Children's Writing in The Writer

I know I'm a month behind, but the June 2008 issue of The Writer magazine has a special section on writing children’s literature that I enjoyed reading (there's another article in the current issue as well). As is generally the case with The Writer the titles are fairly self-descriptive: “Develop your idea into a finished draft,” “Learn key submission tips from a top editor,” “Discover effective ways to publicize your work,” etc. Such material--part motivational, part extremely practical--is, while very useful, also quite abundant elsewhere. With children's lit it's very similar to the Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market, Children’s Writer newsletter, the SCBWI Bulletin, and a slew of how-to books, blogs, and other sources, besides what can be gleaned from the actual children’s books themselves. If you’ve looked at these resources in any detail—or even read your fair share of bedtime stories—then the advice contained within these articles will sound familiar, though not unwelcome: what to put in a query letter, how to develop your protagonist, how various age groups differ, etc. In general the type of material in The Writer tends to recycle over the years—the editors themselves admit this through their monthly inclusion of an article “From the Archives.” But even if you’re a much older hand than I am, I suspect occasional reminders about technique can only enlarge and refine your abilities. I at least went through the whole special section and found it worth the while.

The most engaging article for me was an interview by Jackie Dishner with Montana-based author Karma Wilson, author of Bear Snores On and over forty other board and picture books. (Wilson actually grew up in Idaho, and this being my wife’s home state I’m always rooting for locals who make good.) Reading this interview when I did was great timing because about a week earlier I serendipitously got a hold of Wilson’s book Uh-Oh, Calico!, which I’d since been reading with my daughter Loretta repeatedly. (Last night she slept with it. She woke up around midnight and when I went in to check on her she said, rather deliberately for a groggy four-year-old, “Daddy, I love sleeping with books. I read them . . . and I sleep with them!” Then she was gone.) Uh-Oh, Calico! is a great book, as is Bear Snores On, which we actually read a few months ago, so it was nice to be able to read a bit of Wilson’s attitudes about reading and writing and how she goes about the process.

Perhaps her most important advice was to ignore editorial guidelines when necessary and write what you’re most passionate about. In her case that meant rhyming stories about talking animals, both extreme taboos according to any current market guides. If you love it and you’re passionate about it, though, do it and don’t worry so much about writing to fit what you think the editor wants to see. Follow the muse that brought you to a subject or style in the first place. One hint about how to do that is to realize that what you like to read will probably be what you like to write. Don’t force yourself to do a genre you wouldn’t pull off the library shelf just because it sells.

I also loved a quote paraphrased from C. S. Lewis stating that any children’s book that is enjoyed only by children is a bad children’s book. The adults should be enriched as well. Also, you should write just above the child’s level, in order to push him into expanding his vocabulary and understanding of the world. Help him to feel smart by providing clues about upcoming events, so when he guesses it he feels empowered; though she doesn’t say this, Wilson’s rhyme is incredibly important in this regard. The repetition in Uh-Oh, Calico!, for instance, allowed Loretta to anticipate not only events but actual words before I spoke them. That, for a four-year-old, is a double dose of empowerment. It’s also a principle true of play and good children’s television, by the way. It’s the genius of Teletubbies, where the children are developmentally slightly above the characters and understand the narrator and consequences of the Teletubbies’ actions before they do. It’s also the rationale behind Blue’s Clues’ repetition of broadcasts within a single week—by Friday, the child has mastered, through repetition, the inevitable clues and moved beyond them into other areas of learning. Breaking the pattern, though, also has its merits (principally its comedy, though it could be other things also), as in the wonderful ending of Bear Snores On.

I hope to write up a good analysis of Wilson’s body of work soon, but for the moment keep your eyes peeled for the newest Calico book, Friends for Calico!, and watch this fall for her prose story about a lost penguin named Pip (prose being something relatively new for her). In the meantime I can highly recommend Wilson’s existing work—go to her website to find out more.