an instrumental role in making picture books a vibrant and influential art and literary form."

In announcing his winning the 2018 "Artist" Honor, the Eric Carle Museum said,

"Paul O. Zelinsky is master of many styles, bringing exceptional artistry and poignant storytelling to the field. He received the 1998 Caldecott Medal for his illustrated retelling of Rapunzel. Three additional books received Caldecott Honors: Hansel and Gretel (1985), Rumpelstiltskin (1987), and Swamp Angel (1995). Zelinsky is regarded as one of the most critically acclaimed artists in the field of children's literature." 

And now more good news: The Society of Illustrators will present Paul with their Lifetime Achievement Award at the opening of the annual Original Art exhibition in November, 2018!

Back in an interview Paul did in 2014 for KidLit411, he was asked,

Q: You have won so many honors, awards and accolades. Does it ever get old?

Here's Paul's very sage response:

A: Does being honored get old? No! It's been exciting and gratifying to be paid all this terrific attention... I'm also aware of the difference between receiving accolades and the real purpose of the whole enterprise, which is children (or anybody) seriously bonding with books-- getting out of my books what I've tried to put in. That is more important by far, and when it happens, this is what makes me happiest.

Congratulations, Paul, from our whole SCBWI community! And thanks for keeping it real.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Paul O. Zelinksy offers some great advice for Illustrators

SCBWI is just bursting with great information to share.

SCBWI Board Member and Illustrator Extraordinaire Paul O. Zelinsky did a skype visit this month with SCBWI Australia East and New Zealand. I don't live in New Zealand. I didn't get to be there. But... notes from the session are online, here: Chapter Two: Climax! The Craft Of Illustration

It's a really interesting recap, and I especially love how Paul describes the feeling he wants his illustrations to convey. Like for his "The Wheels On The Bus"

Paul explained:

 "It’s a jumpy song, bright and happy. The feeling that I wanted visually was not just colourful but also ‘chewy’ like bubblegum. The pictures should be something that you could want to chew on and they’d be sweet when you ate them. The song is bouncy. [So I went with] oil paint with a certain amount of thickness. The act of pushing oil paint across the page felt sort of like the feeling of singing the song."

Here's another highlight:

Q: We have a lot of people who are just starting out in their Illustrator career - what’s pearls of wisdom could you provide?

 Paul notes that this is just from his experience and not the only way.

I would encourage people to not limit your artistic vision to illustration, but think about the whole world of other kinds of art and everything. There are a lot of trends that happen in illustration… and if you look only at children's books then it’s limiting…and that’s just me because I didn’t study illustration.

I go to figure drawing and draw from the figure once a week if I can. Drawing from life is a great thing and is good for training.

In terms of ways that you can make images, I just look at different things. And copy Art. It’s amazing what you can learn if you just start copying it. Writers as an exercise will retype someone else’s story and the act of putting down someone’s words will give you insights. Drawing from life is similar to copying from art. It teaches you to see more things then you would otherwise see.

Great stuff! Thank you Paul, and thank you SCBWI Australia East and New Zealand!

You can find out more about Paul here. And more about SCBWI Australia East and New Zealand here.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee