SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: ALL ABOARD THE MOONLIGHT TRAIN
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: www.kristyncrow.com/
CITY: Layton
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 316
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born in CA; married Steve Crow (a police officer); children: seven.
EDUCATION:Brigham Young University, degree.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer.
MEMBER:Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
AWARDS:Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books Blue Ribbon selection, 2008, and Utah Book Award nomination, 2009, both for Cool Daddy Rat illustrated by Mike Lester; Washington Children’s Choice Picture Book nomination and Ladybug Picture Book Award nomination, both 2009, both for Bedtime at the Swamp illustrated by Macky Pamintuan.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
According to children’s author Kristyn Crow, reading books should be fun, and in picture books such as Cool Daddy Rat and Zombelina , Crow serves up a rollicking mix of repetition, rhyme, and rhythm. Born in California and now making her home in Utah, she has enjoyed the sound of words since childhood; as an adult she follows her own advice by getting “in with the ‘in’ crowd of writing,” as she noted on her website. Bedtime at the Swamp, Crow’s first published book for children, “almost seemed to write itself,” she admitted. “I remember sitting down to the computer and composing a few images, and then the refrain sprang from nowhere onto the screen, like the swamp monster rising from the mist.”
With its toe-tapping text, Crow’s Cool Daddy Rat tells the story of Ace, a rat whose musician father plays bass for jazz bands throughout New York City. When Ace hides in his dad’s instrument case, he discovers how exciting a musician’s life can be, and Daddy Rat discovers that his offspring is a scat-singing jazz star in the making. A Publishers Weekly contributor predicted that “Crow’s hip ode to jazz … will sweep up its audience in its catchy beat,” while Teri Markson maintained in School Library Journal that “the text … jumps and jives and begs to be read aloud.” The Publishers Weekly critic also cited Mike Lester’s “kinetic cartoon art,” and Markson wrote that the book’s cartoon art boasts “the same humor and zing as the text.”
In Crow’s Bedtime at the Swamp, an imaginative little boy is pursued through the dark of night by something large and strange and swampy. The mix of “repetitive chorus” and “simple rhyming story … will draw readers in,” predicted School Library Journal critic Marian Creamer. Brought to life by Macky Pamintuan’s “bright, … expressive art,” Bedtime at the Swamp entertains active readers with its “rhythmic chant and rhymed text,” according to a Kirkus Reviews writer.
Christina Forshay takes on illustration duties in The Really Groovy Story of the Tortoise and the Hare, Crow’s upbeat take on an age-old tale. Hare loves the bustle of the city, where noise and distractions are everywhere, while Tortoise loves the quiet of the country life. Meeting at a country fair, the two begin their race, and the text alternates between slow and steady and quick and bouncy. In Kirkus Reviews a critic wrote that Crow’s story is energized by “a syncopated hip-hop swing that has built-in action for listening and reading aloud,” while Forshay’s colorful art features “a positive energy that oozes from each spread.” For C.J. Connor, writing in School Library Journal, The Really Groovy Story of the Tortoise and the Hare “adds new punch” to Aesop’s well-known fable due to its mix of “’70s references and slang” and colorful visual details.
Crow shares a cheery, opposites-attract parable in Hello, Hippo! Goodbye, Bird!, which features illustrations by Poly Bernatene. A determined bird’s friendly overtures are met with frost and disdain by the recalcitrant hippo, but the former’s steadfastness wears down the latter’s inhibitions. “Though unlikely-friendship tales are a dime a dozen, this humorous, fun-filled take is well worth a look,” asserted a Kirkus Reviews contributor, while School Library Journal Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst characterized Crow’s book as a light-hearted “discussion starter for children about how (and how not) to make friends.”
