GENRE: **Diverse, SEL, Character Driven
WORDS: 764
Query:
Dear Judges, Agents, and Editors,
Thank you for participating in PBParty and helping to make an incredible showcase accessible to so many.
When a young girl notices a mysterious woman panhandling under the 7 train, she embarks on a tumultuous journey of empathy and acceptance. As a winter storm looms, the young girl must figure out how to care for the woman even if it means sacrificing what she wants most. With bustling NYC as its backdrop, THE WOMAN UNDER THE EL is a story about seeing and being seen.
THE WOMAN UNDER THE EL is a 764-word picture book for ages 4-8. It combines poignant and simple language reminiscent of EVELYN DEL REY IS MOVING AWAY By Meg Medina and Sonia Sánchez with the evergreen message that small acts of kindness are BIG, illustrated in I WALK WITH VANESSA By Kerascoët.
Being a daughter of NYC, I grew up witnessing unhoused people. In the library, on the sidewalk, on the train. Where others saw an inconvenience, I saw hidden stories—main characters with chapters and chapters of life wrapped up inside of them. Sometimes seeing hurt and I felt ashamed that I wasn’t doing more. But I told myself that what I could offer was meaningful. Eye contact, a greeting, a smile. An expression of our shared humanity. This story is inspired by the singular concept that empathy is the greatest gift you can give to others.
As the granddaughter of an orphan and a self-identified multiracial person, I have developed a sizable obsession with outcasts and misfits and a compulsion to tell their stories. They have, after all, the most interesting ones. Seeing and being seen has been a thread woven throughout my own story for a long time. I am a former New York City Elementary Ed. and ESL teacher and a member of the SCBWI. I attended the Kweli Color of Children’s Literature Conference last spring and will return this year. This Summer I hope to begin my MFA at Vermont College of Fine Arts studying Writing for Children and Young Adults. You can find me (with my sons in tow) dragging my lopsided metallic rolly bag full of library books through Jackson Heights, Queens.
Thank you for taking the time to consider my work. I have additional manuscripts available if you are interested in reading more.
Excerpt:
No snow again. I scowl at the sky. Mommy pulls me down the street almost too quickly to notice a woman sitting by the door of the station. Almost.
I see the coins in her paper cup– “Have a Nice Day” smudged across its surface. Her eyes are warm and brown–like mine. She smiles at me. I–look away.
Mommy always says, “Never talk to strangers”
Do smiles count?
What inspired you to write this story & what do you have in common with it:
Being a daughter of NYC, I grew up witnessing unhoused people. In the library, on the sidewalk, on the train. Where others saw an inconvenience, I saw hidden stories—main characters with chapters and chapters of life wrapped up inside of them. Sometimes seeing hurt and I felt ashamed that I wasn’t doing more. But I told myself that what I could offer was meaningful. Eye contact, a greeting, a smile. An expression of our shared humanity. This story is inspired by the singular concept that empathy is the greatest gift you can give to others.
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