Picture Books

I write picture books!
And I’m lucky enough to have four out now, with one more coming this October.
Scroll down for more info on Hamsters Make Terrible Roommates,
A Year of Everyday Wonders, Thunder Trucks, and Wings.

WRITTEN BY CHERYL B. KLEIN

ILLUSTRATED BY Juana Medina

978-1-419-76733-3 | October 8, 2024

Abrams Books for Young Readers

Purchase at: ABRAMS | BN.com | Bookshop.ORG | BoOKS-A-MILLION | Powell’s | Amazon

The Description: “A perfect gift for new parents, with delightful illustrations from Pura Belpré Award–winning artist Juana Medina, Cheryl B. Klein’s picture book It’s Hard to Be a Baby is a hilarious and heartwarming read-aloud celebrating the challenges, changes, and cheers that come with being a baby

Hey there, babies.
I hear you.
Everyone thinks your lives are easy.
But you and I know the truth . . .
It’s hard to be a baby!

You’re always being picked up and put down. You have to tell people everything—when you’re hot, when you’re hungry — but they don’t always get what you need. And some of your clothes are REALLY goofy. But hang in there, babies — everything will get better!

With a wise and surprising narrator and charmingly expressive illustrations, this new classic will help exhausted parents remember that their babies, too, are figuring everything out for the first time—and find a few laughs along the way. It’s the perfect picture book for caregivers and their little ones to enjoy together.”

The Idea: After my son was born in the fall of 2019, I went through mild postpartum depression, largely focused around how difficult it was for me to understand and satisfy his needs. I was talking to a friend about it, and she said “It’s hard to be a baby, too” — and that became one of the mantras that helped me get through my first months of early motherhood. When I was in a better headspace the following spring, I sat down and wrote this manuscript.

The Writing: I really enjoyed thinking about the world from a baby’s perspective and how strange and uncomfortable it must be. The book also has a surprise narrator who started out directly addressing one baby; in the course of the revision process, my editor asked me to open it up so the narrator now speaks to multiple “babies” rather than just the one. I think it works well and hope you agree!

HAMSTERS MAKE TERRIBLE ROOMMATES

WRITTEN BY CHERYL B. KLEIN

ILLUSTRATED BY ABHI ALWAR

978-0-593-32423-3 | November 2, 2021

Dial Books for Young Readers

Purchase at: PENGUINRANDOMHOUSE.COM | BN.com | Bookshop.ORG | Books-A-Million | Powell’s | Amazon

The Description: “Two hamster roommates with wildly different personalities crammed in one cage -- what could go wrong in this hilarious story about introverts versus extroverts?

It's been two hundred and five days since Henry has had peace. That's because it's been two hundred and five days since Marvin has come to live with him. Marvin, who loves to talk in the tunnels, talk while they're eating, talk while they're running. Marvin, who drives Henry up the cage walls. But when Henry finally loses his cool and gets exactly what he wanted, both hamsters have to figure out a way to live together and work through their communication mishaps.”

Some Praise: "Funny, cleverly building dialogue by Klein . . . Debut illustrator Alwar creates two highly and equally expressive rodent protagonists . . . readers should get a tickle out of how the freewheeling digital compositions open up the tiny world of the hamster cage in unexpected ways." —Publishers Weekly, starred review | "Klein’s pithy storytelling both thoughtfully conveys the introvert-extrovert divide and gently teaches the art of apology. Alwar’s watercolor-textured digital illustrations are funny, expressive, and emotive, with a combination of spot and spread illustrations moving the story along . . . Whether for hamsters or humans, a lighthearted how-to guide to being a good roommate." —Kirkus | "The story’s respect for Henry’s preference for solitude makes this book particularly refreshing; it focuses not on self-sacrifice but on boundaries and how guidelines for time spent together can make a relationship more meaningful . . . a gentle but humorous primer to youngsters on exercising their own agency and respecting that of others." —BCCB

Recognitions: Volunteer State Book Award (Tennessee); Redbud Read-Aloud Award runner-up (Oklahoma); Show-Me Readers Awards nominee (Missouri).

The Idea: Abhi and I worked together at our day job, and I’d always admired her lively, colorful, character-ful illustrations. We were chatting one evening as we walked to the subway, and I asked her a classic editor-to-talented artist question: “So, what do you like to draw most?” She said, “Hamsters!” I said, “That’s great! What kind of stories could you tell about hamsters?” (Another classic question.) She said something like “There could be these two hamsters in a cage with completely different personalities, and they don’t get along, but they can’t leave.” I said, thinking of No Exit, “Oh, like hell is other hamsters?” We laughed and went our separate ways . . . but the idea lit up my writer brain, and I started writing the manuscript on my phone on the subway platform. I gave the text to Abhi the next day.

