GENRE: Humor, Character Driven
WORDS: 335
Query:
Dear PBParty Judges,
Runar is a Viking…and Runar is cold. Dreaming of feeling his toes again, Runar sets sail in search of summer, befriends a sea monster, and learns to appreciate the warmth of home. Viking Vacation is a 335-word picture book about the importance of the connections we have with our cultures and our homes. Viking Vacation would pair nicely with titles like Little Bird Visits the Big City by Domenico Granata and Through with the Zoo by Jacob Grant.
I am a 2023 mentee of the Rutgers University Council on Children’s Literature, a two-time winner of the Raynor Wallace Award for Poetry, and an active member of SCBWI and the Virginia Writers Club. Before discovering a love of writing picture books, I wrote for Power & Motoryacht magazine and the Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics…writing for children is a heck of a lot more fun. When not writing, I am a very tired parent to three book-hungry little boys. I have other polished manuscripts I would be happy to share with you.
Excerpt:
Runar was a Viking. He was strong and skilled and sweet. But mostly, Runar was cold.
Viking life was hard. The chopping was tiring, the fishing was freezing, and the battles were tiring and freezing.
Runar dreamed of faraway lands with swaying palm trees and sparkling sand. But mostly, he dreamed of being able to feel his toes again.
So, Runar set sail in search of summer.
What inspired you to write this story & what do you have in common with it:
My family has been asked to relocate from Virginia to London for my husband’s job. Like Runar, I’ve been contemplating what it will be like in a new place and what my family and I may miss from home.
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