Author Leda Schubert and her P.B.B.

Despite how it sounds, the P.B.B. is not a sandwich! It is the abbreviation used by Leda Schubert during her keynote at the 2014 Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival to describe the "picture book biography." This was just the first piece of valuable advice shared by the author of Monsieur Marceau, a picture book biography about the famous mime. Just take a look at one page of my scribbled notes.

Leda not only informed her audience, she inspired us. It was easy to relate to her as she described her life. Her writing desk is the kitchen table and when guests come to dinner, she just shoves everything to one end. You’ve got to love that! She explained how she embraces the simplicity of her community and daily routine. And she made affectionate jabs at her husband who was in the audience.

Leda emphasized the importance of being honest and truthful with facts when telling stories about a person’s life. She believes that leaving out facts is as misleading as inventing them. Her example was Rosa Parks. She shared fascinating details about this Civil Rights leader that are critical to her story but often missing from the P.B.B.s written about her.

The most inspiring moment for me was when Leda explained the significance of the first sentence in a picture book biography. “The first line sets the tone,” she said. “In the first line, the author is making a promise to the reader.” Wow!

Take a look at books by Leda Schubert. You will see she is an author who definitely keeps her promise. 

Monsieur Marceau 

Other titles by Leda Schubert:

Ballet of the Elephants

The Princess of Borscht 

Feeding the Sheep 

Reading to Peanut 

Herre Comes Darrell 

Winnie All Day Long: Brand New Readers 

Winnie Plays Ball: Brand New Readers