The Writing: I qualify as an ambivert, but Henry (the narrator) embodies all of my most extreme introvert instincts, especially my irritation at repetitions and my tendency to seethe silently until I snap (at which point I realize I should be communicating better earlier, every time). The resolution of the story is loosely modeled on an agreement I came to with my college roommate: We decided that if one of us was reading, and the other wanted to talk, the reader could ask the talker to wait until she had finished her page/chapter/etc., and the talker couldn’t be mad. As a result of this rule, we are still best friends today.

That said, seven-tenths of the charm of this book comes from Abhi’s artwork: her perfect characterizations of Henry and Marvin, their incredible expressions, and the hilarious and touching details she added throughout (look for the hatch marks; the “spider” comment, which always makes me laugh; and the sunflower seed at a crucial moment, which makes me say “aww” likewise). It’s such a pleasure and an honor to be part of her first picture book project, because I know she’s going to have many more.

Lessons for Writers: If you have an illustrator friend in search of a project, maybe ask them what they like to draw. If the emotional tenor of that subject and their artwork matches up with your interests and skill set as a writer, and you can work together productively and peacefully (a big if!), creating a book together could be a good exercise for both of you. (See also the notes on Thunder Trucks below.)

A YEAR OF EVERYDAY WONDERS

written by Cheryl B. Klein

illustrated by Qin Leng

978-1-419-74208-8 | December 8, 2020

ABRAMSKIDS

Purchase at:  BN.com | Bookshop.ORG | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Powell’s | Amazon

The Description: “With each new year comes countless little wonders. From the highs—first snowfall, first new umbrella, first beach trip—to the lows—first missed bus, first lost umbrella, first sunburn— every year older means another cycle of everyday experiences. In their clever, playful, observant picture book, acclaimed author Cheryl B. Klein and illustrator Qin Leng explore many truths of childhood through a calendar year of small moments that, all together, comprise what it is to be a kid.”

Some Praise: An Amazon.com Best Book of the Month for December 2020 | Bookpage.com: “A truly wonderful, wonder-filled picture book, perfect for revisiting in every season of the year.” | Booklist, starred review: “tender and funny . . . a creative way to talk about time.” | Publishers Weekly, starred review: “Klein’s touch is light and Leng’s movement-filled vignettes are harmonious as they capture the year in an album whose joys and disappointments become a cyclical, cumulative string of memories.” | School Library Journal, starred review: “this quietly delightful picture book speaks to the potential treasure of small moments in childhood.”

Features: Four Questions interview with me in Publishers Weekly | Q&A with me by Betsy Bird / Fuse #8 | Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast highlights Qin Leng’s art

The Idea: I’ve long been one of those annoying people who looks for something to celebrate in every day: “It’s my first ice cream cone of the summer! It’s my quarter-birthday!” I also really admire what I think of as modular picture-book writing, like Ruth Krauss and Maurice Sendak’s A Hole Is to Dig or Betsy James and Mary Newell DePalma’s My Chair, where many small, often poignant, point-device phrases combine with a story told in the illustrations to make a whole greater than the sum of its parts.

The Writing: I made a list of all the firsts I could think of that could happen for a kid in a calendar year, then arranged and rearranged them within a 32-page structure until there was a nice mix of activities (beach visit), experiences (having a blanket on the bed), callbacks (first crush / second crush), and just good phrases. I tried to build in a light narrative through the callbacks, which evolved further under the guidance of my editor, Emma Ledbetter; and I also left a lot of room for the illustrator’s input (no age, race, or gender for the protagonist was specified, for instance). The book changed even more after we saw Qin’s sketches for the first time, all of which I was very happy about.

Lessons for Writers:

• While I wanted many of the firsts and wonders in the book to be universal childhood experiences, I also felt very aware that in choosing the firsts for my child protagonist, I was actually creating that child protagonist — and the child would have to be specific, not universal. For example: One of the first phrases in the book is “first waffles.” That means that the child would live in a situation where some adult was around enough to make waffles; the family was economically secure enough to own an extraneous appliance like a waffle iron; all in a culture that regularly made waffles as a breakfast food. Later firsts in the book include spring showers, summer sunburns, changing leaves, and snowfall, which meant the child would live somewhere with four distinct seasons, and in a place with deciduous trees and snow…. Thinking through all of this was a real lesson in how every word can shape a character and thus the content of the book.

