A is for Animal

This is my first post of the 2017 AtoZ Blogging Challenge. My theme this year is "For Writers and Readers" and today's word is "Animal." For Writers, I'll be sharing my ideas about when it's OK to have anthropomorphic animals in your story, and tips on how to do that effectively. For Readers, I'll talk about nonfiction animals, and why you might sometimes find them in the picture book (fiction) section.
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For Writers - Anthropomorphic Animals

With talking-animal movies rising in popularity, you might think it's more acceptable to have anthropomorphic animals in your book.


And you would be right.
Recently Dr. Mira Reisberg of Children's Book Academy fame gave some wonderful examples of picture books with anthropomorphic characters. 

BUT you can't just assume that putting clothes on a Squirrel or a Tiger, giving it a name and letting is act like a human will make your picture book a great marketable work. Here are some things to keep in mind when writing anthropomorphic characters:

• Animal characters should have characteristics that fit their species. For example, a squirrel could be quick, chittery, and love to munch on legumes. A tiger might be proud, stealthy, and enjoy a large dinner.
• The story should be relatable to (human) children. For example, a chittery squirrel might struggle to keep his shoes tied, or a proud tiger might have a hard time learning to share.
• The story should not be didactic. Putting an animal mask on a lesson-heavy story does not make it more marketable. ​​
• Author-Illustrators and established picture book authors often have an easier time creating marketable anthropomorphic characters. If you are a debut writer-only, consider creating a story that works whether the characters are human or animal. A good study technique is to type out the text of the book. Can you tell from the words whether the characters were animals?​
• While animal characters do make it easier to teach children lessons, they also come with a danger. James A. Foley wrote an article in Nature World News warning against too many anthropomorphic characters in picture books. The studies sited in this article may be why many teachers and editors today are pushing for more factual, nonfiction books about animals – which is a great segue into... ​

For Readers – Nonfiction Animals

The realm of picture books has become more of a spectrum between fiction and nonfiction than any hard, fast lines. However, there are three key categories within nonfiction picture books that serve as primary hallmarks. (Shout out to Melissa Stewart for teaching me about these through her blog.)

• Life Story  - A wonderful life story example of an animal nonfiction would be Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla by Katherine Applegate and Mr. G. Brian Karas.
• Survey Book - Usually when you think of survey books, your mind might wander to the nonfiction section full of books with lots of text and facts. But one of my favorite up and coming series brings the survey books into the hands of younger readers. My Ears Are Huge and Fuzzy by Jessica Rudolph is told in riddle format, gently teaching facts about... (Can you guess which animal?)
• Specialized Nonfiction - Melissa Stewart has written a fabulous specialized nonfiction with Sarah S. Brannen - Feathers: Not Just for Flying.
• Concept Book - Animals are frequent in concept books – especially in counting and abc books. It's possible to believe that once you've read one, you've read them all. Until you read ABC Animals!: A Scanimation Picture Book by Rufus Butler Seder. You have to see it to believe it!

Links (and Disclaimer)

I mentioned a lot of links in this post and I recommend you check out them all! (But probably one at a time...)

Dr. Mira Reisberg

Natural World News Article

Children's Book Academy

Melissa Stewart

ReFoReMo

And for further Reading about the Subject...

A Conference Presentation

Article by Jia Liu

"Do cavies talk?"

And Of Course

A to Z Blog Challenge

Now the disclaimer: I have chosen not to post in the comments of the official blog because I am offline today. This is a scheduled post. I wouldn't be able to visit anyone else today, but on 'B' I promise I'll be around to visit and comment on others.
​That said, feel free to leave a comment and I'll put you at the top of my list of visits on Monday

Happy A to Z!