Crow’s picture book Zombelina proved so popular that is evolved into a series. As illustrated by artist Molly Idle, the irrepressible title character is undaunted by neither her lime-green pallor nor her status as one of the undead. Zombelina’s loving, supportive family includes a range of horror-film creatures, like her little brother the vampire. The affable young zombie finds her niche in ballet class, even though some of her barre-mates are taken aback by her ability to quite literally extend her limbs. Zombelina practices dutifully and ultimately conquers her stage fright with the help of many friends. “Crow’s rhyming text is ready-made for reading aloud,” opined Catherine Callegari in School Library Journal, and her imaginative story serves up “an unusually well-done mix of Halloween, dance, and family.” A writer for Kirkus Reviews recommended Zombelina as ideal to “share with any child who may need an example of what determination and practice can accomplish when applied to what one loves.”
In Zombelina Dances the Nutcracker, the ballet-class star earns a plum role in the December holiday classic and long rehearsal hours deepen the bond between Zombelina and her castmate and new best friend Lizzie. Amid the stresses of opening night, Zombelina is distracted from her worries by her ghostly, prank-playing grandfather. “Zombelina is an intriguing character,” declared a Kirkus Reviews writer, and a Publishers Weekly critic noted that “Crow’s rhymes offer a … blend of playfulness and gross-out humor.” In Horn Book Katie Bircher summarized Zombelina Dances the Nutcracker as “part Nutcracker primer, part supernatural comedy, … and an all-around bravura performance.” Zombelina also appears in Zombelina: School Days, and here Crow’s sweet-natured zombie heroine befriends a shy new classmate and convinces him to take part in a show-and-tell segment. A writer for Publishers Weekly was impressed by the way the story “balances its sappier moments with mischievous, gross-out ones” with the help of Idle’s artwork.
On her website, Crow offered encouragement to budding writers. “You have to decide: how serious am I about this quest? If you’re dead serious, then you’ve got to treat it like a career, instead of a hobby. You’ve got to study, attend writer’s conferences, schedule time to write, get into a critique group, and act like you’re wearing an ‘author’ hat. Find out where other writers are meeting and what they’re doing. Get in with the ‘in crowd’ of writing. There is a whole underworld you need to discover. Hone your craft by writing and revising a lot. Understand the product you’re trying to create, by reading lots of picture books regularly.
“I once read an interview from an editor who said that 80 percent of the manuscripts they received were written by people who had clearly not even looked at a recent picture book. You need to know your intended product very well. I think the biggest obstacle hopeful picture book authors face is their own misconception that writing for children is easy.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, April, 2011, Hope Morrison, review of The Really Groovy Story of the Tortoise and the Hare, p. 367; May, 2016, Jeannette Hulick, review of Hello, Hippo! Goodbye, Bird!, p. 460.
Horn Book, November-December, 2015, Katie Bircher, review of Zombelina Dances the Nutcracker, p. 55.
Horn Book Guide, spring, 2014, Katie L. Bircher, review of Zombelina, p. 25; fall, 2016, Rebecca Fox, review of Hello, Hippo! Goodbye, Bird!, p. 32.
Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2008, review of Cool Daddy Rat; July 1, 2008, review of Bedtime at the Swamp; February 1, 2011, review of The Really Groovy Story of the Tortoise and the Hare; August 1, 2012, review of Skeleton Cat; August 1, 2013, review of Zombelina; September 1, 2015, review of Zombelina Dances the Nutcracker; February 15, 2016, review of Hello, Hippo! Goodbye, Bird!
Publishers Weekly, March 17, 2008, review of Cool Daddy Rat, p. 68; September 14, 2015, review of Zombelina Dances, p. 76; May 15, 2017, review of Zombelina: School Days, p. 51.
School Library Journal, August, 2008, Marian Creamer, review of Bedtime at the Swamp, p. 86; April, 2008, Teri Markson, review of Cool Daddy Rat, p. 104; November, 2009, Ieva Bates, review of The Middle-Child Blues; February, 2011, C.J. Connor, review of The Really Groovy Story of the Tortoise and the Hare, p. 78; June, 2012, Martha Simpson, review of Skeleton Cat, p. 80; June, 2013, Catherine Callegari, review of Zombelina, p. 80; October, 2015, Virginia Walter, review of Zombelina Dances the Nutcracker, p. 62; February, 2016, Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, review of Hello, Hippo! Goodbye, Bird!, p. 62.