• Like Wings below, the writing benefitted from having an external restriction imposed upon it — in this case, that every short phrase would begin with an ordinal number. There is never any shame in a good gimmick (that is, a gimmick with integrity), and it can often help you sell a book.

THUNDER TRUCKS

written by Katy Beebe & Cheryl Klein

illustrated by Mike Boldt

978-1-36802-460-0 | September 10, 2019

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Originally Disney-Hyperion)

Purchase at:  BN.com | BOOKSHOP.ORG | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Powell’s | Amazon

The Description:  "Dozer, Crane, Dump Truck, Fire Truck, Tanker, and Big Rig work together to construct a wonderful thunderstorm." 

The Idea: Katy Beebe has been my best friend since our freshman year of college, more than twenty years ago, and she is also the author of three lovely (and wildly different!) picture books. In February 2017, I went to visit her, her husband, and her then two-year-old son (my godson) near Dallas, where my godson and I played with a lot of toy trucks. One night, we experienced a Texas-size thunderstorm, and Katy cuddled her son to comfort him. I remembered that old saw about the angels bowling and said to him, "Don't worry, it's just the Thunder Trucks up in the sky." Katy and I looked at each other, and we knew. 

The Writing:  I made a few stabs at writing the text, and I could see what the plot should be, but I couldn't make the rhymes trip along as I wanted them to. When I saw Katy a few months later, she said she'd been working on it as well, but she couldn't figure out the story. I sent her my plot outline and preliminary pagination. A week later, she sent back a terrific first draft. We revised and edited it together, and for both of us, it was the most fun we've ever had while writing. 

More: Katy and I do a short, fun video cover reveal.

Lessons for Writers:  

• If you have a writer friend whose strengths complement yours, AND you can manage your respective writerly egos, consider drafting a book together to use both of your types of genius. (The writerly ego point is important, though. I think a writerly ego, within limits, is generally a good thing: You need one to push through a whole manuscript and the rigors of the submission and publication process. But in college, Katy and I couldn't possibly have written a whole text together; whenever we tried writing together at all, we had one of our few fights, because we were young and said egos got in the way. We had to grow up to work together properly.)

• If you do write with someone, and the project goes on submission, draw up a contract between the two of you that specifies the terms of your agreement -- who will get paid what percentage (if not 50/50), how decisions will be made, who gets copyright, who has final say if needs be. This will help you avoid a possible legal mess down the line.

WINGS

written by Cheryl B. Klein

illustrated by Tomie dePaola

978-1-53440-510-3 | March 5, 2019

Atheneum/Simon & Schuster BFYR

Purchase at:  BN.com | Bookshop.org | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Powell’s | Amazon

The Description:  "Wings! Clings. Flings . . . With a cleverly simple rhyme and playful, vibrant artwork, Cheryl B. Klein and Tomie dePaola lovingly paint the picture of a baby bird’s first flight—overcoming stings and dings along the way to soar triumphantly."

The Idea:  In 2011 or so, I encountered or thought of the phrase "things with wings" and liked the buzz of it, so I started making a list of words that rhymed with "wings." Then the list got buried in a file in my computer.

The Writing: Every so often, I would come across this list in the file again and poke at it, but I couldn't link the words into a story. One Sunday in August 2016, I was walking through Park Slope and turning the words over in my mind, and the arc of the story suddenly leaped into my head--how a bird could fling herself out of the nest, and it might sting if she fell, but she could spring up from there. I sat on someone's stoop and wrote the whole manuscript on my iPhone, then worked out the proper 32-page picture-book pagination when I got home.

More: You can see the cover reveal, interviews with me and Tomie, and some of the interior art here.

Lessons for Writers: 

• Keep everything; often ideas just need time.

• Other times, what an idea needs is a restriction. Limiting the text to twelve one-syllable words that end in "ings" gave it a distinctive energy and tension. When the manuscript went on submission, that simple form, plus the fact that it nonetheless managed to tell a three-act story with a beginning, middle, and end within those limits, helped it stand out.

• While we don't talk about it a lot, the sound of a picture book makes a huge difference. Don't be afraid to start from some cool sounds you like, and read your drafts aloud often to be sure the text resonates (literally!).

• If you're stuck on a picture-book manuscript, paginate it in spreads or thumbnails. Leave pp. 1-3 blank for the title page, copyright, and dedication; put your climax on pp. 28-29 or 30-31. How does the rest divide up within the pages? You can download a Word doc with a thumbnail template at the bottom of the page here.