I was doing some back and forth emailing a friend I’m collaborating with on a picture book I wrote and he is illustrating (not yet sold – we have high hopes. He’s a genius). He sent me a drawing of a character in the first spread, the one he’s doing tight and in color, like final art. He sent the sketch to me and asked if the character looked angry. I told him yes, and he already knew that but just didn’t want to redraw it. Told him he needs to trust his gut. Gut trusting is a very smart thing to remember to do. It’ll save you a lot of work in the end.

ANYWAY, I told him that the first time you meet this character, the faces need to draw the reader in – to invite them like a host at the door of party where you don’t know anyone.

Would that metaphor hold true with most picture books? Can you think of any that slam the door in your face the minute you open the book, yet still makes you want to go in?