ONLINE
Kristyn Crow website, http://www.kristyncrow.com (May 31, 2017).*
Kristyn Crow, author of the ZOMBELINA series, loves to use rhythm, rhyme, and repetition to make reading snappy and fun. Her first book, COOL DADDY RAT (G.P. Putnam's Sons), received starred reviews and was named a "Blue Ribbon Book" for 2008 by the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. Other titles include BEDTIME AT THE SWAMP (HarperCollins), THE MIDDLE-CHILD BLUES (Putnam), SKELETON CAT (Scholastic), and HELLO, HIPPO! GOODBYE, BIRD! Kristyn enjoys visiting elementary schools, where she directs eager young readers in a "swamp rhythm symphony" using a variety of percussion instruments. She teaches rhythm in verse to help improve reading skills.
Kristyn is the mother of seven wonderfully creative children, and is married to a policeman, who doubles as a mad scientist/inventor.
KRISTYN CROW loves to use rhythm, rhyme, and repetition to make reading snappy and fun. Her first book, Cool Daddy Rat, received starred reviews and was named a Blue Ribbon Book by the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. Other titles include Bedtime at the Swamp, The Middle-Child Blues, and Skeleton Cat. Kristyn enjoys visiting elementary schools, where she directs eager young readers in a "swamp rhythm symphony" using a variety of percussion instruments. Kristyn is the mother of seven wonderfully creative children, and is married to a policeman, who doubles as a mad scientist/inventor. She lives in Layton, Utah.
www.kristyncrow.com
Writes: Books for 5-7, Humour
Author of : Zombelina School Days, Zombelina
Kristyn Crow
Author
Kristyn Crow is the mother of seven children who are as lively as the hare and determined as the tortoise. As a picture book author, she has received starred reviews and a blue ribbon from the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. Kristyn enjoys visiting elementary schools and using rhythm to inspire reluctant readers. It was her goal to rewrite this classic tale—a childhood favorite—with text that bounces and swings.
I was born “Kristyn Riley” in southern California, the first of seven children. As soon as I was able to understand what children’s books were, I knew I wanted to write them. I think I was implanted with a writing microchip. There was never any other career option. When I was in kindergarten I told my school teacher very confidently, “I want to be an author when I grow up.” She looked surprised and said, “Nobody your age has ever told me that.” At home I would feverishly make miniature “books” by stapling sheets of paper together, then writing stories and illustrating them.
As a young girl I liked to invent funny rhythms by shuffling and clunking my Sunday shoes on the kitchen floor. I would scuff and tap them to my own strange beat. I also liked to make serious songs funny by swapping ordinary words for sillier ones. So I suppose I’ve always enjoyed tinkering with language and rhythm.
As the oldest child in my family, I liked to convince my younger brothers and sisters that my stuffed dog could make candy appear out of thin air. All it took was a little distraction, and lightning-speed placement of the candy in my pocket. There’s a magician in me.
The dream of being an author followed me throughout my high school and college years. I took creative writing courses as often as I could and tried to become chummy with the instructors, hoping some inspiration would rub off. I was a creative writing junkie.
I’m married to a police officer, Steve, who occasionally pulls me over if he sees me driving down the road. Sometimes I purposely ignore his flashing lights. But then I wonder, “What if it’s not him?” so I go ahead and stop. It’s always him. When he approaches my window, I slowly drive forward so he has to walk faster. I’m sure that people passing me on the highway think they’re watching a fugitive from justice. We have a blended yours-mine-and-ours family of seven children who keep us very busy, and give me lots of things to write about!
Even while being a crazy frazzled mom, I continued to be controlled by the “I-must-write…I-must-write…” microchip.
So I began attending writers’ conferences. I was at a particular conference at a university, when I met an author who expressed interest in my work and recommended that I submit my manuscripts to his literary agent. With this author’s encouragement and my husband’s urging, I sent off a packet of my stories. Three months later the agent called, offering to sign me on as a client. A year later, I sold my first book. Two more books followed. My dream of being published was finally realized!
