MENTOR TEXT MONDAY: Criminals in Picture Books, Part 2

by Lynne Marie

Please read Part 1 of this series HERE, where we establish some of the things editors and agents look for in a picture book submission. Once you do, you will see that a picture book about a criminal is certainly an exception to the rule. So why do these books get published? Some work -- and we'll take another look at why.

Let's look at a few more examples:

THIS IS NOT MY HAT by Jon Klassen (Candlewick Press, 2012)

A Junior Library Guide Selection.

Jacket Copy: A fish has stolen a hat. And he'll probably get away with it. Probably.

First Line: This hat is not mine. I just stole it.

Well that's an intriguing beginning if I ever heard one! You want to know who this fish is, why he stole a hat, and who he stole it from, at the very least. You're definitely going to turn the page!

Notice how Klassen sets up this ultimately, in the end, subversive book. Likely, the reader won't like the main character (or connect with him), but yet, there's enough intrigue to keep the reader "on the hook" to see if the thief gets his come-uppance! I won't give away the ending, but it's an engaging cautionary tale. Be sure to give it a read (it's a quick read and not a lot to pour over -- despite the illustrations being a tad redundant, and by tad, I mean quite a bit, there are subtle differences between the spreads). Still, I really like this book and it's important message -- if you do something intentionally bad, you just may get what's coming to you! Get YOUR copy HERE.

BURGLAR BILL by Janet & Allan Ahlberg (Penguin, 1977)

Jacket Copy: Who's that creeping down the street? Who's that climbing up the wall? Who's that coming through the window? Who's that that . . . It's Burglar Bill.

OK -- does this work? No, not really very much, certainly not in this day and age when publishers (for the most part) want child or kid-relatable main characters.

However, it was picked up, so let's look at why, perhaps, it was. One reason is the famous, uber talented and successful Ahlbergs. But let's look past that. So we have our main character, Burglar Bill, who burgles and burgles until he finds himself in a pickle when he unwittingly steals a baby. As he takes a break from thieving, the tables turn when he, himself is burgled by Burglar Betty (who just happened to have had her baby stolen). He finally sees the error of his ways, and in a surprising twist (or, maybe not so surprising), two wrongs make a right and there's a lot of character change and good things on the horizon.

It's my guess, hopefully an educated one, that the reason this was picked up was because an editor was enamored of the character arc (which is sweet although contrived and not very believable), as well as the secondary character arc (which is also a pretty contrived, but yet allows the pieces to fall into place), and how everything tied together into a nice little package. Even I loved the art and the ending, but the thing to think about when you write stories like this -- would a child keep reading from beginning to end? Would a child appreciate the ending?

Get YOUR copy HERE.

As you can see, Mentor Texts not only show us what to do, but in some cases, what not to do.

And lastly, here's. . .

CHICKADEE CRIMINAL MASTERMIND by Monica Silvie, with art by Elina Ellis (Kids Can Press, 2022) .

First Line: The forest has a criminal. A real rapscallion and all-around bad seed. Me.

And no one knows who I am, because . . .

I wear a mask.

Starting with a strong character voice and compelling story problem goes a long way to hooking the reader!

As the story proceeds, Chickadee tells the story of his life of crime. Do you want to hear it? Of course you do!

This is a book about self-perception, which may or may not offer a satisfying resolution. In fact, I'll be so bold to say that it is satisfying on one hand, and not as satisfying on another. It ends on a note of character change (which is most often fulfilling) and offers a little twist for a chuckle.

Does this book work? Read it and find out -- but no matter which side you fall on (Yes or No), there's takeaway value in the set-up of the situation and the voice, which you should absolutely try and integrate into your stories (a compelling voice and a strong story problem). Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section of this post! If we have ten comments, one lucky winner will get a 15 Min Ask Me Anything with me! Deadline to comment July 7th, 2026.

Next week, we'll take a break from this topic and discuss something else, but there just might be a Part 3!

I really hope these books shed some light (not a jailbreak searchlight LOL) on the topic. Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments in the comment section. And as always, I invite you to attend my FREE Thursday night Mentor Text Talks -- e-mail RYS.CyberOffice@gmail.com for further information.