books4yourkids.com: on Once Upon a Baby Brother

When my editor and I were finishing revisions on Once Upon a Baby Brother, the book's title was LIZZIE PRESENTS: THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF MARVIN (WITH BIG GEORGE, THE WONDER DOG). In my mind, the story was about two things - family and where stories come from. I wanted readers to realize that we all have stories to tell. I wanted to suggest that the next time they find someone at home or at school doing something that really irritates them, they should consider using that experience to create a story. That's what my character Lizzie does.

Recently, I ran across a posting in a blog called books4yourkids.com/.  This blogger was writing about Once Upon a Baby Brother and she wrote:

What Sullivan excels at in Once Upon a Baby Brother is how succinctly and expressively she writes about the joys of creativity and writing, specifically. In describing Lizzie's experiences, on her own and when Marvin is making her life difficult, Sullivan describes the writing process and even gives tips that should inspire and encourage aspiring authors.


It should come as no surprise that one of my favorite quotes comes from Nora Ephron who said, "It's all copy," meaning when something terrible happens, don't get upset, don't despair, use the experience in a story!  Ephron says her mother, who was a screenwriter, used to say this when something bad happened. All that yucky stuff, the time your brother ate the last piece of birthday cake even though it was YOUR birthday and YOUR FAVORITE KIND OF CAKE and YOUR MOM PROMISED she was saving it for YOU, it's all potential story material. You can use it to create something wonderful!
Macmillan included Once Upon a Baby Brother in its "Writing Kit" for kids.  You can find that Editors' List of books about writing for kids here.