GENRE: Humor, Character Driven, Rhyme
WORDS: 433
Query:
Dear Mindy, hard-working PBParty staff, judges, Agents and Editors,
It is my delight to submit my laugh-out-loud, rhyming picture book, Skunk Is Stuck!, written following a meet-up with a skunk with the same problem, where merciful Mouse recruits reluctant friends to help free Skunk from the cup stuck on his “snoot.” Unfortunately for tiny Mouse, he is his friends’ immediate choice, complete with their “reasons,” (i.e., excuses), to follow each of their disaster-delivering instructions, with events quickly escalating toward a reckless and doubly hilarious end.
At 433 words, this story purposes to encourage children ages 3-8 to embrace the practice of a calmly persistent and positive mindfulness, helping them learn how to deal internally with their fear, thus building their confidence. This crucial, life-changing theme is additionally presented in Ross Burach’s The Little Butterfly That Could, (2022), Divya Srinivasan’s Little Owl’s Fog, (2025), and Fiona the Fruit Bat, (2022), by Dan Riskin (author), and Rachel Quigi (illustrator).
An early childhood teacher, I have owned and taught in my preschool, Kinderhaven, for years, am a member of SCBWI, belong to two picture book critique groups, and have had numerous 20-line, rhymed poems published in children’s science periodicals, including KNOW science magazine for curious kids, formerly of Canada, and Cricket Group’s Appleseeds magazine. I have published several articles in writers’ periodicals, including being commissioned to write a two-part article for ICL on writing poetry to teach children about nature. My poems have placed in various KidLit contests, including Second Place in ICL’s Spring 2022 contest with the theme The Great Outdoors, and Second Place in ICL’s 2022 Fall Poetry contest. I have also independently published three highly successful hardcover Martha’s Vineyard-specific picture books, which I market both on- and off-island.
Excerpt:
Skunk wakes up grouchy, stomp-stomping his feet.
His tummy is growling and he wants to eat!
He snuffles for grubs with his sensitive snoot,
then catches a sweet-smelling scent. Mm-MMM, fruit?
It’s leftover juice in a cup tossed away.
Skunk sticks his snoot in without any delay.
He sips and he slurps, but he’s soon out of luck.
When he tries to back out of the cup, Skunk is STUCK!
What inspired you to write this story & what do you have in common with it:
The inspiration for my story, Skunk Is Stuck!, came one summer evening on Martha’s Vineyard, as hubby and I took an evening walk, when a skunk with a cup stuck on its “snoot” suddenly approached. It bumped into trees and zigzagged in all directions in unsuccessful attempts to escape its predicament. Of course, we wanted to help, but . . . it was a skunk! What do I have in common with skunks? Well, they are “common” residents of Martha’s Vineyard! One skunk family has declared rent-free residency in the cozy home they dug under our shed. (And, oh, their babies are adorable!)
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