Experiment #12 The Dreaded Query

From: Delaren Siverson

To: Jane Dough

Subject: Query: “If You Just Got To Know Me”

Dear Ms. Dough,

             We met at the Santa Barbara Writer's Conference last summer, and you informed me that you were very interested in reading a book about children learning to get along.  If You Just Got To Know Me is my attempt at that endeavor.

 It’s tough being a kid.  But it’s even harder when you’re different and nobody understands why.  If You Just Got To Know Me is a short 724 word, fully illustrated children’s book that deals with the struggles of being a kid.  From being teased for being a Mr. Know It All to never getting picked for a team because you have two left feet, If You Just Got To Know Me is a book for children who are considered different, children who, like all of us, want most of all to be understood and accepted. We are all 'other' in some way, but it is that otherness that gives life color; if only we would take the time to look beyond the superficial.  Because when we do we may discover that we have more in common than we realized, and through that journey we might even find a friend.

               My name is Delaren Siverson, and this is my story. It is your story.  It is every child that has ever lived story, and I was thrilled to write it in the hope that it will help bridge those rifts we create as children and teach us to accept one another.  If You Just Got To Know Me is the first of two books similar to Shane Derolf’s, The Crayon Box That Talked, The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi, and Chocolate Milk, Por Favor, by Maria Dismonde that inspires readers to look beyond the surface and discover we are all inherently the same.

Thank you for taking the time to read my query and I hope to hear from you very soon.

Sincerely,

Delaren Siverson