Math Adventure Submissions for charlesbridge Publishing

I got these guidelines from Randi Rivers today. They are not posted on the Charlesbridge Publishing Website. So all you picture book writers...get busy writing picture book with math themes!

Cheers,
Sharon

Charlesbridge Publishing
Math Adventure Guidelines

We are currently looking for stories involving the “big ideas” of math. Stories should be non-rhyming, thirty-two-page picture books, or two thousand to three thousand words for children to read independently at ages 8–12.

The Story
The story should work on its own because of its characters, humor, and/or fascinating story line. It should be as appealing and engaging as any good, non-mathematical story.

Along these lines, the characters must be believable and well-developed. The main character, preferably a kid, should be someone readers can understand and care about.

As in any good story, there should be a central problem or conflict—one that matters to both characters and readers. The strongest problems are those that the main character needs to solve for personal reasons.

The Math Concept
Just because “the math concept” has been given its own section, don’t let that fool you! The math concept must be integrated with the story concept; it needs to be a natural part of the main character’s discovery as he or she tries to achieve the goal or solve the problem at the core of the story. A series of word problems or computation problems is not interesting.

No one should be doing calculations in the story, or giving lectures about math. Solving the problem should require an understanding of a math concept. We want the story to be on a conceptual level.

Some of the concepts that interest us are proportion, size, length, area, probability, sequence and change, logic and proof, tessellations, hierarchical reasoning, spatial reasoning, and dot patterns. In general, we are interested in mathematical thinking.

This mathematical concept needs a human element. Readers understand better when the emphasis is on the discovery of the concept.

Last but not least, the concept ought to be used in an exciting or playful way. Math is fun. Humor helps!

We do not accept electronic submissions. Manuscripts should be sent via standard mail. Include a SASE with sufficient postage if you want your manuscript returned. Submissions should be sent to: Math Adventure Editor, Charlesbridge Publishing, 85 Main Street, Watertown, MA 02472.