Children’s Books

Can Children’s Books Reduce Hate?

/ still a dreamer / 8 Comments

JohnGrishamI got a letter from John Grisham yesterday.

At least that’s what the envelope said. I found it to be an appeal on behalf of a person and an organization that I’ve heard of, but knew little about – Morris Dees, an Alabama lawyer and friend of Grisham’s, and the Southern Poverty Law Center.  It is the mission of Dees and the SPLC to put hate organizations out of business and to teach tolerance.

I read the enclosed piece and was literally horrified at the abuses, savage beatings, murders and more that still go in in this country perpetrated by any number of hate groups upon innocent individuals of some minority status or other. I was beyond horrified; I was deeply saddened. (And mind you, I am not writing this to drum up donations for the Southern Poverty Law Center, but if you want to know what’s going on in this regard, you may want to visit the SPLC web site and find out for yourself – it’s very disturbing.)

What struck me were two things … I hear so many people talking about those in the world who hate and would destroy our country. I wondered, are people aware of how much hatred is alive and well, right here, within our own borders? Do they know that people are still being abducted, beaten, and hung? AND if that weren’t enough, that it’s often being done in the name of the abuser’s God? How have we become a nation with so much hate?

So … as an aspiring children’s book author and illustrator … the second thing I wondered was, what is being read to the young children of those people whose mission in life is to commit violence against people of a color, nationality or religion different than their own? What happened to love? To hope? To tolerance? Compassion? Do these people’s children read the same books as other children do?

Children’s book writers aspire to show a child a world of wonder, fun, sharing, understanding, friendship and caring. Can a mother whose husband goes out to senselessly beat a 16 year old boy into permanent physical and mental damage be reading to her child about caring for others? I am utterly confused and lost.

So I wonder, when a child is raised believing that hate towards others is an acceptable emotion, can a mere book, albeit written from our hearts and souls, have the power to change a young mind?

Where the Wild Things Are

/ still a dreamer / 4 Comments

Last week in the movies I saw the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are and was all but jumping up and down in my seat – can I wait!!! I came across it again today while online, and for those who have not seen it – I just had to share.

WhereTheWildThingsAreI’m assuming everyone has read this classic children’s book by Maurice Sendak, but if you haven’t seen the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are, check it out here on YouTube. The trailer alone is fabulous. The adaptation from book to movie is by Spike Jonze and from what I read, Sendak is very happy with it and feels Jonze’s interpretation enriches his story. Can’t beat Maurice Sendak’s blessing! The great song in the trailer is “Wake Up” by Arcade Fire and is perfect for the visuals. The movie is due out in October and will appear in iMax theaters as well.

Check out the Where the Wild Things Are Trailer – you’ll definitely have something to look forward to in October!

Welcome to Writing for Middle Grade!

/ still a dreamer / 4 Comments

GirlReadingWhat happens when one of the picture books you’ve been working on evolves into a chapter book due to too much back-story? Then it’s recommended to be a middle grade novel because it’s getting too scary for a chapter book reader? One of the first things is to start reading more in that genre, so for me, it’s Welcome to Middle Grade!

I figured one of the best places to begin is with the Newbery winners, so I went to the ALA site.  I also found another site which gives brief summaries of the Newbery winners (all genres) from 2000 to present and makes middle grade novels easier to identify. It also happens that the feature article of the Children’s Writer Newsletter this month is “Walking the Tightrope of Peril in Middle-Grade Fiction.” Jackpot! That’s a good read, plus they list many MG novels within the article which I’ll look into soon. And then I’ve gotten a few recommendations from my writing group, sooooooooo ….

The titles I’ve selected to start with, which have particular appeal to me, are these (in no particular order plus some have been moved down to the bottom list as time passes)

  • The Underneath – Kathi Appelt
  • Savvy – Ingrid Law
  • The Graveyard Book– Neil Gaiman
  • Star Girl and Eggs – Jerry Spinelli
  • Crispin – Cross of Lead – Avi
  • Holes – Louis Sacher (saw the movie, never read the book)
  • Higher Power of Lucky – Susan Patron
  • Invention of Hugo Cabret – Brian Selznick

That should keep me busy! Do you have any really great MG suggestions?

