FINDING FREEDOM IN THE SANDBOX

by Randi Sonenshine

I like structure. In fact, I crave it and feel uncomfortable in its absence. Not like sand in
your sneakers uncomfortable. Like an army of fire ants crawling up your legs
uncomfortable. It’s why jazz, with its offbeat rhythms, gives me vertigo, and why
haphazard picture arrangements send me reaching for my inhaler.

As you might imagine, early on in my publishing journey, this unhealthy dose of
perfectionism often hijacked my writing process…until I learned how to harness the
power of structure. Although it seems paradoxical, a strong structure unleashes my
creativity; it allows me the mental space to focus my creative energy on the writing and
the freedom to experiment with words.

This is one of the reasons poetic writing, especially rhyming, appeals to me. It inherently
provides that framework through meter and rhyme. However, it’s far from the only way
to create structure; sometimes a simple refrain or parallel beginning element is enough
to provide the structure I need. Many popular works of fiction have had great success
using this technique (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Goodnight Moon, Mama Do You
Love Me? for example), but it can work equally well for nonfiction.

That concept propelled the process in writing my debut, THE NEST THAT WREN BUILT (Candlewick 2020). I had been intrigued by the Carolina Wrens’ habit of building nests in various containers in my garage - an upside-down bike helmet, an Amazon box, the brim of a garden hat - as well as the process and materials they used in the construction (snakeskin?!). While researching, the title popped in my head, unearthed from a childhood memory of reading “The House That Jack Built,” no doubt. The concept was a natural fit for my subject and purpose; however, instead of following the original, unrhymed cumulative approach, I used only the beginning and ending elements to build a spare, poetic framework that echoed the natural rhythms and cycle of the wrens’ work and created a pleasing read-aloud.

 

Using this structure created a sandbox in which I could play with words, changing and rearranging until they fit and felt just right, layering each verse with poetic elements like alliteration and assonance, and embedding both the scientific language and the context young readers would need to understand it. This approach also paved the way for companion titles, THE LODGE THAT BEAVER BUILT (2022) and THE DEN THAT OCTOPUS BUILT (2024), and I had just as much fun playing in the word sandbox with them!

A peek into my “sandbox” with the first verse of THE DEN THAT OCTOPUS BUILT:

The actual first page, gorgeously illustrated by Anne Hunter:

Tips for Building Your Sandbox

1. Be strategic. Choose a structure purposefully. For example, some elements,

such as refrains or parallel structures can create a particular cadence, which can

echo a theme or evoke a mood. Experiment with different options until you find

one that reflects or enhances your subject in some way.

2. Think outside the (sand) box. When it comes to seeking a structure, don’t

overlook a potential source. Classic books, nursery rhymes, and songs may

provide inspiration, but so could famous speeches, poems, or lines from classic

literature (even Shakespeare!).

3. Make it your own. If you take your cue from a well-known source, work to make

it your own. For example, a book about a biome, modeled after the classic Over

in the Meadow, might be Deep in the Rainforest or Out on the Prairie. Similarly,

All around the Mulberry Bush could inspire Up and Down the Sycamore Tree.

4. Don’t be afraid to use something that’s already been done. As with The Nest

That Wren Built, there are many other books, especially in the last few years, that

took inspiration from The House That Jack Built (See the list below for just a

few.), but they are all unique and work beautifully.

I hope you can take away a tiny grain of inspiration from the mentor texts below. See

you in the sandbox!

A Sampling of Books With Strong Structures 

A Nest is Noisy, An Egg is Quiet, A Rock is Lively by Dianna Hutts Aston

Before he was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane, by Carole Boston Weatherford and

Sean Qualls

Before She Was Harriet, by Lesa Cline-Ransome and James Ransome

Mojave by Diane Siebert and Wendell Minor (Mask Poem…”I am…”)

On a Snow-Melting Day, by Buffy Silverman

Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner and Christopher Silas Neal

The Gabi That Girma Wore by Fasika Adefris, Sara Holly Ackerman, and Netsanet Tesfay

The Sea Knows by Alice McGinty, Alan Havis, and Stephanie Laberis

This is the Sunflower by Lola Schaefer and Donald Crews

Water Can Be, A Rock Can Be, A Leaf Can Be by Laura Purdie Salas and Violeta Dabija

Water is Water by Miranda Paul and Jason Chin

Welcome to the Green House by Jane Yolen and Laura Regan

Where Once There Was a Wood by Denise Fleming

Whoo-Ku Haiku by Maria Gianferrari and Jonathan Voss

About the Author:

Randi Sonenshine is the author of THE NEST THAT WREN BUILT, THE LODGE THAT BEAVER BUILT, and THE DEN THAT OCTOPUS BUILT (Candlewick Press), which have earned starred reviews and appeared on many notable lists, including the Chicago Public Library, Bank Street College, Capitol Choices, and the CCBC. She is also the author of National Jewish Book Award Finalist, THE INSIDE NAME (Apples & Honey Press). In addition to writing for children, Randi is a literacy specialist and instructional coach in northwest Georgia, where she does her best writing accompanied by birdsong and a good pot of Earl Grey tea.

