Fiction Friday (10)

So...wow! I haven't done a Fiction Friday since March and I'm not really sure how I let that happen. I've certainly been reading books in that time, I just haven't been reviewing them with any degree of frequency. I think a part of that is my natural tendency to grow weary of reviews in the period after I've released a book. Once subjected by reviews of your own work, one feels a little less motivated to subject others to the same. But as I've mentioned before, I think it's important for an author to discuss what he or she is reading from time. I think authors read books for different reasons than non-writers and that we see different things within the work. 

This week, I'm going to share three different chapter books that I've read over the past two months. I've been working on a chapter book project of my own for the past month or so, and have returned to reading the genre again after some time away. I believe that when writing in specific children's formats such as picture books, readers, or chapter books, it's important to continually refresh oneself to the parameters of the format before diving in. (By I'm the complete opposite when it comes to YA novels. I avoid reading any of them while working on something.) Enjoy.

Utterly Me, Clarice Bean by Lauren Child
(Candlewick 2002)

As Clarice's class prepares their utterly important book projects, mysterious things begin to happen. First there is a flood in the boys bathroom, then the winner's cup goes missing, and to top it all off, her best friend has completely vanished. In fact, things are beginning to resemble the events in her favorite book series about Ruby Redfort, a child secret agent. It's hard for Clarice to concentrate on book projects with so much going on around her.

I've always been a fan of Lauren Child's work, not only for her wonderful illustrations, but also for her unbelievable ability to capture the voice of a child. While her picture books have always displayed her artistic genius, this Chapter Book allows the author to showcase her wonderful writing talent.

Clarice is an exceptionally entertaining narrator, mostly because she is unexceptional in almost every way. By that I mean, Clarice is a normal kid and that's what makes the books so endearing. So often children encounter characters who find themselves in fantastical situations, or characters who are so quirky that they are unlike anyone the reader will meet in real life. It's refreshing to meet a character like Clarice who demonstrates that you don't have to be exceptional to be special. All you need is what every child instinctively has: an vivid imagination and a curious nature. 

Billy Bones by Christopher Lincoln

(Little Brown 2008)

A delightful, more middle grade read that has a Roald Dahl meets Beetljuice feel to it, Billy Bones follows a family of skeletons charged with keeping the secrets of the rotten human family dwelling within the house where they live in a secret closet. Of course, not everyone in the Biglam family is rotten, least of all Millicent, the recently orphaned little girl who has been in the care of her most rotten uncle. 

Millicent reminded me of Matilda (from the Dahl book of the same title). She's the kind of character you root for not only because of the unfairness of her condition, but also because of the positive nature of her spirit. She quickly befriends Billy, a young skeleton boy with secrets of his own. From there, the secrets of the house begin to surface in explosive fashion, literally. 

I really enjoyed spending time with this cast of characters and the wonderful illustrations added to the story's appeal. A perfect book for fans of Series of Unfortunate Events.

Little Fur #1: The Legend Begins by Isobelle Carmody
(Random House 2006)

This is one of those books that I was really torn about. On one hand, as an adult, I found it fascinating. I really enjoyed seeing our world through the eyes of Little Fur and her friends. To make the everyday world feel new and strange is a difficult task that Carmody was able to pull off. I also thought the mythical elements of the story were intriguing. I loved 'The Old Ones' and the idea of this innocent creature being their protector. Little Fur as a character is well-formed and the bravery she discovers within herself along her journey is wonderful to see.

Then there's the other half of me that kept shaking my head as I read the book. The environmental message in the book comes off incredibly heavy-handed. That in itself didn't bother me because it played into the character's view of the world. The part that left me shaking my head was the complete disgust presented in the book toward humans in general. Granted, by the end, there was a very slight concession that perhaps not every human in the world was terrible and evil, yet it still left the impression that most were, or at least our lifestyle is. Again, as an adult, I'm not sure I would object too much to that point of view, but as a book for children, it struck as incredibly odd. I really wonder what kind of message it would send to an impressionable child, especially given that most readers are going to be suburban children living in the very kind of place described in the book...not to mention what a dog owner would think (given the way dogs are depicted as willing slaves of human evil).

An odd story with charm whose message goes a little over the top.

Thinking in Different Pictures

I love writing in all different styles and for all ages. I honestly don't know how some writers stay with one type of book. I would get bored, which probably my own flaw. With each different type of book, I get to tell a different kind of story in a new way. I've always found switching back and forth to different formats is a nice change of pace.

Over the past few weeks, I've been working on a script format for only the second time in my life. Along with a friend of mine, we've been working up a story for a movie aimed at 7-12 year olds. That alone has been a nice change of pace to develop a story step-by-step with someone else. But now we're in the actual writing stage and I'm getting to play around with the format like a kid with a new toy.

I've always thought-out my novels in terms of 'scenes' and used that as a way of pacing the story. So the thinking hasn't been much different. The actual writing however is so different. In a way, it's like writing a detailed outline but with all the dialogue in place. This is where writing chapter books came in handy because I tend to use a dialogue heavy style in that genre. All in all, it's been challenging but a blast. Oh, and the story is pretty awesome, I must admit.

(The image above is the sketch I made when first thinking about the movie idea, about a year ago.)

Why the World Needs Picture Books

(from Maggie and the Pirate by Ezra Jack Keats)

There was a disturbing article in the New York Times yesterday about the perilous future of the Picture Book. (You can read article here). The article addresses the dwindling sales of picture books as well as the shrinking number of them being published. It also talks about parents pushing children away from picture books because they wrongly see them as too simple.

Now having worked for years in Children's Publishing as a major buyer of Picture Books for Scholastic's Kindergarten Book Club, I can say with confidence that in the past fifteen years there have been WAY TOO MANY picture books published. When too many titles are published, there are undoubtedly terrible titles making it to the market and the good titles suffer. I see this happening in the YA market currently. It also happens in music. And unless a consumer has the time (and who does except for us fanatics) to devote endless hours to research, it may be hard to weed through the bad to find the quality titles. So more selective publishing isn't a bad thing in my opinion.

What really frightens me is the other aspect of the article. Picture Books are not simple. Not the really good ones anyway. Picture Books are extremely valuable for children. The marriage of text and pictures is how we learn to visualize a written story and how to let our imagination expand the story. Certainly there is also a need to have children read chapter books. I LOVE chapter books. But they serve a completely different place in the learning to read process.

Chapter Books are perfect for encouraging independent reading. But independent reading is only part of the child's learning to read process. Learning to read can't simply be about vocabulary and testable skills. The key to raising a child who loves reading and not just a child who can read, is the magic of storytelling. Picture Books are some of the most perfect examples of storytelling that we have developed as a culture. They are not simply for teaching toddlers the alphabet or to count or that apples are red. There are many complex and rich stories contained in that section of the store, not to mention many of the finest pieces of art produced in the last century.

Next time you're in a bookstore, do yourself a favor and spend some time in the Picture Book section. Pick one up instead of that new James Patterson or Nicholas Sparks novel...I promise you'll get infinitely more from its pages.