BAREFOOT BOOKS WATER: A DEEP DIVE OF DISCOVERY written by Christy Mihaly
Our bodies and our planet are mostly made of water. It’s here, it’s there, it’s everywhere, which makes it a unique challenge to write a picture book dedicated to the subject.
I’m excited to share the writing and revision journey of BAREFOOT BOOKS WATER: A DEEP DIVE OF DISCOVERY, a beautiful book about this magical liquid written by Christy Mihaly and illustrated by the talented Mariona Cabassa.
Christy previously shared her writing and revision experience for her other book, FREE FOR YOU AND ME: WHAT OUR AMENDMENT MEANS and today she shares how she wrote about another hefty topic.
Thank you, Christy, for sharing your journey today! Could you tell us, is this story about only water? What sparked the concept?
A picture book just about water? Yes!
Barefoot Books came up with this concept and went looking for someone to write it. I'm so glad that person turned out to be me! This book involved a huge amount of collaboration, and I'm grateful to the whole team for how beautifully it turned out.
Barefoot Books publishes multicultural picture books and is well known for its engaging, oversized nonfiction books like Barefoot Books World Atlas and Barefoot Books Solar System. The publisher wanted to add Barefoot Books WATER to this line. Seeking an author, they reached out to Stacy Clark, the author of Planet Power (Barefoot Books, 2021). Stacy found me through a mutual connection, and that led me to chat with editor Emma Parkin.
Emma explained that although there are many children's books about the ocean, marine animals, and other water-related topics, Barefoot Books wanted to create a ground-breaking compendium for kids to highlight the central role of water on the planet. It would include science and social justice, history and stories from around the world. I loved this vision of a book exploring the power and wonder of water. Emma and I hit it off, and she appreciated that I'm both a children's author and a former environmental lawyer. I've worked on water conservation projects from Lake Tahoe to Vermont, and I was so excited to collaborate with Barefoot Books on WATER.
How long did it take from idea to book?
The good folks at Barefoot Books had the idea earlier, but my part of the work started in March 2020 and the book is set to publish September (or October) 2021. That's about 18 months – lightning speed in the Publishing World.
That is SUPER quick and incredibly impressive since it was written, illustrated, and created during the pandemic. Can you share your revision timeline?
March 2020: Initial contact: Just as we entered pandemic lockdown, I received an email from a friend who is an environmental activist. He knew I write for kids, so he forwarded an email from Stacy saying Barefoot was looking for someone to write a children's book about water. I said I was interested, and then heard from awesome editor Emma Parkin. Emma and I discussed the concept in depth and I confirmed my interest.
April 2020: Outline: Emma and I worked on the book outline as my agent negotiated contract terms. The goal was a fall 2021 publication, so there was no time to lose. Emma and I went back and forth with ideas for topics to cover and how to structure the book.
May 2020: Revised outline: I revised the outline completely, tearing it apart and putting it back together to refine the topics, improve the flow, and make it age-appropriate. The Barefoot Books designers had great suggestions for layout to enhance the book's kid appeal. We talked about book size, table of contents, fold-out flaps—fun stuff!
June 2020: Drafting and revising: Based on the approved outline, I dove into drafting the text. I wrote it in seven separate sections, sending Emma one chunk at a time. Emma and the rest of the team reviewed, discussed, and commented. I would be revising one chunk while awaiting feedback on another and starting to draft a third. And changes in one section often led to more changes in other parts. Lots of moving parts!
July 2020: More revising: I wrote, revised and re-visioned. Design changes affected word count; text changes led to more design changes. We discussed new ideas for graphics and maps. And the talented Mariona Cabassa signed on to illustrate.
August 2020: Reviewing art and revising: We started reviewing Mariona's sketches, color roughs, and page layouts, and developed the "water drop" character that would lead kids through the whole story of water. Emma and I had more back-and-forth on text and art, continuing to refine our treatment of issues like climate change, water shortages, and social justice. The full manuscript went to a fresh-eyed outside reviewer.
September 2020: Completed and revised: I made more revisions based on the outside review, including enhancing our through-line and tweaking the order of the spreads. I wrote new sidebars to offer deeper dives into the science and technology. We refined the "water drop" character and the speech bubbles for that. Mariona sent more beautiful art. And our book announcement appeared in Publishers' Weekly!
October 2020: The book took shape: As Mariona sent more rough layouts, I reviewed the art to ensure they conveyed information accurately and clearly. Emma and the Barefoot Books team started working on the fictional tales for the book.
