Book Trailer Premiere: Maybe a Fox by Kathi Appelt and Alison McGhee

Happy Monday! I am turning over my blog for the day to Laurel Kathleen. She helped create the book trailer for Kathi Appelt and Alison McGhee's Maybe a Fox. Thank you, Laurel! 

We are a two-person production team that combines original music, voiceover, and footage to create book trailers (botras) for authors. Book trailers are like movie trailers are like music videos: each provides a vivid snapshot of the longer piece of work to come. 

Typically we each read the book and then discuss which events and characters stand out the most. The strongest characters and plot points evoke strong imagery, which we portray using the book’s illustrations or stock images/film footage. We combine the images with original music and voiceover with the intent of evoking the mood of the book. 

In the case of MAYBE A FOX, we were struck by its dreamy, almost magical quality: things aren’t always what they seem and everything can change in an instant. We both related to the strong, multi-layered bond between the sisters and wanted to emphasize that connection. Besides Kathi (who encouraged us to start this enterprise), we’ve worked with authors like Uma Krishnaswami, Susan Fletcher, and Lindsey Lane, and have featured illustrations from Joy Fisher Hein, Jill McElmurry, Rob Dunlavy, and Marc Rosenthal. What we love most about making these botras is that every story is completely different, but each requires us to draw on all of our skills and passions to bring it to life. You can check us out at www.botraproductions.com. 

Borrow Maybe a Fox from your school or public library. Whenever possible, please support independent bookshops.