I recently finished retelling an old Japanese folktale. It was critiqued (thanks!) and then submitted to a magazine. It's the story of two frogs, one from the west (Osaka), and one from the east (Kyoto), whose curiosity about new places inspires them to travel. One spring day, they meet on a mountain - one traveling east and one traveling west. Tired and hungry, they devise a plan to view their destinations from the mountain top; to anticipate the new sights at journey's end. But their plan goes wrong - each frog looks in the direction of home! So discovering no new sights, they abort all travel plans. Their curiosity gone, they hop home, never to travel again.
To me, the story is humorous and passes the "so what?" test, but in my submission letter I mentioned an added curriculum-related attraction.
Map skills. Knowing some children have a hard time learning west vs. east, I suggested the story be illustrated with a simple outline map of Japan showing the two cities in the story, Osaka in the west and Kyoto in the east.
In this tough market, and with Common Core Standards adopted in some states, simply retelling an enjoyable folktale, or crafting an engaging PB story may not be enough. Our writing world is buzzing about non-fiction and teaching guides for fiction and even PB's. Added attractions have always been a plus, but are they now a necessity?
What do you think?
I love that story about the frogs, Gale. As a librarian, I would look for some note about the provenance of the folktale and if it differs significantly from the original in some way, I would want to know it. The child lit world is more and more sensitive to those issues of authorship and authenticity--whose story is it?
ReplyDeleteI also like the idea of the map, especially if it could be drawn in an accurate yet whimsical style, maybe with the frogs serving as a mileage counter (if the frog is 1 inch, it would take tk number of frogs to stretch from Osaka to Kyoto). And I do think additional material is more important than ever because of the Common Core Standards. School Library Journal is simply popping at the seams with references to the CCS.
Yes, sources are important. All publishers require a bibliography for a folktale retelling. My source was one of the Andrew Lang books originally published in 1901!
DeleteThe minute I saw this I knew it had to be Gale. We miss you in our group! I agree with Ariel's comment above and with your injection of additional appeal. Not only creative, but smart. Please let us know if these frogs will be traveling to a publisher.
ReplyDeleteHi Lyn,
DeleteHope all is going well with you. Thanks for taking time to comment! The frogs have hopped off to a magazine . . . we'll see.
As a parent, I love educational elements in well-crafted stories. Extra info in back matter is a big plus in my mind. I think your idea was spot on.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to our blog and thank you for commenting! When I have any news about this story, I'll post it.
DeleteI think well-crafted additional info that relates to CCS -- like what you present -- can only help. It's very different from jumping the gun and presenting an entire marketing plan. I think it works.
ReplyDeleteI think marketing plans should be left to the pros, but maybe my one suggestion to the editor helped my case. We'll see.
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