November 2020: More revisions: Worked on captions for illustrations. We added activities. Another fresh-eyed reviewer completed a full review of this version.
December 2020: Getting there: Reviewed and revised the art and text to make sure they worked well together.
January 2021: "Final" revisions: Reviewed pdf of the full book. So beautiful! We added front and back copy and back matter, including the glossary – and revised.
February 2021: Polishing: Refined the design and tweaked the text.
March 2021: Expert review: The full manuscript went out for technical review by scientific experts, and to a cultural reviewer and a child development expert. Barefoot Books also completed in-house fact-checking and number-checking.
April 2021: Paper proofs: Received the paper proofs! Woohoo! So gorgeous! I offered my final corrections, and then my year of work on WATER was completed.
June 2021: Printer's change: We faced a small printing crisis, which we resolved. And we received a review from Kirkus, which gave WATER a star. Yay, team!
September-October 2021: Scheduled publication: Our publication date for Barefoot Books WATER: A Deep Dive of Discovery was supposed to be September 17. Global shipping delays, however, pushed it back to October 4. If nothing else, this business teaches us patience.
What was the hardest part of revising this story?
We had an extremely collaborative, iterative revision process, and sometimes the number of backs-and-forths was daunting. But everyone shared the goal of making WATER the best it could be, and in fact I think revising is fun. I lost track of how many emails and pdfs and comments and revisions Emma and I sent back and forth across the Atlantic, but I know that each one made WATER better.
Did you have an ‘ah-ha!’ moment with your manuscript during the revision process? If so, what was it?
We had one long chain of "ah-ha" moments, as various team members weighed in with new perspectives and the text evolved.
That sounds amazing, especially collaborating across the ocean. Do you have any advice for other writers?
Although WATER followed an atypical path, I've also done plenty of writing the "normal" way, revising and polishing until a manuscript is ready to submit.
In any case, it's crucial to get other people’s eyes on your work to identify where you can improve. So, my advice is to find trusted critique partners to read your work. If you're a SCBWI member, you might be able to find a critique group through their networks. And once our world opens up again, seek out conferences and writing workshops. These enable you to meet other writers, and may offer opportunities for feedback from editors and agents. Many offer scholarships—just ask. I always find these writerly gatherings inspirational.
Keep going, and good luck to you!
Other helpful resources: Picture book writers should seriously consider joining the 12x12 Picture Book Challenge. https://www.12x12challenge.com/.
Rate Your Story offers quick manuscript critiques from published writers (including me). https://www.rateyourstory.org/.
And now, a sample of the initial text...
A note from Christy: Much of this content remained intact, but in revisions we added detail to this section, and we moved some of the information to other spreads. The book's final design enhanced the text, and the illustrations brought the story to life.
pp. 22-23: The Water Cycle, or How Old Is That Water, Anyway?
Its shape-shifting powers enable water to circle all around the Earth.
Water changes from liquid to gas, gas to liquid, liquid to solid, around and around…
With each change water moves, from ocean to air to land and rivers and into your body, back into the air, then the sea, giving life around the world.
THE WATER CYCLE
Liquid water heats up and enters the air as a gas. That's evaporation!
When this gas—water vapor—cools, it turns back into droplets of water, making clouds. That's condensation!
Water falls from clouds down to Earth. It's precipitation: rain, snow, sleet, hail.
Some water becomes ice: frozen solid.
Elsewhere, liquid water goes into the soil and collects underground.
More water flows across Earth's surface in streams and rivers, and collects in ponds, lakes, and oceans.
The sun heats the surface water, sending it into the air through evaporation, and around again!
You might notice something interesting about the water cycle:
It's the same water, going
around
and
around.
You know what that means?
You could be drinking the very same water that a dinosaur drank.
Wait! This is 4-billion-year-old water!?
How DIRTY is that water?
Relax! The water cycle helps clean water to make it good to drink, again and again. …
And the final words and picture in the book!
Don’t forget to follow Christy's news about her books on her website and connect with her on Twitter (@CMwriter4kids), Facebook, and Instagram (@Christymihaly). She’s also the founding member and regular contributor to a GROG (group blog) for writers and educators.
If you’d like a signed copy of her picture books, order online from her favorite local indie, Bear Pond Books and leave a comment in the space at the bottom of the checkout form requesting a personalized signature and the recipient name!
Barefoot Books WATER: A Deep Dive of Discovery, illustrated by Mariona Cabassa
Free for You and Me: What Our First Amendment Means, illustrated by manu Montoya
Hey, Hey, Hay! (A Tale of Bales and Machines That Make Them), illustrated by Joe Cepeda