PBParty Entry #51 : The Watchtower of the Savanna {ART}

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GENRE: Humor, Character Driven, SEL

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WORDS: 412

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Query:

Dear Judges, Agents, and Editors,

I am thrilled to participate in PBParty. As an author-illustrator, I’d love to share my 412-word picture book, THE WATCHTOWER OF THE SAVANNA.

Inspired by true giraffe behavior in the African savanna, THE WATCHTOWER OF THE SAVANNA follows a giraffe named Bruce. Bruce is a watchtower, which means he is meant to watch for danger alongside other giraffes, and run when he sees trouble. Other animals see giraffes run, and follow them to safety.

One thing stands in Bruce’s way of being a watchtower … fear. Instead of just running from danger, Bruce runs from EVERYTHING, even butterflies. The animals are fed up with his false alarms. Bruce doesn’t want to be scared. He tries disguising himself to look brave so he will feel brave, but he quickly realizes a scary disguise won’t make him feel any less afraid, and that holding a roar down deep in his chest will probably result in a big, loud burp.

With the help of a friend, Bruce sets out on a journey to see the savanna in a new way. Will he overcome his fears enough to be a watchtower? Will he discover something new about himself and the animals around him?

THE WATCHTOWER OF THE SAVANNA has the humorous and adventurous qualities of ORION AND THE DARK by Emma Yarlett and the untrusting nature of THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLF.

I am a graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design and have an MFA in writing and a BFA in graphic design. I am an active member of SCBWI.

In addition to THE WATCHTOWER OF THE SAVANNA, I also have other picture book manuscripts available to share.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.

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Excerpt:

Giraffes are called watchtowers, which means they watch for danger lurking and run when they see trouble. When they run, other animals follow them to safety.
Meet Bruce. Instead of just running from danger, Bruce ran from EVERYTHING.
He even ran from butterflies.
When Bruce ran, animals followed and followed, until they realized there was no real danger and that following Bruce was a waste of their time.

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What inspired you to write this story & what do you have in common with it:

I took my kids on a train ride through the African savanna section of the zoo. When our tour guide stopped at the giraffes, she referred to the giraffes as watchtowers, and then went on to explain how the other animals of the savanna not only look up to the giraffes, but also watch their behavior. Since a giraffe can often see danger coming before other animals, the other (shorter) animals have learned to run when they see giraffes run. I thought this was fascinating and my story quickly took shape, with my character, a giraffe, running from everything.

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