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Dear Fellow Picture Book Readers,

I need to prove that I have invented a new type of Picture Book by November, and since members of this group are very knowledgable about the subject, I hope that you can help me. Please let me know if you have come across a book like mine before.

This is the situation:

A year ago I have self-published a kind of picture book that was too different to be published through trade publications. Since then everyone who has seen my book says that they've never seen anything like it. It was chosen to be presented at INSPIRE! Toronto International Book Fair this November (2014) and therefore I need to PROVE that the book is unique before that date.

As an artist I had this vision to create a book that was not age specific. I say it is for ages 01 to 101+.

(The story is about a little boy who goes for his first haircut only to find out there were endangered animals hiding within.)

I wrote the whole story in free verse so that younger children could enjoy the rhythm of the words until they learn to speak, and later to read by themselves.

The length is that of a typical picture book, however I've included ~80% more illustrations, because I wanted children who could not read to get all of the story through pictures. The book is 58 pages long. Dimensions ~ 9" x 12" (18" x 12" spread).

Every illustration is traditionally painted with ink and watercolour.

The book looks like a picture book, but there are many hidden activity and educational elements in the illustrations. Not obvious, like they are in typical activity books. Only by rereading the book readers may be able to pick up on them all. (I wanted to reward observational skills.) An example of an activity is to find all the TWOs in one illustration (through observation, the book teaches numbers (1 to 10), colours, about some lesser-known animals, their habitats, their diet,...)

I think of this book as an onion; as children age they will pick up on a different layer and hopefully learn something new.

I made sure the adults would enjoy the story as well, by making it absolutely ridiculous, though it does cover the important issues of global habitat loss, etc.

I've created an online component where readers can find all the answers to visual puzzles and the book's special features if they are not willing to discover them themselves. With this online membership, they can also print out colouring pages and art prints, learn facts about each featured animal, etc.

You can hear me read half of the book here:

And you can find out more about it here:

(Note: my web editor died, so I have not been able to make changes to my site in months.)

If you know of another book like it, please let me know, because I have not been able to find one on my own.

Thank you so much for your willingness to help.

Mili Fay

Your book looks lovely and sounds unique to me but I by no means have an exhaustive grasp of the picture book market. I hope you will receive some helpful feedback from other members! :-)

PS I do know there is a middle grade series The 39 Clues which has online puzzle components but I don't know of any picture books like that.

I clicked on your link but you can't flip through the book. Do you have another link available where you can look inside? It sounds interesting and different.

The most similar book I can think of, I can't remember the title, author, or even keywords (I did search with guesses). It was very popular about three decades ago (I think) and each page spread was a riddle, and then a a painting. And in the painting was hidden a puzzle, usually, iirc, some kind of rebus. The minimal plot was some sort of quest, a significant character was a hare or rabbit, I think the cover was mostly gold. The Big Thing about it was that if a diligent reader solved all the problems he could find a hidden key (?) box (?) in the real world, that would make him or her (somewhat) rich & famous.

Does anyone else remember that book?

Anyway, that's a little bit like yours, because the puzzles were definitely challenging for ages 11 up, but the detailed pretty pictures and rhymes would appeal to rugrats as much as to their parents. But I don't think it's similar enough to compete with yours, because you're talking about a variety of puzzles, and no 'real world quest.'

The only other similar thing would be the kinds of activity books that are sold with coloring books. Sometimes they have simple stories. But they aren't the same at all because they're 'consumable' aka 'disposable' and yours is supposed to be kept and reread, etc.

Ack, found the book I was thinking of. Masquerade.

Ok, I searched the discussion posts of the GR group "What's the Name of that Book??" with the keyword Masquerade and found a few threads that turned up books somewhat like the ones we're talking about here.

For example A Puzzling Day at Castle MacPelican shows up with other similar books in the thread /topic/show/.... Or Usborne Puzzle Adventure Omnibus.

I recommend that you conduct that same search and look at the suggested titles. Also do another search with keyword puzzles, as you'll get directed to other threads. If you believe none of the results are truly similar to yours, you can prepare a defense against accusations that your type of book is not new.

Ok, I looked at your YouTube video. You're right that the puzzles are hidden. So, most of my advice above will probably lead to books that are clearly not similar.

Otoh, there are lots of picture books that reward observation by having 'easter egg' puzzles in the pictures. For example, many of the Little Critter books by Mercer Mayer have the grasshopper and mouse (?) tucked into a corner of the illustration on every page. So, without seeing the rest of the book, to see if there's more puzzling challenges, I'm thinking your creation is not that unusual at all.

Don't lose heart, though. The art is fantastic, and the rhymes no more awkward than lots of other picture-books I've gotten from the library. I'm guessing that I'd give your book 4 stars, based on what I've seen so far. I just can't say it's a new invention, I don't think.

Eastofoz wrote: "I clicked on your link but you can't flip through the book. Do you have another link available where you can look inside? It sounds interesting and different."

Thanks. You can hear me read half of the book at the link above. I did not read to the end, because I wanted the haircut to be a surprise. :-)

You can browse a few pages here:

Cheryl in CC NV wrote: "Don't lose heart, though. The art is fantastic, and the rhymes no more awkward than lots of other picture-books I've gotten from the library. I'm guessing that I'd give your book 4 stars, based o..."

