Christmas. Thanksgiving. Valentine's Day. Arbor Day. Flag Day. Boxing Day. Bastille Day. Yom Kippur. 50th Anniversary. Talk Like a Pirate Day. Halloween. Chanukah. Kwanza. 5th Birthday. Chinese New Year. Veteran's Day. Picture Book Idea Month!
Okay, some of those are just celebrations and not really holidays, but you get the picture. As human beings we like to celebrate. We like to observe. We like to commemorate. We like to have a predictable structure to our year. And the list of what we celebrate/observe/commemorate is ENDLESS. Seriously! If you add the religious celebrations to the state/federal/national holidays to the personal milestones to the made up declarations of "national whatever whatever day" you get a nearly infinite number of ways we come together with our friends/families/neighbors/religious communities/fellow citizens/internet acquaintances!
And it is my humble opinion that each and every one of these days can inspire a truck-load of ideas. Personally, I have a hysterical Thanksgiving story that I want to turn into a picture book someday. I can think of at least five Christmas memories that could easily be molded into a story. I'm a little lean on Arbor Day anecdotes, but I'm sure I could come up with something if I put my mind to it. So close your eyes, point somewhere on a calendar, figure out which holiday it is, and get to writing! : )
Great idea Meg! So often you hear that seasonal stories will only last the season, and do people buy them much? But I can see that they are getting ever more popular. I ceraintly saw lots of halloween books around recently.
ReplyDeleteLet's all add a seasonal book to the PiBoldMo list yay!
I love coming here to get yet more inspiration from your ABCs! Not only are the actual ideas inspiring but the fact that you are coming up with a whole alphabet inspires me to be ever more creative!
ReplyDeleteThanks Megan :)
If you are ever looking for ideas for English holidays (we have all sorts of Saints days and things) let me know...
Hmm... talk like a pirate day could be a good one!
ReplyDeleteI've been working a lot with holidays lately. Have a winter holiday (sort of) story (as you know), a couple of monster/witch themed ones that aren't necessarily Halloween but could be in that genre. One idea I like is the day that unexpectedly becomes a holiday. In other words, an ordinary day that ends up so delightful it gives you that holiday feeling.
ReplyDeleteNot so sure how it translates into a picture book, but those are my favorite kind of days...
Julie, an unexpected holiday sounds like a great idea for a children's story. Plus, it can be bought year round. Pursue it.
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