Cover Reveal: This is Not a Sleepy Bear Book!
- Brian Gehrlein
- Apr 23
- 8 min read
BEHOLD THE COVER! IT HAS BEEN REVEALED.
Happy Wednesday, and welcome to Picture Book Spotlight!
Wow, it felt good to write that. It's been a minute, kidlit fam. It has been a minute. Where have you been, Brian? What have you been doing? Did Dennis eat you? All valid questions. The short answer is that I have been a very busy boy. Being a husband and father, a full-time high school English teacher, and a children's author is...a lot.
In the interim between my last post and now, I have been keeping small humans alive, writing new work, running my picture book story coaching service, keeping Dennis from eating children, prepping for my second book's launch, landing a third picture book deal, and helping teenagers not hate Shakespeare.
I am tired.
But, I'm not too tired to rally for this exciting day. In about seven months, Jenn Harney and I will finally see Owl and Bear out in the world!
If you're new here, in my path to publication, I received 600 rejections before getting my first agent, and through all of that, somehow wound up with an at-auction, "big five" picture book deal for my debut, THE BOOK OF RULES. And then I got another, and another...
These things still happen.
I fundamentally believe they still do and can happen for you, too. I fundamentally believe you're perpetually one yes away from a life-changing moment. If you asked me eight years ago what my life would look like now, the day I sent my first query to Pippin Properties in January of 2017, I'd probably laugh in your face.
And yet...
Even in the face of imposter syndrome, omnipresent self-doubt, and so, so, so much waiting...I fundamentally believe that if we just show up and keep moving forward, one day we will look back and laugh for a different reason. How did we even get here? That's how it feels right now.
I don't know where you're at in your picture book authoring journey, but I want to encourage you. Perseverance is magic. Revision is magic. Collaboration is magic. You are not alone. Your stories and voice do matter.
Do. Not. Give. Up.
When I was brainstorming creative ways to do our cover reveal, I got really into the idea of a long-form video conversation with Jenn, where we just lift the veil and talk about the book and our process, and everything in between. An organic exploration of learning more about the work we shared together, and yet largely experienced in isolation. Rewatching this video, I'm so glad she said yes! Because this might have been the most fun I've ever had and one of the most authentic times I actually felt like "a real author." There are just too many times when it doesn't feel real, or it's just so disconnected from my day-to-day reality that the hour-long chat was like water to parched lips. I learned so much and was reenergized to anticipate this book's arrival. Getting to talk with Jenn was just pure joy. We got to speak for about 30 minutes before and after the recorded conversation, and even then it didn't feel long enough to talk about everything. It was clear we both needed it, and we hope our joy is contagious.
Before we get to the video, I did want to share some updates, announcements, and thank a few special people who also have cause to celebrate this next book.
First things first, I recently found out that THE BOOK OF RULES officially earned out its advance after three-and-a-half years, and my family was blessed to receive our first royalty check! THANK YOU to everyone who has been on team Dennis and brought this book into your homes, schools, and libraries. Thank you for the reviews, pictures, and kind words over the years. I could not have achieved this without your support. Seeing sales pick up with each new back-to-school season has been mesmerizing, to say the least. Tom Knight and I are still getting our own sillies out over this news...hopefully we don't get eaten!
In other news, I recently signed my third picture book deal! I am over the MOON about this book. It is without a doubt the weirdest book I've ever written. And, yes...it has WOLVES! There are some more unknowns to be ironed out, such as who will illustrate it and when its publication date will be. However, I can share that it is through Dial Books for Young Readers. And the editor did DRAGONS LOVE TACOS. Umm...what!? Just...how!? I'm honestly still in shock. Stay tuned for more as things develop!
For now, just know that this book has wolves...copious amounts of wolves. More wolves than there probably should be in a picture book. And many more hats...
Since we're celebrating the cover reveal of THIS IS NOT A SLEEPY BEAR BOOK, I'd love to invite you to pre-order a signed copy through my local bookstore in Kansas City, Learning Tree Books and Toys. This is my official bookstore partner, and I think it's so important to support small businesses. Yes, you can order it from ALL THE PLACES online, but this is the only place to get a signed copy.
When pre-ordering, please select "more details" before checkout so that you can give signing instructions. When the book publishes in November, you'll get your signed copy in the mail!
I'd love to make your copy of THIS IS NOT A SLEEPY BEAR BOOK special for someone in your life! Thank you for supporting small businesses like The Learning Tree Books and Toys and for being part of our pre-sale campaign!
Speaking of one such other place online, today through Friday, Barnes & Noble is having a huge sale on books coming out soon. Premium & Rewards Members Save 25% Off Upcoming Books With Code: PREORDER25
This sale ends 4/25.
Finally, my picture book story coaching service has been keeping me very busy, but apparently not busy enough! Today, I'm happy to announce that I'm expanding with some new offerings. Picture book authors interested in visiting with me for a 30-minute Zoom author consultation can now register. This is not a manuscript critique but an "ask author anything" opportunity where I can assist and encourage you on your path to publication. We can talk about whatever you'd like! Check it out: Author Consultations
Since launching my critique service, I've worked with hundreds of authors, many of whom are repeat clients. To make multiple Zoom critiques more affordable and have something more focused on mentoring picture book authors, I'm launching a Picture Book Mentorship service. Let's collaborate--I'd love to be part of your story!
