Cover idea, B&W dummy, and Proposal for
A-MAZE-ING AIRPORT ADVENTURE
interactive STEM game book.
|
Click on icon on the right for full 32-page B&W dummy
|
| ||
|
For pdf of Airport book Proposal, click icon on right (or read below):
|
| ||
PROPOSAL
A-MAZE-ING AIRPORT ADVENTURE
A 32-page full color nonfiction STEM picture book for ages 5-10.
A child's introduction to an airport and flight travel - following the various procedures before taking off. The format is interactive. A child goes through the maze that is an airport adventure (ever been to JFK or Heathrow?), and is also playing a seek-n-find/vocabulary game. The book shows the step-by-step activities, sequentially, that one goes through to fly out of a big airport.
Simple instructions for the game elements are on the title page; individual "scavenger hunt"-type directions and items to look for are on each spread. Each spread that follows (using a maze as a device) depicts a necessary element (or procedure) at the airport that one goes through when you depart on a flight, with the subject in caps or bolded in the text:
- The trip to the AIRPORT
- Arriving at DEPARTURES
- CHECK IN and baggage drop
- Going through SECURITY
- FOOD COURT & SHOPS
- Getting to your TERMINAL
- Finding the GATE
- Locating your seat on the AIRPLANE
- Taxiing to the RUNWAY
- UP, UP, AND AWAY!
Each spread is a maze with seek-n-find items, most of which relate to the subject on the page. In a narrow panel (text on a colored background) along the bottom of each spread are the instructions on how to navigate the maze (with the name of the area or subject, in caps above, highlighted or bolded), and a list of things to find (see Mazeways: A to Z and Maze Play for similar layouts).
Regarding the seek-n-find game, in many of my maze books there is a recurring item to find in each spread (examples: Maze Play/penguin; Circus/Fred the dog; Doors/apple; Amazement Park/Mrs. McCourt's class; ABCity/boy w/dog; Inside-Outside Libraries/my & friends titles are hidden on shelves in various libraries). I can add the book (cover) visual in each spread in this book: on a billboard; stacked on a pile of luggage; on the side of a delivery truck; in the airport bookstore; in an xray bin on conveyer belt in Security; being read by a child seated in cabin; on a counter top, etc). Children love discovery.
As in all of my eight published maze books, the back matter contains the "answers" - the maze path in one color (red) and the items to be named and found circled in another color (purple). In addition, there is a paragraph (to come) giving more information - defining and explaining each airport maze spread subject (like what "checking in" is; what happens at security; what taxiways and runways are and how they are numbered; what air traffic control towers do, etc).
Note:
Working with mazes helps children with focus, visual discrimination, and concentration, decision-making and critical thinking skills, planning ahead, judging spatial relationships (including map reading), practicing revision, and fine motor skills (maneuvering through mazes helps children’s handwriting). As reviewers have mentioned, my maze books are great for sharing with a friend, and gives children a wonderful opportunity to slow down, learn to focus, test their patience, turn away from screens, and hone visual-discrimination skills. Maze books are particularly suited to boys, reluctant readers, and special needs children. And they're fun!
Marketing:
The few airport books for children on Amazon are selling well, but most are simple and cartoon-y, without substantive or updated info. In addition to being STEM, nonfiction/informational, and interactive, this book has games. Great for airlines to hand out or to be sold in airport book stores. It would fit nicely into school lesson plans on transportation, as well as, of course, many STEM-related activities involving math, engineering, building, aviation, design, and more.
I will create a 1- to 2-minute video trailer (which would be premiered on KidLit TV, put on YouTube where I have a channel, and put in my email signature). All of my video book trailers have been featured on Shelf Awareness. I make bookmarks, and will create a dedicated webpage on my site with reviews, images, free pdf printouts (for coloring, solving the maze, and playing the seek-n-find game), and more. I also have an author webpage on Amazon and one on Publishers Marketplace. I send out a quarterly newsletter to 2,000 people, mainly media, librarians & teachers, reviewers, and publishing professionals. I am active on social media with lots of followers (Threads, X/Twitter, Linked In, Pinterest, Facebook [4 pages], and Instagram). I speak at conferences, appear at book festivals, do school visits, and am on the Advisory Board of KidLit TV.
Included:
B&W dummy
Suggested cover concept