Thank you so much. You clearly know your picture books. I will check out the titles you suggested. Librarians had trouble sorting my book, publishers said the format does not fit their picture book categories,... Therefore, I know it is different. However, even though I may not be the first, perhaps other authors with similar books could get together, showcase the book, and therefore create a publishing format that will be acceptable in the future.

I really appreciate all the information you've shared. :-)

Kathryn wrote: "PS I do know there is a middle grade series The 39 Clues which has online puzzle components but I don't know of any picture books like that."

Thank you for directing me to this folder and all of the help, Kathryn. :-)

Thank you all for helping. I will still keep on seeking out books similar to mine, so if you stumble upon any, please let me know.

Mili wrote: "Eastofoz wrote: "I clicked on your link but you can't flip through the book. Do you have another link available where you can look inside? It sounds interesting and different."

Thanks. You can he..."

Thanks for the link :)

Graeme Base comes to mind as an author/illustrator with a similar format. His picture books are beautifully illustrated, and often a bit longer in length as well. He often integrates puzzles and hidden pictures into his stories.

He has alphabet and counting books, but also books that are more appropriate for older children. Here are a few:

Animalia
The Water Hole
The Sign of the Seahorse
The Eleventh Hour
Enigma: A Magical Mystery

I've been thinking of this and just going to suggest Base and see Dolly beat me to it ;-) Definitely check his work out, Mili. And, you're welcome, I'm glad you are getting some helpful feedback from members.

Dolly wrote: "Graeme Base comes to mind as an author/illustrator with a similar format. His picture books are beautifully illustrated, and often a bit longer in length as well. He often integrate..."

Thank you, Dolly. This is great! I'll see if I can find them in the local library.

:-D

Kathryn wrote: "I've been thinking of this and just going to suggest Base and see Dolly beat me to it ;-) Definitely check his work out, Mili. And, you're welcome, I'm glad you are getting some helpful feedback fr..."

:-D

Mili- I just watched the you-tube video of you reading your book. BRILLIANT way to show what it's about, I ordered it right away to read at the zoo where I volunteer. Your illustrations are AMAZING! They also reminded me of Graeme Base, and Nancy Tillman. Why are you not illustrating picture books for others as well as writing your own books? I also love the verse/story by the way, especially the part about the pink cougar.

Now, as for the book being unique, it is of course unique because of your words and illustrations. Hidden puzzles, tie-in to web sites, seeing new things on each reading, and appeal to all age levels is not necessarily unique. I work in a children's book store, and read hundreds of picture books every month. It's all been done before in some form, Richard Scary has written multiple books that you could spend hours perusing before seeing everything they contain, (he also broke the 32 page PB barrier). But your story is utterly unique, and no one else could do those illustrations. Believe me, I'm sick with envy over your talent.

Thank you, Melissa for such a kind comment and for ordering my book. I will look up the authors you suggested, too. I really do not know as much about picture books as I would like to know, because I did not grow up in Canada. The picture books I remember from my childhood were fairytales, bridged translations of great authors like Dickens, Shakespeare, Austen,... illustrated by Maria Pascual (my favourite illustrator), and wonderful poetry of Jovan Jovanović Zmaj and other local authors. This is one of the reasons I have joined this group on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ.

Maybe one day I will illustrate books for others, but there are a lot of illustrators out there, and after graduating I couldn't find work with trade publishers. I finished Classical Animation at Sheridan College, but classical animation vanished. It was my Life-Drawing teacher and illustrator, Mark Thurman, who suggested I should work in illustration. I have so many ideas bouncing around in my head that after illustrating for non-profit and private organisations, I decided to stop and create my own books and artwork. After publishing "Animals In My Hair" I realised that I could use my talents to raise money for worthy organisations (children's hospitals, wildlife conservation, etc.). I have this vision of creating product series and donating 30% of profits from each to a specific organisation. For example, "Animals In My Hair" book, prints, toys, etc. will raise money for wildlife conservation.

At the moment I'm focused on making my vision come true, but if a great book came my way... I do not object to illustrating for others. :-)

What a wonderful mission, Mili! I hope you are wildly successful :-)

Kathryn wrote: "What a wonderful mission, Mili! I hope you are wildly successful :-)"

Thank you, Kathryn. "From your lips to God's ears" as my people say. :-)

I have just gotten "Animalia" by Graeme Base from the library. It is exactly the kind of book I was looking for. I loved it. Thank you for suggesting it. The odd thing is that Graeme Base has inspired me to become an illustrator. In 2004, when I was visiting my family in Sydney, Australia, I visited the Australian Museum where there was a room dedicated to Base's illustrations of The Waterhole. Though I have remembered the beauty of the artwork, I forgot the name of the work and the author/illustrator. Now, I have found him again. Thank you. :-)

Oh, I'm so happy you have rediscovered an artist who inspired you so long ago! Hooray :-)

Kathryn wrote: "Oh, I'm so happy you have rediscovered an artist who inspired you so long ago! Hooray :-)"
I have just read "The Eleventh Hour". Great book. :-)