My hope is that something I have written will make you laugh, clap, tap, snap, stomp, pound, smile, gasp, jiggle your feet, wiggle in your seat, giggle to the beat, dream, imagine, listen, wonder, hum, drum, sing, or belch really loud. (Okay, maybe not belch really loud.)
How do you find time to write while raising seven children?
Writing is such an intense need for me that I can’t go without for too long. So I’m always looking for those rare moments of freedom to get my “fix.” I grab snatches of time whenever I can. Using a laptop has helped me to take my writing wherever I go, and also gives me the ability to relocate to areas of the house where my presence is needed. So I usually position myself in the center of the house, where I can write and direct traffic. I’ve had to develop a keen inner-filtering mechanism to sift out the noises of children as I write, while still being alert enough to referee kid squabbles. It’s like dividing my brain in two. My best work is usually done while the kids are away at school (when the house is quieter) or just after bedtime (when the house should be quieter, but often isn’t). I also have to discipline myself to know when enough is enough and I’ve got to quit writing for the day. My summers are my most productive months, because all but one of my children leave town, playing the very unfortunate game of musical houses.
How do you come up with your stories?
A whole lot of daydreaming and a little bit of luck. BEDTIME AT THE SWAMP almost seemed to write itself at first. I remember sitting down to the computer and composing a few images, and then the refrain sprang from nowhere onto the screen, like the swamp monster rising from the mist. My other stories started with a simple playful idea, usually attached to a rhythm, which I then had to build upon and repeatedly revise over and over again. My first drafts are usually snappy and fun but lacking a plot. I try to get away with that but eventually am told, “It needs more of a story.” So I have to go back and squeeze a plot into the meter I’ve already set up. It’s a grueling thing. COOL DADDY RAT was revised hundreds of times, shelved, and brought back for more revisions over a period of many years. First he was just a lonely rat, then I was told to add a girlfriend in. Then I took her out. Finally little “Ace” entered the story, and that’s when something really clicked. My first draft of COOL DADDY RAT was written more than ten years before its eventual publication. The text sounds so simple as a finished product that I’m sure people will assume I wrote it in five minutes while eating potato chips.
How can I get published?
I’m often surprised at how many people tell me, “I want to write children’s books, too.” For years I thought it was this strange obsession I had, but I’m quickly learning it’s something that lots of people think about. My first advice would be that if writing children’s books is a fleeting thought, or an idea that occasionally crosses your mind, it’s not likely to happen. Few people realize the fierce determination you really need to accomplish it. You’ve got to be willing to study the craft, write, get harsh criticism, revise, revise, revise, and get rejected. (And then do it all again. And again. And again.) Many people believe that writing for children is easy. But most of us are not celebrities with their connections. We’ve got to actually sell our manuscripts because the writing is good. That takes a whole lot of tedious, tiring work. It took me nearly twenty years to accomplish it.
However, if you’ve got the passion and you’re absolutely determined to do whatever it takes, take a look at my “Top 10 things a writer SHOULD do to publish a children’s book”
Do you write blogs for Families.com?
I do. Since I have a few children with chronic illnesses and one with autistic disorder, I wanted to use my writing in a way that could benefit other parents. I remember years ago being a lonely young mother, searching the internet for answers and advice. Perhaps my experiences and what I’ve learned can be now be a resource for other parents who are just starting their special needs parenting journey. I don’t claim to be an expert but I’ve tried to do my research. I have to crank out those blogs rather quickly, and it pains me to think there may be errors I missed that are now out there for the entire world to see. Yet I’ll put aside my compulsive tendencies for the sake of trying to do some good. If I can provide hope to at least one parent who is feeling overwhelmed, I’ll know the blogging has been worth it. http://special-needs.families.com/blog
Why do you write in Rhyme?
My father loves to write rhyming poetry and has always been quite good at it. I think he bred that tight-ticking meter in me. When I was a child, he would recite poems like “The Jabberwocky” in a way that was totally captivating.