FINDING THE RIGHT “CONTAINER” FOR YOUR WRITING

By Jolene Gutiérrez

In addition to writing for kids, I’ve worked as a teacher librarian at a school for neurodivergent learners for nearly 30 years. Many of my students are reluctant readers, so I’ve become adept at matching readers with certain styles of writing that feel more comfortable to them. In print format, this includes verse novels, Choose Your Own Adventure books, short stories, and graphic novels. Features like more white space on a page, visual support, and shorter text lengths all make for books that feel less intimidating to many readers.

So when I start a writing project, I tend to think about my story and who my intended audience might be. I love picture books—both teaching them and writing them—so I often start there. Whittling certain concepts down to 500ish words can be difficult, though, and while I love using picture books with students of all ages (including my high school students) the picture book “container” has limitations on depth and quantity of content.

When I wrote the first draft of my nonfiction book BIONIC BEASTS: SAVING ANIMAL LIVES WITH ARTIFICIAL FLIPPERS, LEGS, AND BEAKS, it was a ~1000-word picture book. My editor Carol Hinz saw that picture book format and realized it might not be the best way to deliver some of the high-level science concepts, so she suggested trying the manuscript as a ~10,000-word middle grade book with five chapters, each about a different animal. This was the perfect fit for our content: I had space to share information about each animal, their limb differences, and the scientific interventions that helped them. I didn’t shy away from higher-level content, but by including things like photographs and hands-on activities and by breaking the content up into 5 short stories, this book appeals to a wide range of students.

My recent picture book TOO MUCH! AN OVERWHELMING DAY started as a 50-word board book, but that short story didn’t show enough of the child’s day to give a full understanding of sensory overwhelm, so after edits, I ended up with a ~250-word picture book with extensive back matter that walked us through everything that overwhelmed our main character, Birdy, and gave her a chance to practice mindfulness and find peace and calm as well. I went from a small, focused container to a space where I could spread out and tell the story of Birdy’s day. Readers were better able to understand each of the things that overwhelmed Birdy, and caregivers were given content they could use and share with child readers as needed.

My upcoming picture book UNBREAKABLE: A JAPANESE AMERICAN FAMILY IN AN AMERICAN INCARCERATION CAMP, coauthored with Min Tonai, was an exploration in containers. I started working on what became Unbreakable in 2016, and at that time, I wrote it as a middle grade nonfiction book that explored Colorado’s governor Ralph Carr and the Amache incarceration camp in Colorado. A friend who was incarcerated at Rohwer Incarceration Camp in Arkansas connected me to Min because he knew Min’s story would add to my manuscript. After interviewing Min and learning about his experiences in the Amache incarceration camp, we decided to work together and write his family’s story. We tried it as a middle grade novel, but layering Min’s story with information about Governor Carr and other history interrupted and weakened the story. We wrote it as a graphic novel manuscript, but the graphic novel format didn’t emphasize the quiet power of the story (although that could’ve been the fact that it was the first graphic novel manuscript we’d ever written). When we tried it as a picture book, though, we finally found the right container. A picture book manuscript was the perfect format to strip the story down to its heart. This ~1,000-word picture book will have 1,400+ words of backmatter and hopefully will appeal to readers of all ages.

I’m also working on a couple of other informational fiction or nonfiction projects. One is a novel in verse and the other is a graphic novel manuscript, and I believe these formats fit the topic and their intended audience. Time will tell, but after my experiences with finding the right container for my stories, I’m not afraid to try other formats with these projects as well. I encourage you to take a look at your current project(s) and think about the story you’re trying to share, who you envision reading it, and how you might best reach that audience. Testing the fit of different stories in various containers keeps me on my toes as a writer, but it’s also the perfect way to help your story reach its readers.

 

About the Author: Jolene grew up on a farm and now lives with her family and a variety of animals in a suburb of Denver, Colorado. A teacher librarian since 1995, Jolene spends her days sharing children’s books and her nights writing them. She’s the author of UNBREAKABLE: A JAPANESE AMERICAN FAMILY IN AN AMERICAN INCARCERATION CAMP (2025), MAMIACHI AND ME (2024), THE OFRENDA THAT WE BUILT (2024), TOO MUCH! AN OVERWHELMING DAY, The Stars of Latin Pop series, BIONIC BEASTS: SAVING ANIMAL LIVES WITH ARTIFICIAL FLIPPERS, LEGS, AND BEAKS, and MAC AND CHEESE AND THE PERSONAL SPACE INVADER. Find her online: www.jolenegutierrez.com.