One of the sessions I attended at SCBWI-LA was on “First Pages,” or what some of us call, “the hook.” Three YA books were recommended as examples of great first 500 words: 

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Chime by Franny Billingsley

I’ll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan 

Los Angeles

Author Nathan Branford’s blog, “Five openings to avoid,” offers tips on how not to start your first pages. On his post, he writes: “I am saying that you should think once, twice, and five thousand times about using these.” So take a look.

Here’s a treat if you want to take a peek at the Spring 2012 children’s books posted by Publishers Weekly.

“Search through your childhood memories and rediscover what it felt like to live in the world of a child; the joys, the fears, and the dreams.” — Audrey Wood