Dear authors,

Whenever we open picture book submissions we are bound to find at least a couple of manuscripts that go all the way through to publication. However so often I get asked what I am looking for in a picture book. It is so hard to answer this so I thought I would feature some books in our current list and say what drew me to them over the 1000s of over submissions received. 

I love unique ideas. Of course this is tricky as there are so many different ideas already how can we be unique.

This is the first post like this. I will drop more information like this to help before submissions next open. 

Walls by Tania Ingram. Of course there are plenty of books out there that talk about the pages of the book in the book. But what was special for me was how it explored the barriers we put up for at times ill conceived reasons. But  beyond the barriers we miss out on other blessings. You might need to read this one if you haven't to see!

Dragon Guest Handbook by Jeanette Stampone. What drew me to this story was it wasn't written completely as a standard narrative but engages a reader's imagination. What happens if a dragon shows up! The extra edge for this story is it could clearly be used as a way of engaging across cultures. I love cultural exploration in stories. 

Boots by Elizabeth Pulsford. Sometimes I receive a text which is very light on words but heavy on detailed illustration notes. I like illustration notes as it helps me interpret the meaning. Some picture books need this and sometimes the text doesn't tell you the detail of what the story means. This one like one of our older titles, The Whirlpool by Emily Larkin, cleverly worked with little text and lots of meaning. 

If you haven't read these books check them out at your local bookstore or library. We have a collection of picture books for sale for research here. For more tips for submission follow our facebook page and keep an eye on our blog!