Good News and Bad News

By the author, Jim Doti

Since my last post more than five weeks ago, not much has changed.  Lisa and I are still waiting and doing our best to be patient through additional problems and delays in the publication of our book. 

The most significant hurdle was the physical proof, which we expected to be the last step before the books went to print.  Since Mill City’s electronic proof looked good, we didn’t anticipate any problems.  But when the physical proof arrived from the printer, all of Lisa’s soft, watercolor illustrations had somehow become bold, harsh and tinted with green.  To resolve the problem, we printed hard copies of the scans of Lisa’s original paintings and sent them to Mill City with a request that they work with the printer on “color matching.”  We then had to wait for a second physical proof.  Thankfully, this time around they got it right.

Finally, we received our publication date from Mill City.  To determine this date, they allow 20 to 30 days for printing and then one to two additional weeks for retailers to stock the book.  The date they gave us was our biggest disappointment so far:  January 1, 2013.

The moral to all aspiring children’s book writers following our blog:  It will always take longer than you think.

Our spirits were lifted, at least somewhat, when we received the following Kirkus review for our book.  Now, if we could just get Jimmy Finds His Voice into stores.

In this touching autobiographical picture book, a young boy discovers that enthusiasm can trump his speech impediment.

First-grader Jimmy interchanges some of his consonants, so that he doesn’t say his “worbs wight.” Opening with a letter from the author describing his experiences with bullying as a child, this charming tale centers on how he learns to overcome his fear of speaking around his peers. Both his mother and his teacher, Mrs. Lyons, are sympathetic, and they do their best to help Jimmy cope. When Mrs. Lyons tells the students they’ll be performing in a play, Jimmy is horrified; the other kids are sure he won’t be able to manage his lines. Eventually, Mrs. Lyons convinces Jimmy, the earnest young hero, that if he can say his lines with “verve,” his pronunciation won’t get in the way of delivering the message. Once he realizes how delivery can impact how words are heard, he finds the courage to stand on stage and say his lines—and finds himself accepted by his classmates. Doti (A Christmas Adventure in Little Italy, 2010) also includes a recipe for meat pies, as cooked by Jimmy’s nonna. Though the text is lengthy for a first-grade picture book, and there’s a distracting shift from present to past tense as Mrs. Lyons shares the story behind the play, the illustrations by Mertins are wholly appealing. Their soft, watercolor tones capture both Jimmy’s fears and his eventual triumph. In a comforting color palette, Doti’s childhood school is happily depicted as populated by a variety of ethnicities, despite the 1950s era implied by the children’s clothing. Notwithstanding the presence of school bullies, there’s little here that will make readers feel threatened. Although the story doesn’t deal with Jimmy overcoming the teasing, his discovery of self-confidence is a valuable lesson on its own and one that young readers will appreciate. Parents may find this book useful for discussing issues of shyness or speech problems with their own children.

A charming story with delightful pictures ideal for reading together.