MG books that I’ve read recently, enjoyed, and recommend are:

Local library – here I come!

How Many Story Elements Are Too Many?

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How many sub-plots are too many? When are there too many POV’s? Too many characters?

HangmansDaughterExample  – A suspense/mystery novel I just finished by an author new to me, The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter by Sharyn McCrumb, brought these questions up – and had me thinking about their relevance in children’s books.  Particularly as we write stories of greater length, they are important points to consider, but they can be equally important in picture books.

In novels, I enjoy those which utilize more than one POV. What comes to mind is The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, an excellent book. Each chapter is written, on an unevenly rotating basis, from one of the family member’s POV as they all try and come to grips with the harrowing situation to which their husband and father has brought them.  Each writer’s POV is unique, yet always moves the overall story forward, while masterfully intertwining the relationships of each family member.

In contrast, while it is a good read in many ways, The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter has too many characters to keep track of and too many sub-plots going on, one of which seems irrelevant to the overall story. The POV remained omniscient throughout and was clear, but I found myself wondering why certain characters and their seemingly separate story were included.

These same points need to be considered when writing children’s books. I notice in my own writing, I tend towards more than one POV. This is fine if a) done well and b) if it’s suitable for the reader of  that particular story. I’ve been reworking one of my picture books, in which, while I find two POV’s working for me, they will not work for the age child who reads a picture book. 4-7 year olds are not yet that sophisticated in their comprehension skills and will be confused.

Keeping our chosen genre(s) and their audiences in mind is critical to a story’s success. We can observe in anything we read what is working and what is not, especially the books we absolutely love, and how that applies in our own writing. Does the story have more than one POV? Should it? Are there too many characters for our intended audience to remember? If there is a sub-plot, is it so relevant that the reader will find it totally compelling? Or might it become confusing?

I think what we all strive for is writing the book that our reader cannot put down. And to that end, everything we read can enlighten our own writing.

Chapter Books and The Magic Tree House Series

/ still a dreamer / 2 Comments

MPOsborne-ChristmasCamelotWChapter books are the next step as a child grows beyond picture books. Whereas picture books are largely illustration, chapter books are largely prose, but which still include illustration, generally in black and white. Written for the age 7-10 crowd, they feature short chapters so the book can easily be put down and picked up again by the young reader. Chapter books include a fairly good amount of dialogue, short sentences, and vocabulary that is targeted for the reader who is growing in his reading skills.

Among the chapter books and series that have stood the test of time are the Cam Jansen Mysteries by David Adler; Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park; the Arthur Chapter Books by Steven Krensky; The Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne, and quite a few more. A comprehensive list of current, popular chapter books has been compiled by the Salt Lake City Library Services, last updated April 2009.

MPOsborne-Haunted2I’ve currently been reading a series within The Magic Tree House Series subtitled A Merlin Mission. These books are excellent examples for writers of what is being sought in a good chapter book, but Mary Pope Osborne has added in this selection a special richness by introducing a famous myth. In The Magic Tree House Series, our main characters are brother and sister Jack and Annie of Frog Creek, Pennsylvania. They find a tree house in the woods filled with books, and that by pointing to a picture in a book, they can go there. In time they find the tree house belongs to Morgan Le Fay of Camelot, home to King Arthur.

In the Merlin Mission series, each adventure has Jack and Annie traveling back to Camelot to help King Arthur resolve a mystery or solve a problem. The first of this series is Christmas in Camelot, followed by Haunted Castle on Hallow’s Eve and Summer of the Sea Serpent.  What Mary Pope Osborne has brought to this series is an introduction of the myth of King MPOsborne-SummerSeaSerpent2Arthur and the Round Table for children ages 7-10, filled with the symbolism of cloaks, cauldrons, magical beings and more. She has provided detailed references in the back of the book for the elements she’s introduced.

With great black and white illustrations, these stories are perfect for the aspiring reader, but also for those of us who seek to learn what a good chapter book is all about. Osborne’s great dialogue and plot keep the mysteries moving along at a brisk pace, and enlightened this writer as to what also makes a chapter book timeless.