5: "Amazing, Disturbing, Provocative ... Wonderful"

Reaction from editors to the book was immediate and strong. Some called the story "astonishing", while others noted the "emotional artistry" behind the book's imagery. One editor called Staake's book "Amazing, disturbing, provocative ... wonderful. There's something very powerful here." But it was Staake's phone conversation with Lee Wade of Schwartz & Wade that convinced him that Bluebird was ideal for her Random House imprint. "Lee knew that the unexpected ending of the story would be considered by some too controversial and shocking for a children's picture book", said Staake, "but she felt it touched on a number of important issues that both children and parents would respond to emotionally." With Bluebird going to Schwartz & Wade and Random House, Staake began the process of paginating his story as a 40 page picture book, breaking down each scene as a double page spread -- and on these spreads he would tell the story of Bluebird, using his wordless, duo-chromatic, frame by frame method.

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