I remember attending a writer’s conference as an unpublished writer, toting a funny little rhyming manuscript around about a rat in the city. An editor was there from a big publishing house, and she spoke to our group of hopeful writers. “Do not send rhyme,” she said. “I don’t like to see rhyming stories.” Other editors, in online interviews and articles had dittoed the same plea. “No rhyme, please.” So I felt pretty hopeless. I did have a bunch of stories written which weren’t in rhyme, but something told me this rhyming manuscript was good. I figured, I’ll just show it around and see what happens. Well, that same visiting editor at the conference took a look at it, and ended up asking me if she could take it back to New York with her. Huh? But this was a rhyming story, and she had just denounced rhyme a few hours earlier! I sold that manuscript, and then two other rhyming stories since. And I’m seeing a lot of books in rhyme on the shelves. I think the reason that editors may not want rhyme is because there is a lot of cheesy, predictable, silly rhyme out there. Editors probably get piles of manuscripts in rhyme that make their eyes roll. If you’re going to write in rhyme, it’s got to be snappy, fresh, and interesting.
What’s the greatest advice you could give to hopeful writers?
I would say that you have to decide: how serious am I about this quest? If you’re dead serious, then you’ve got to treat it like a career, instead of a hobby. You’ve got to study, attend writer’s conferences, schedule time to write, get into a critique group, and act like you’re wearing an “author” hat. Find out where other writers are meeting and what they’re doing. Get in with the “in” crowd of writing. There is a whole underworld you need to discover. Hone your craft, by writing and revising a lot. Understand the product you’re trying to create, by reading lots of picture books regularly. I once read an interview from an editor who said that 80 percent of the manuscripts they received were written by people who had clearly not even looked at a recent picture book. You need to know your intended product very well. I think the biggest obstacle hopeful picture book authors face is their own misconception that writing for children is easy.
What do you think about celebrity children’s books?
The problem I have with celebrity children’s books is that the focus seems to be more commercial than literary. I would hate to see the picture book industry become so overrun by commercialism that good literature no longer matters. I believe the author’s name should never become more important than the story itself. My hope is that parents are selecting books for their kids based on the quality of the story and how appealing it is for their children, rather than merely because a movie or rock star wrote it.
What has surprised you the most about the picture book industry?
Without question, it’s the incredible amount of time it takes to get a book published. After selling your manuscript (which could easily take years of revisions and education) you’ll wait nearly a year for an illustrator to be selected. Then you’ll wait another year—at least– for those illustrations to be completed. Then after they’re finished, you’ll wait another year for the printing to get done. In most cases you’ll wait a minimum of three years from the manuscript sale to seeing your book on the shelves—but probably even longer. Picture books are typically printed in China and shipped by boat back to the United States. It’s an incredibly long process.
Crow, Kristyn ALL ABOARD THE MOONLIGHT TRAIN Doubleday (Children's Fiction) $17.99 3, 31 ISBN: 978-0-525-64543-6
Not sleepy? Then grab your ticket to the ride of a lifetime.
Young railroad enthusiasts with a reluctance for bedtime will heartily embrace this gentle trip on the ultimate animal train line. A small, Asian-presenting child reaches from a locomotive-shaped bed to snatch a ticket from the air, which spirits them to a train where "wild things await," quite literally. Whether it's the toucan ticket taker, the elephant working the engines, or the warthog waiters in the dining car, there's something to enjoy around every corner. And after all the delights have been sampled, the train drops the child off, safe and sound, at home with a final "Good night, good night, Moonlight Train!" Won infuses her art with lighthearted, luminous energy. There is the titular moonlight, certainly, but also starlight, the light of hot coals, and cozy interior lamplight. Sharp-eyed spotters will enjoy finding the animals strewn about the child's bedroom that show up on the train and its line at various times. Rhyming text maintains a regular rhythm in keeping with a chugging nighttime train. Every four-line stanza, with the exception of the last, ends with the call "All aboard the Moonlight Train!"--and sleepytime readers will be hankering to obey.
Part zoo, part train, all bedtime. (Picture book. 2-5)
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"Crow, Kristyn: ALL ABOARD THE MOONLIGHT TRAIN." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Jan. 2020. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A611140218/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=88105835. Accessed 25 Feb. 2020.