Life gives Diamondhead author ‘Lemon Trees and Bumblebees’ | Cecily Cummings, SunHerald.com

Quotations about the writing process of author Diane Sherrouse of Diamondhead, Mississppi, about her first digital book, Lemon Trees and Bumblebees. Her book explains the process of pollination to children [emphasis added].

As I’m there on the ground, recording this rhythm, the title and first lines of my book write themselves. These little buzzers are just being greedy in slurping up nectar to feed themselves and their colony, but they’re really doing us a huge favor. This seems magical, the more I think about it.

“Most children really have no idea how they get the foods they love or how much science is involved in things we take for granted daily,” Sherrouse said, adding she really wanted to write a book to help kids understand that concept.

Above all, it had to be fun. If it would appeal to the natural curiosity of children and make them ask questions, it would meet my goal.

Little details in the illustrations ideally tell as much of the story as the words themselves. Images and text in any children’s book should be as symbiotic as the relationship of bees and lemon trees in this story. 

For more information, check out Garbl's Writing Process Links. It's  an annotated directory of websites that can help you follow the steps in the writing process, such as prewriting, research, drafting, editing, revising, proofreading and publishing.