MO Day#30 Brian Gehrlein Crafts Better Beginnings
Beginnings, Beginnings, Beginnings!
How to hook your reader from the very first pages
Permit this metaphor: the first few pages are the handshake of the book. If you have a dead fish, awkward handshake at the outset of your story, your reader might be having second thoughts about pulling your work off the shelf. The opposite is also true. Nail the first few pages and you set your reader up with everything they need to know to sit back and enjoy the ride.
Here are a few examples that really land a perfect handshake, compelling us to keep turning those pages.
The titular character in this hilarious misadventure basically ruins everything. But he means well and hopes he’ll be good. George is left alone and has decisions to make. If the first spread gives us a hint that trouble is ahead, the second spread seals the deal.
What We Know: In the span of one page, George is left alone. His owner has asked if he will behave himself. He is positive he will. The second page introduces doubt. George has moved from certainty to uncertainty. We also know that his owner is probably worried about what he might do now that he is alone. The title hints at him causing mischief. George will have a moral dilemma and choices to make. We get to anticipate all the trouble he’ll get into now that Harris is gone. Will George be a good boy? Probably not…
Chris also masterfully achieves this same effect in his most recent book, Maybe…
Dandy written by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Charles Santoso
Ame Dyckman’s hilarious take on suburban dad life throws us right into everything we need. The first spread establishes dad’s passion is his lawn–his perfect lawn. We see his reaction when something threatens that perfection. While terrified, he will swiftly remedy this problem…unless something (or someone) prevents that remedy entirely.
What We Know: Daddy cares an awful lot about his lawn and there must not be ANY weeds. When a weed pops up, Daddy is terrified but will quickly end that weed’s pesky life. The second spread throws us into the main conflict since his daughter, Sweetie, has chosen this very weed as her new best friend, “Charlotte.” Daddy will have a choice to make: kill the weed, or allow Sweetie to take care of Charlotte. We know both outcomes cannot coexist in the storyline…what will he choose?
In Jon Klassen’s absurd comedy, the title plays a key role in how we interpret the first few spreads. Titles are powerful. Sometimes they are the very key to understanding what we are about to read.
What We Know: There is a giant falling rock that poses an existential threat. We know there is a turtle who randomly prefers a spot he is standing in. We infer that this preferred spot is the exact location that the rock is going to land. The turtle needs to move…or die. Something (or someone) will have to persuade the turtle to move from the spot. What will it take to motivate the turtle to move? How will he avoid the rock from the sky?
The cover art communicates that Brenda is, in fact, not a sheep. She’s a wolf in a wool sweater—a wolf in sheep’s clothing. This paradox makes us wonder what a wolf in a wool sweater might be up to. What is Brenda’s true motivation? Are the sheep in danger?
What We Know: As the misleading title draws our curiosity, we are immediately faced with a mystery that needs solving. We haven’t even started the story and our kids’ little brains are busy making inferences and predicting. They also know not to trust the narrator–-or at the very least, there will be conflicting information between what the text says and what the art shows. The first spread reinforces this cognitive dissonance and compels us to solve the mystery. We are very motivated to discover the truth-–what’s up with Brenda?
The Book of Rules written by Brian Gehrlein, illustrated by Tom Knight
I’m not even apologizing for this shameless plug. Go buy it. Read it to a kid. Read it to a dog. A tree! And don’t get eaten! The handshake of this book was crucial for it to work. I needed the first page to communicate the playful tone, establish the rules of the “game,” and set the stakes as high as I possibly could—disobey the rules of this book and Dennis eats you!
What We Know: The book is metafiction and has “rules.” It says we “must” follow all the rules or we will be eaten by Dennis. The book assumes we don’t want to be food and invites us to listen carefully to “stay alive.” We know the listening experience is participatory. If we want to avoid being Dennis-food, we will have to pay attention and play along. We also know Dennis will probably be more of a silly monster. Dennis? Really? Worst name for a monster EVER! Do better, Brian.
A Hungry Lion, Or a Dwindling Assortment of Animals written and illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins
This one is probably the best example for the potential dynamic between the title and the first spread. Let’s be honest, the title alone gives the game away…at least we think so. What would a shrinking group of animals have to do with a hungry lion? What do hungry lions eat? The first spread bolsters these predictions happening in our young reader’s minds.
What We Know: There is a hungry lion. There are a lot of prey animals hanging out in close proximity to the hungry lion. Putting two and two together, we probably can figure out (until we have other information) that the lion will satisfy his hunger by eating some of our new, cute friends and their group will slowly…dwindle. Leading our readers with some clever misdirection sets them up for delight and satisfaction when their predictions are proven wrong. Give them the old bait and switch!
Whatever your story is, keep in mind how you’re greeting your readers. What’s the handshake of your book? What’s that first interaction? Does it invite them in? Does it respect their capacity to reason and read between the lines? How does the title contribute to what's been established in the first page? Have you given the reader enough information to know what might be next and where they’re ultimately going? Play with different beginnings…and practice those handshakes!
Bio: Brian Gehrlein is the creator of Picture Book Spotlight and #PBCritiqueFest, a member of SCBWI, and is represented by Jennifer Mattson of Andrea Brown Literary Agency. He wrote a book. It's called THE BOOK OF RULES. Brian teaches high school English and lives in Liberty, Missouri with his wife, Katherine, sons Peter and Albee, and their two corgis! Brian tweets things sometimes. You can read the things by following him on Twitter: @briangehrlein. If you want to stay up on Spotlight interviews and other PB Spotlight happenings, subscribe to Picture Book Spotlight. Want to say hi? Contact Brian here. Wondering how to pronounce "Gehrlein?" It's like "airline" with a "G."
