GENRE: *Humor, Character Driven, Fractured Fairytale
WORDS: 545
Query:
Hi Mindy, Judges, Agents, and Editors,
Thank you for the opportunity to submit my story, CHICKEN LEGS AND TOO MANY EGGS, a mischievous 545-word folktale-inspired picture book manuscript for ages 4 to 8.
When Baba Yaga goes into town, her granddaughter, Vasha, is ready to show that she’s responsible enough to take care of things on her own. But Baba Yaga’s chicken-legged hut does something quite unexpected: it lays an egg. This has never happened before, and suddenly Vasha’s enchanted forest clearing has become a magical mess. She must find a way to contain the chaos – and the newly hatched miniature huts – before Baba Yaga returns.
CHICKEN LEGS AND TOO MANY EGGS shares the spooky overtones and classic inspiration of Into the Goblin Market by Vikki VanSickle and Jensine Eckwall, plus the mystery and humor of The Quacken by Justin Colón and Pablo Pino.
I am an active member of SCBWI, 12×12, and a critique group. A neurodiverse, disabled, and nonbinary former librarian with a degree in literature, my work is heavily influenced by my time spent reading to children in the public library. I am honored to be the recipient of the 2025 Transgender and Nonbinary Scholarship for Picture Book Storytellers from the Boyds Mills / Highlights Foundation, and I also received an Honorable Mention from the 2025 PB Party.
Many thanks for your time and consideration.
Excerpt:
In the distant lands of the Faraway, beyond a fiery river and many oceans of trees, lies the hut of Baba Yaga. And in the hut of Baba Yaga, lives her granddaughter, Vasha.
Today, Baba Yaga is headed into town. She grabs her pestle, hops into her mortar, and flies up above the treetops.
“Take care of the hut while I’m gone,” she calls.
What inspired you to write this story & what do you have in common with it:
I often say that Baba Yaga is my #RetirementGoals. She’s who I want to be when I grow up. Since one of my favorite things is reimagining old stories in fantastic new ways, I just had to honor Baba Yaga with an adventure. Folk tales are forever timeless this way — told by new voices around the perennial sparkling campfire of humanity. I wanted a young protagonist, thus the granddaughter, and I wondered what she would need to use her magic for. Then it hit me: WHAT IF the chicken-legged hut . . . laid an egg??
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