And now some thank yous.
To begin, congratulations! Thank you so much to the amazingly talented illustrator Jenn Harney for making such a beautiful, wild, and hilarious book, and for your energy and enthusiasm with all our shenanigans behind the scenes. Thanks for bringing Owl and Bear to life in ways I never imagined. To many more adventures! To many more "fedorable" snakes!
Thank you, Senior Agent Jennifer Mattson of Andrea Brown Literary Agency. This was our first book together, and I am eternally grateful for your taking a chance on me. Thank you for corralling my chaos and seeing something even in my strangest ideas. Thank you for saying YES!
Thank you to our Little, Brown family! A special thank you to editor Andrea Spooner for buying this picture book and for your vision to make it far better than when it first appeared in your inbox. I've learned so much through creating this book, and I'm so appreciative of your care and guidance through each step of this process.
Thank you to the editorial team at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Your thumbprints and creativity are forever infused within these pages. Shout-outs to Assistant Editor Milena Blue Spruce, Designer Angelie Yap, Production Supervisor Lillian Sun, Production Editor Esther Reisberg, the Little, Brown Publicity & Marketing team, and our other Hachette Reading Group collaborators and champions! It takes a village to get books into the hands of kids.
And most importantly, thank you to my wife, Katherine, to whom this book is dedicated. I cannot do any of this silliness without you (life or writing). None of my books would exist without your constant love and support. I'm especially thankful for your reminder that characters should be asleep at the end of picture books. Spoiler alert? We'll see!
Without further ado...lights fade to black. Open the curtain. Cue the spotlight.
You may now proceed below to the hour and 20 minutes of pure picture-book-craft-talk-delight. Enjoy!
Wow! You watched that WHOLE THING!? You must really like picture books...or you're my mom (hi, Mom!).
Hopefully you watched from the energizing motion of a treadmill, or while doing a large amount of dishes, or from a big, comfy chair in a cozy nook. Yeah, let's go with a nook. I hope you were in a picture book nook while wearing a stylish cardigan. You look great in a cardigan. Did you take notes? Did anything surprise you? Aren't Brian and Jenn just so completey goofy and perfectly matched to share this phenomenal new book!? You said it, not me.
In all seriousness, Jenn and I sincerely hope you enjoyed watching that as much as we enjoyed making it! I'm thrilled to share this book with her and cannot wait to see what the future holds for other collaborations.
Doing this sort of craft talk in a long-form video format was really stimulating, and I can definitely see myself creating more content like this down the road. My wheels are spinning! My hope is that it was instructive and inspiring for you to think about your manuscripts and better appreciate all the people who create picture books. This thing we do is nothing short of magic. Get out there and share your stories--we need your voice!
Thank you again so much for reading this post and listening to us talk shop about THIS IS NOT A SLEEPY BEAR BOOK. We cannot wait for you to meet Owl and Bear this November!
And now for a giveaway announcement!
To pass along my gratitude for your stopping by this strange corner of the internet, I am giving away a 30-minute Zoom Consultation to THREE picture book authors! I'd love to be part of your story and share anything that might be helpful in your path to publication. For a chance to win and toss your name in the raffle, see details below.
TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:
✅ Subscribe to Picture Book Spotlight
✅ Share this post on social media using the hashtag: #PBSpotlight
Follows and tags are appreciated so I don't miss your sharing!
AND
✅ Comment on the post below!
***The deadline for this contest is Wednesday, May 7th at 9 AM CST
Winners will be contacted on Wednesday, May 7th & announced on Brian's social media channels***
Jennifer Harney is the illustrator of How Dinosaurs Went Extinct by Amy Dyckman and many other books for children. She also wrote and illustrated Underwear! and Swim, Duck, Swim! Jenn lives near Cleveland, Ohio in a house full of people, and a corgi named Steve. Jenn invites you to follow her online at @jennharknee.
Brian Gehrlein is a human man who writes biographies for a living. Not the kind you can buy in a store or check out from a library. No, not those biographies. The ones Brian writes are at the end of his blog posts, which typically tell you zero things about him. They are anti-bios. If you want to learn more about Brian, you can Google him. Okay, don't Google him that's just weird. Brian writes picture books. He has a family. He has a corgi (which Jenn also has!). He mows his lawn. He eats food and drinks coffee. When he wakes up, sometimes his feet still hurt from the day before. I guess that's part of being 37. Brian invites you to stop reading this facetious bio and do something noteworthy with your time. Like make a snack. You want a snack now. This is subliminal advertising. You want to eat a snack and buy Brian's picture books and leave five-star reviews. You want to tell elementary school teachers about him and that one friend who has all those kids. You want water. You are thirsty. You want an emoji code. Remember those? Yes, an emoji code. Subscribers of old will know what that means. The hidden emoji code is water. Toss a water emoji on the social media sharing of this post for three times the raffle entries! That is all. Go hydrate.
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