I’ve written about this in previous blog posts, but it bears repeating: the heroes, or protagonists, of children’s books must be characters that young readers can identify with and relate to.  Jane takes this notion one step further.  She says that children’s books must have “emotional resonance” for young readers, and adds that the way to achieve this is by focusing on “The Three F’s,” or thee key areas of concern for children, which are:

1) Family

2) Friendship

3) Frustration

Most – if not all – children’s books have at their heart one of these elements, giving the book that essential child-centeredness with which the young reader can relate to, and be drawn in by, the story. Some have more than one, others a combination of all three.

Here’s one dictionary definition of child centeredness:

“Designed to promote a child’s personal qualities rather than to provide training or information. Humane - marked or motivated by concern with the alleviation of suffering.”

This, I think, ties in well with what Jane is getting at when she talks about writing with emotional resonance.  Writing children’s books well requires more than just writing skill.  It requires compassion for children, and a keen understanding of the frustrations, challenges and concerns they face on a daily basis in the struggle to grow up. Our work needn’t be steeped in pathos – in fact, kids usually prefer humor – but we also shouldn’t get preachy or didactic or try to educate or problem-solve. We need only maintain a compassionate heart and a child-like sensibility, something perhaps best achieved by remembering what it was like to be a child ourselves.

The question I was asked was: What are the particular challenges you think we (meaning children’s book authors, editors, educators, advocates, lovers of children’s literature) face?

This was my response:

“I think one of the challenges is keeping young people’s skill and interest in reading high enough to take advantage of the opportunities that will be waiting for them.

In my book Raising Bookworms: Getting Kids Reading for Pleasure and Empowerment (Beech Tree Books, 2008), I talk about how much reading skills correspond to our ability to be confident, engaged, informed citizens. They affect how well we communicate, succeed in school and in our chosen careers, and ultimately our level of personal fulfillment. In fact, order to participate fully in society and the workplace in 2020 and beyond, we will all need powerful literacy abilities. But with all that competes for our attention these days, from television to the internet to electronic games and social networking, we face the possibility of a serious decline in the reading and writing skills of the next generation.

Our strength as readers and writers is profoundly influenced by how much of it we do – the more we read, the easier it gets. The easier it gets, the more we enjoy it, so the more we read. But we have to start by actually reading – and the key lies in making that activity as attractive as all the other temptations out there. We achieve that by focusing on activities that support the joy in reading (as opposed to reading as chore, or duty)…and by ensuring that what is being read is so good that the reader gets hooked and comes back for more.

That’s why I’m dedicated to supporting children’s book authors in the continued development of their craft. We have a huge responsibility on our hands. It only takes one great book to turn someone on to reading… but those great books need to keep being written and gotten into the hands of children!”

This is why you must write that book. If you have ever felt that nudge… that gentle (or perhaps, at this point, nagging) whisper in your ear to get that idea down on paper, I am here to hold you accountable. We can only keep the next generation (and those after that) reading, and writing – and using creative expression to solve problems and promote awareness, and cultivate compassion, and address the issues before them with artfulness and thought – if we continue to provide them with the tools to do so.  And the first (and best, in my view) is a good book.

So, get writing. Who knows? You may be the next Madeleine L’Engle… but even if your story touches just one child, one heart, that’s reason enough for it to exist.  One might even say you have a responsibility to put it out there.

Thanks to You: Wisdom from Mother & Child

Thanks to You: Wisdom from Mother & Child (Hardcover)
by Julie Andrews Edwards (Author), Emma Walton Hamilton (Author)

Reading level: Baby-Preschool

Thanks to you . . . a cloud becomes a castle for a king

Thanks to you . . . I notice wonder in the smallest thing

Children learn much about the world from their mothers. But what about the unexpected wisdom mothers gain while parenting?
Julie Andrews Edwards and her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton share their mutual discoveries and delight in the growth experiences of childhood and motherhood. Accompanied by photographs from the authors’ extended family collection, these personal exchanges between mother and child celebrate a special bond while reflecting a universal truth.