GENRE: STEM/STEAM, Informational Fiction, Rhyme
WORDS: 405
Query:
Dear Judges, Agents, and Editors,
I am delighted to submit UP WE GO! AMAZING ELEVATORS, my informational fiction picture book for ages 4-8 that blends adventure, kid-friendly STEM learning, and lyrical read-aloud energy.
A young child wants to share their favorite activity —elevator riding—with their best friend, Skye. There’s just one problem… Skye is a cat, and she does not like elevators! Can a magical trip on an elevator-time machine change Skye’s mind? Together, the two friends zoom through 4,000 years of innovation, meeting ancient inventors, exploring some of the world’s most unusual elevators, and even glimpsing space lifts of the future. The 405-word lyrical narrative, paired with 924 words of optional sidebars and backmatter, will spark kids’ curiosity with every page turn.
UP WE GO! AMAZING ELEVATORS blends The Elevator on 74th Street by Dr. Laura Gehl, (2025) with the STEM-rich wonder of Jason Chin’s Your Place in the Universe (2020). It will appeal to readers who enjoyed the humor, history, and endearing animal characters of Hanna Holt’s A History of Underwear (2022).
I am a Spanish-English bilingual children’s writer, an active member of SCBWI, 12×12, and the Atlanta Writers Club. I’m also the proud parent of an “elevator kid”! My young son’s unique passion sparked both the research and the fun family explorations behind this book. I’m excited to share this unexpectedly captivating subject with children everywhere and inspire a generation of future engineers.
Should you be interested, I have several additional polished picture book manuscripts available in both rhyme and prose. Thank you for your time and consideration of my work.
Excerpt:
There’s the magic button, Skye- [Skye=cat.]
Just press and watch it glow.
Now listen to that motor purr—
It’s almost time to go!
[Sidebar]
(YOWL!)
You scaredy-cat. This will be great!
WE’LL TRAVEL BACK IN TIME.
We’ll zip around the world, and
DING!
Did you hear that chime? (MEW.)
I’m gonna show you EVERYTHING,
so you can love lifts too.
Then we’ll ride them every day
together— me and you.
What inspired you to write this story & what do you have in common with it:
I wrote the book I could not find on the market for my little elevator engineer! My son Kai has been fascinated by elevators since babyhood. At first, the attraction was all about the “magic” buttons, lights, and automatic doors. But as Kai grew, so did his thirst for learning. Together, we dove into research on the innovative history of lifts. We made lists of the world’s most interesting lifts and started to visit them whenever the opportunity arose. The Burj Khalifa and the Chinese Hundred Dragons Elevator are top on the list… that is, until the first space lift is ready to ride!
1 Comment
Leave your reply.