Book Birthday Blog with Baxter Bramatti

Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog! 

Where we celebrate new books by Michigan's children's book authors and illustrators

Congratulations to Baxter Bramatti on the release of his book, Moon Puppets!

Congratulations on your debut book, Moon Puppets! What inspired this story? 

Thank you! My dad inspired the story. When I was kid and we'd lose power during a thunderstorm at night, my dad used to make shadow puppets with his flashlight. He would shine the flashlight directly above me and light up the ceiling. Then he’d lower his hand over it and speak in a deep, scary voice. As his hand dropped closer to the light, the shadow of his hand would get bigger and look as if a giant hand was lowering and trying to pick me up. I mean, it’s a dad joke, something every dad does I’m sure. But the image of him doing that stuck with me. Then one day, many years ago, I was gazing at one of those super harvest moons that hover just above the horizon. I started to imagine what it would look like if a shadow of a hand started out small but then gradually increased to cover the moon in its entirety, making the moon disappear. Perhaps there was the potential for a much darker, creepier story than Moon Puppets, but eventually I turned the idea into a rhyming poem about a girl who wants to make a shadow puppet show for the whole world to see.

This picture book was definitely a labor of love and time! You started Moon Puppet’s first draft eighteen years ago. Can you tell us a little bit about your journey from there to now?

That’s right. Eighteen years ago I completed the first draft of Moon Puppets and I never stopped thinking about it. The moon itself was a constant reminder of the work and story I wanted to share. I always knew that I’d find a way to release it into the world, just like the story’s protagonist, Flora, finds a way to see her dreams come true. I figured if I created Flora with imaginative qualities and the drive to see her goals reached, and I thought those were good characteristics that I wanted to put out there to inspire young readers, then I should learn from her and find a way to make my dreams come true as well. But, the hardest part for me was the art. I can’t draw. Well, I can’t draw anything that would be appealing in a picture book. So most of the eighteen years was taken up by me thinking about the book and wondering who to contact or how to complete the project, and then telling myself that maybe it’s not worth the time, effort, and other resources. Even though it is; it’s totally worth it. And I’d also tell myself that, too. So basically, I had an internal argument about the project for eighteen years. In the end though, I won. Not that it’s about winning (I tell myself that so myself feels better about the outcome). 

What was your inspiration or motivation to write picture books?

Other picture books are a motivation. I’ve always been fascinated by well-written, well-executed picture books. Picture book authors have very little time to grab their target audience’s attention (with words or pictures), and they have to get their message across clearly. I also like to write fun stories for the sake of them being fun. I know there’s plenty of heavy topics these days to write about. It’s necessary to write about them, and I’m so glad there’s people that do just that and do it well. But at the same time, kids are kids. Sometimes they simply need to hear a story or be inspired about a girl that projects shadows on the moon with her hands. Also, my children motivate me, although perhaps not to write Moon Puppets, since that was done over ten years before my first child was born. But my kids definitely inspired me to follow through with the story, create more, and reach for my dreams because that’s exactly what I tell them to do.

Moon Puppets is a self-published picture book. Why did you decide to take the self-publishing route?

There came a time when I realized that I had to get Flora’s story out there. I queried countless agents and publishers off and on throughout the last eighteen years. I even attended a few writer workshops and pitched the story directly to agents. I was never successful in landing an agent or publisher. I kept telling myself that the story I had was good enough and that one day I would publish it if no one else would. Then eighteen years passed. And I got older. And my children, although still young enough now to enjoy picture books, got older, too. I thought what am I waiting for? At what age do I no longer wait for something to happen and simply make it myself? I met the illustrator, Taylor Graham, around the same time I decided to just go for it, which I felt was serendipitous rather than simply happenstance. If I waited eighteen more years I’d be even older and I might not be as determined to see the project through. I’m glad I didn’t wait longer, I’m proud of the finished product and I learned a lot (with plenty more to learn still) about the publishing and self-publishing industry. At the end, holding the finished product, my book, in my hands after dreaming about the day for almost two decades was extremely satisfying.

How did you get in contact with artist Taylor Graham? What advice would you give to an author who’s self-publishing and looking for an illustrator? 

How do you get into contact with anyone these days? It’s a classic story of boy-uses-internet-to-awkwardly-ask-boy-a-question. After that, our relationship progressed quickly and about nine months after our initial meeting, we were holding our precious creation, our book, in our hands. My advice to other self-publishing authors is to find an illustrator whose style and work you admire. Don’t settle for something based on price or ease; the art and images are part of your story so get what you want. I hear writers say things like “write for you first” and I think that carries over in selecting an illustrator: write for you and present your story with art for you as well.

You wrote Moon Puppets in rhyme! Why did you chose that style of writing for this story? Do you usually like to write in rhyme, or was this newer for you? 

I do like to write in rhyme. I feel like it fits together like a puzzle. Some writers find it restrictive because there are rules, but I find the rules challenging, yet freeing in a way. If I need an extra syllable, I can swap a two syllable word for a three syllable word, or if I need to, maybe throw in the passive voice and, voila, the beat goes on. Doing that for prose might be considered “bad writing.” During my eighteen-year-long argument with myself I came across a lot of writing advice that said writing picture books in rhyme was a big no-no unless your name was Dr. Seuss. Discouraged, I rewrote the story a few times in prose, but it just wasn’t the same and never felt as fun. Then it came back to that “write for you” idea, and I knew the story was always meant to be in rhyme. It was always meant to be a fantasy poem about an ordinary girl doing something extraordinary.

Do you have anything in the works? Any future projects or plans? How can readers learn more about you and your work?

Yes, of course! I’m working on more of Flora’s fantastical stories. Her second story is complete (I only sat on that one for six years), and Taylor is going to begin working on the illustrations for it soon. I like to think of Flora as a girl who is surrounded by this sort of fantastical environment and wonderful things happen to her or she finds she’s capable of doing some extraordinary things. It’s kind of a Bobby’s World situation where she acts out her fantasies, but for her it’s possible that it all might not be in her imagination. 

I also have a Middle Grade magical realism manuscript about a unicorn struggling with his own identity and a genre-blending Young Adult manuscript that contrasts the life of an Italian immigrant with that of his grandson. Both manuscripts are completed (minus some final stage editing), as well as a few more picture books (in poetry and prose) that I’m working on.

Readers can learn more about me and my work by visiting my website, www.baxterbramatti.com, or by following (and interacting!) with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @BBramatti.

A little bit about the book:

Flora wants to cast shadows on the moon using light from the sun. But can she stretch her arms up high enough to see her dreams come true? Flora will have to combine her imagination and determination to create the most fantastic shadow puppet show the world has ever seen!

A little bit about the author:

Baxter B. Bramatti lives in Michigan with his loving wife and their two daughters. He spends most of his time writing, dreaming, scheming, and eating. He does laundry, too, because food stains are natural consequences of his eating. If you would like to see what Baxter is working on, you can check out his latest projects from a safe distance (so he can't drip food juice on your shirt) by visiting www.baxterbramatti.com or twittering @BBramatti.