GENRE: Humor, STEM, Informational Fiction
WORDS: 800
Query:
Dear PBParty Judges, Editors and Agents,
HOW TO BE A MARMOT (IN FIVE EASY STEPS) is an 800 word humorous informational fiction picture book about marmots. It reads as a how-to guide from an encouraging Olympic marmot narrator, who discovers the human reader may have some challenges following their “easy” five-step program. Includes sidebars with the scientific explanation behind marmot behaviors as well as fun facts. Did you know Olympic marmots greet each other by booping noses? There’s a lot more to marmots than just Groundhog Day!
HOW TO BE A MARMOT combines the step-by-step structure and second-person narrative of HOW TO HATCH by Sara Holly Ackerman with the quirky humor of FLAMINGOS ARE PRETTY FUNKY by Abi Cushman.
I’m a technical writer, nature lover, and mom living in Seattle, Washington. My stories have earned honorable mentions from contests including Valentiny, #50PreciousWords, and Kidlit Chuckle Challenge. I’m a 2026-2027 Seattle Public Library Writers’ Room Resident and an active member of SCBWI and 12×12.
I’d be happy to share my other completed picture book manuscripts (humor/character-driven and diverse) with you. Thank you for your consideration!
Excerpt:
So, you wanna be a marmot… I get it, we’re cute. We’re cuddly. We’re gigantic, ground-dwelling rodents. And we’re famous, too! Groundhog Day? Marmot. “How much wood would a woodchuck chuck”? Marmot. Chuck’s my cousin actually – great guy.
Just follow my five easy steps, and you’ll go from a rodent recruit to a five-star marmot in no time flat – I GUARANTEE it!
Step 1: Dig a gigantic underground mansion.
What inspired you to write this story & what do you have in common with it:
I’m a third generation Washingtonian and discovered that Olympic marmots are Washington’s only endemic mammal. Intrigued, I traveled to Olympic National Park and proceeded to walk many trails and wait many hours in the hopes of seeing a marmot. I was VERY close to giving up… until a park ranger revealed that an active burrow was, believe it or not, behind the porta-potties right next to the visitors center!
I caught sight of one in my binoculars, and immediately became obligated to tell their story.
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