Hi Marje, it’s great to be here on your lovely blog Thank you so much for your generosity to host my Book Release Tour and allow me to share my process from pen to publication with your readers.

It’s my pleasure Miriam. <3

The Making of Tina Lost in a Crowd, Part 6

Formatting a Picture Book

There are boxes of children’s books in the storage from my teaching days. I picked about ten books to study how they positioned the images and text. Some have bleed (the images flow over to the margin) and some without bleed. Some pages have text without images, and some have text layered over the images. My conclusion was to have the book fully illustrated with bleed, and have the text inserted over the images.

Formatting a picture book with bleed is a different story than without bleed. So, I hired a designer to do the job. He could insert the text for me, but I had a preference of the appearance.

After I received the pages of illustration from Victoria, I inserted one layer of white rectangular shape with round corner, then inserted another layer of text over the shape.

When I finished inserting the text, I created a file with the pages in a correct sequence for the designer to use as a reference. Then I sent this reference file and all the pages of the illustration to him to format for eBook and print book according to the requirements of Amazon and Barns & Nobel.

Note: I skipped many technical details. I can answer your questions if you’re interested.

Blurb

Tina invited her friend Erica to attend a popular Tchaikovsky’s Spectacular concert on a summer evening with her parents. During the intermission, her dad left the seat to buy some snacks. Tina and Erica followed him wanting to use the restroom. The shoving crowd pushed them away, and they lost sight of him. It would be impossible to fight through the 18,000 people to find him or go back to Tina’s mom. What would the girls do?

This story tells about what happened to Tina and Erica after they got lost. Children can adapt to the learning from different situations they may observe or encounter. Adults could have discussions with the children about the situations to help them develop problem-solving skills.

Purchase Links

Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B091M586M7 

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w?ean=2940162309741

Book Review

A lovely picture book with beautifully colourful but simple illustrations from Victoria Skakandi (Illustrator)  It’s a straight forward story which tells the tale of a young girl Tina who has just finished 3rd Grade, (about 8 – 9 years old,) and is about to go on summer school holidays. Tina and her friend Erica chat about the coming changes in the new school year. When she gets home she plans a list with her mum of what to do over the summer . No. 2 on the list is to hear the music from Swan Lake, followed by Sleeping Beauty and fireworks at the Superbowl!

Tina and her friend Erika gets lost…

Note: The story is based on a real life event in the author’s life and is dedicated to Miriam Hurdle’s daughter.

This brought back a similar memory in my life. My husband and I were frantic after my daughter Natasha disappeared during a wedding event. She turned up safe and well. Thank heavens. Every parents nightmare! Tasha was always going missing, she was quite the adventurer and still is!

Tina Lost in a Crowd delivers such a clear, important message to youngsters who may for whatever reason get parted from their parents/carers. So, I reckon it would be an excellent read for schools – educating pupils about a simple method to keep safe.

Thank you to the author for an ARC. I happily review and give my unbiased opinion.

My recommendation: 5 stars.

About the Author

Miriam Hurdle is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). She published four children’s books at twenty-six years old. Her poetry collection received the Solo “Medalist Winner” for the New Apple Summer eBook Award and achieved bestseller status on Amazon.

Miriam writes poetry, short stories, memoir, and children’s books. She earned a Doctor of Education from the University of La Verne in California. After two years of rehabilitation counseling, fifteen years of public-school teaching and ten years in school district administration, she retired and enjoys life with her husband in southern California, and the visits to her daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughters in Oregon. When not writing, she engages in blogging, gardening, photography, and traveling.

Contact Miriam at –

Website/Blog: https://theshowersofblessings.com 

Amazon Author’s Page: https://www.amazon.com/Miriam-Hurdle/e/B07K2MCSVW 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17252131.Miriam_Hurdle 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mhurdle112 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Miriam-Hurdle-Author-100123351515424

 

Wishing Miriam all the best with her new book. So exciting!