What's Your Picture Book's Origin Story?

Every picture book has its own unique origin story. And Teeny Tiny Trucks, which released simultaneously in October as a book and an app, is no exception. These days the available road maps to publication seem to be increasing rather than decreasing. Case in point: A Troop is a Group of Monkeys author Julie Hedlund is currently championing a hybrid publishing model through a Kickstarter campaign for her picture book My Love For You is the Sun. Meanwhile, Katie Davis is self-publishing and crowd-marketing Little Chicken's Big Christmas, a digital follow-up to her traditionally published picture book, Little Chicken's Big Day. The options are seemingly limitless! Some day we'll all just fire up our pocket 3D printers and zap out picture books using thermoplastic polymers. (Geez, I hope not.) Every book has two stories to tell: the story within it, and the story about it. So what's your favorite picture book? Do you have any idea how it came to be? I'll bet there's an interesting story...

Well, speaking of interesting stories, every month children's writer and blogger Carrie Charley Brown hosts a mystery author spotlight--and this month it was little ol' me! We discuss everything from how music has influenced my writing to the 10-month whirlwind publishing process of Trucks. Check out the interview here.

Oh, and if you didn't know already, November also happens to be Picture Book Month, not to mention one of my favorite annual traditions, Picture Book IDEA Month, also known as PiBoIdMo. So, during this festive time of year when we celebrate picture books in all their multi-colored facets, I'm truly honored (and frankly giddy) to be able to share my own experiences and viewpoints as a newly published children's author. Thanks Carrie!

Teeny Tiny Trucks Library Launch Party!

Yes! It finally happened! I sat in a library packed with kids and read them a book. Wait, let me rephrase that... and read them MY book! What an absolute joy it was to host my very first book reading for Teeny Tiny Trucks at my children's school library.

We kicked things off with an outdoor gathering by the library. We had tables with crayons and Trucks illustrator Keith Frawley's adorable coloring pages. (You can download your own coloring pages at www.teenytinytrucks.com/activities/). Then I warmed up the crowd with trucky twists on popular kids songs, i.e. "Old MacDonald Had a Truck", "She'll Be Truckin' 'Round the Mountain" and "I've Been Truckin' on the Highway." After that, the school librarian, Miss Mabey, gave an introduction and we were off and running! I showed the kids a copy of my original manuscript and briefly explained how it became a published picture book. Then we read Teeny Tiny Trucks, followed by a Q&A session. I was so pleasantly surprised at how great the kids' and the adults' questions were--I couldn't have scripted it better myself.

As the kids headed out to do more coloring, I passed around free little truck toys and Trucks bookmarks. Meanwhile, the books were selling like hotcakes! I signed every copy I brought and had to take a handful of orders for more. $2 from every sale went to the Castro Library Fund, so that was nice, too. As things wound down, a couple boys suggested I write "Teeny Tiny Tanks." They made an obstacle course for their toy trucks using their bookmarks as ramps!

I couldn't have asked for a better, more special book launch party. I'm already itching to do it again! Thankfully, I've got two events lined up in November. If you're in the Bay Area, come check 'em out:

Mountain View Library
Reading Day Event (in the Community Room)
Saturday, November 16, 2013
My time slot: 12:15 - 12:25 pm
I'll be reading, singing and signing books
The whole event runs 10am - 1:00pm
Click here for their event flyer.

Linden Tree Books
Downtown Los Altos, CA
Book Reading, Singing & Signing
Saturday, November 23, 2013
11am - 12pm

The Teeny Tiny Trucks APP is FREE!!! (This week only!)

Breaker-Breaker! BIG NEWS!

Charge up your iPads, folks! The Teeny Tiny Trucks APP is finally here! This latest interactive story app from Little Bahalia Publishing features truckloads of fun animation, engaging interactivity, silly sound effects, and the toe-tapping Teeny Tiny Trucks theme song!

And to celebrate TRUCKtober, for a very limited time we are offering the Teeny Tiny Trucks app for FREE! Come back? I said FREE folks! 

From now until Friday, October 25, 2013 you can download the Teeny Tiny Trucks app to your iPad completely free of charge. After that, we’ll offer the app for a special limited time low price for the rest of Trucktober.

All we ask is that you take a minute to give an honest review and rating of the Teeny Tiny Trucks app on the iTunes App Store. Tell us what you really think--we want to know!

Just open the App Store on your iPad and do a search for Teeny Tiny Trucks or Little Bahalia Publishing to find the app. (Requires iOS 5.1 or later.) Or, go online to iTunes for a preview.

Thanks for your support.

Many Paths to Publication: A Teeny Tiny Interview

To cap off a wonderful debut week for Teeny Tiny Trucks, I'm really excited to share my interview with author Dashka Slater for her "Many Paths to Publication" series. In it we talk all about the process of getting Trucks from inspiration to idea to manuscript to submission to contract to publication and beyond. Check out the interview HERE or visit dashkaslater.com/index.php/blog. If you're interested in creating story apps for kids or just want a behind the scenes look at one guy's journey to getting published, this is the blog for you. Dashka asked some great questions, so I hope my answers will be helpful and inspiring. Dashka's five interviews that came before mine are fascinating, too, so check 'em out. Enjoy!

Trucks & Monkeys: A DOUBLE BOOK BIRTHDAY!

Well, it's official! Teeny Tiny Trucks by Tim McCanna and Keith Frawley and A Troop is a Group of Monkeys by Julie Hedlund and Pamela Baron are PUBLISHED picture books today!

Big congratulations must go to Stacey Williams and her crew at Little Bahalia Publishing for this amazing milestone. Be sure to visit their site to learn all about Little Bahalia books and apps. You can order Troop and Trucks on Amazon.com or visit your local independent bookstore to special order a copy.

And if a Teeny Tiny Trucks picture book just isn't enough for you, well I've got good news. A musical, animated, interactive story app version of Trucks will be coming to iPads and iPhones in the very near future! Still want more? Well then, head on over to our Teeny Tiny Trucks Zazzle Store to get yourself a hat, shirt, magnet and keychain!

But wait! There's even MORE! Zip on over to www.teenytinytrucks.com to learn more about the book and its creators, check out a cool interactive preview, and download coloring pages for the kids! Okay, that's pretty much it.

Thanks for your support!