At 83, Maurice Sendak is as crusty, cantankerous and blunt as ever. Thank goodness. Take a moment to read this interview with the Caldecott-winning author/illustrator in The Guardian. You'll gain an understanding of why he can't stop acknowledging the dark side of childhood. And you'll collect some great quotes. One of my favorites: "I refuse to lie to children," says Sendak. "I refuse to cater to the bull**** of innocence." (The asterisks, by the way, are mine.)
Editor's note: Audrey is a 13-year-old student from California who is currently working on her own novel between school, sports and choir. She's also a Contributing Editor to Write4Kids, focusing on middle grade and YA literature. If you have writing-related questions for Audrey, or want to suggest a topic for a future column, please contact Laura at Laura@write4kids.com.
Visit Audrey's new blog, Audrey Reads and Reviews, for more of her insights into YA lit.
For this blog post, I’ve interviewed Alma Alexander. Ms. Alexander has published the YA fantasy series Worldweavers from HarperTeen. Her side project is a very interesting one—she wrote a novel as a 14 year old, and she has been editing it and revising it on a website: http://heritageofclan.wordpress.com/. Visit her online at: http://www.almaalexander.com/.
Audrey: I really like the social structure of the story (with the clans and guilds etc). But, more than that, I like the world you’ve created. Do you have any advice for creating a world so thoroughly? When I read your work, I feel like there’s a bigger world out there than just the parts that you’ve written about. Any advice?
Alma: Actually there is a whole file that I created about that world (and yes, I still have that too) which delves into ALL SORTS of detail about it – most of which never ever makes it into the book/story itself. It’s what I call the Iceberg Theory of Writing – what the reader sees is only the top 5% of what there is to know, the stuff that’s above the waterline and looks pretty and spectacular. But it RESTS on all that invisible 95% that is under water, never seen. That is what provides the stability and familiarity for that 5% which appears to be floating effortlessly in mid-air.
In our own everyday mundane world that 95% can be as visible as the rest – simply because we LIVE in this world 24/7, live it breathe it hold it touch it smell it every day, and it’s deeply and utterly familiar and transparent to us. We take a huge amount of stuff for granted, simply because we KNOW that it is there. Creating a fantasy world from scratch means that you lack this built-in scaffolding, and you have to build your own. The advice you are asking for boils down to one simple thing – ALWAYS know more about your world than you let on, and then the reader will instinctively pick up on the fact that there is more to know, and therefore the world has a depth and a reality which is then comparable to our own “real” world.
Audrey: You have a lot of characters. They all seem to have totally different personalities. How do you do this? I love ensemble casts (I usually write them, but mine are mainly all teenagers), and you seem to be writing about all different social castes and ages. How do/did you figure everything out about the characters? How do/did you keep everything straight about them? When I try to do a lot of characters, I mix them up.
Alma: Hi, my name is Alma and I HEAR VOICES…
Well, that’s a simplistic way of putting it, but that’s what it boils down to, for me. I don’t so much create characters as allow them in, simply let them wander by and tell me a story, and I simply take dictation. The fact that they all have different voices stands to reason – they are all different people. I contain many many people, I contain worlds. But it isn’t something I do on a conscious level. I simply listen.
Part of the ability to write across the boundaries of class and race and age comes from the fact that I am a voracious reader. I devour books – and every book I read teaches me something which gets filed away for future reference for if and when a character who might be so VERY different from myself might need such knowledge or identity markers. If I am writing about somebody from a culture with which I am less than adequately familiar, I will immerse myself in reading about that culture until I “internalize” some of its basic ideas and beliefs – and with those, comes the voice.
A character’s voice is rooted in that character’s context and culture. These are creatures who all exist in a complex mix of relationships to the people and places in their lives, to their set of beliefs, to their faith, to their worldview, to their morality, to their physical and metaphysical address in the world in which they live. All of these things inform the way they respond to that world.
In the Clans book, for instance, I am setting up a conflict between two people who love and respect each other – who are foster-brothers – who have both grown up aristocrats in a world where aristocrats have a certain social position – but their minds and the thoughts and feelings therein are very different, and when their positions in their world are rocked by new revelations they respond in ways that will set them up as enemies in what amounts to a civil war. It is important to realize that even people who on the face of it look almost identical to one another might react very differently to the same stimulus – and once you keep this in mind, the different inner voices of these people will make themselves known to you if you listen closely. Read more
Writing books that help kids deal with tough issues or scary situations takes a special kind of compassion and insight. In the podcast below, Dr. Laurie Zelinger talks about writing her books The "O, MY" in TonsillectOMY & AnedoidectOMY: How to Prepare Your Child for Surgery, a Parent's Manual and Please Explain "Anxiety" to Me! Simple Biology and Solutions for Parents and Students
Both books are published by Loving Healing Press.
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For the past month, I’ve been so fixated on getting the CBI Clubhouse up and running that I’ve completely forgotten a whole host of things. Shaving….sleeping….taking my vitamins…and the fact that I did an interview with the awesome Cynthia Smith for her also-awesome blog Cynsations.
So it was a lovely surprise to log on today and see the interview. It’s also a nice reminder of what I look like when I had time to shave, sleep and take my vitamins.
Good times, good times.
Anyway, here’s the link so you can check it out.
http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/2009/01/publisher-interview-jon-bard-on.html
Amanda, the children’s librarian behind the terrific A Patchwork of Books blog.
1. Tell us about your blog. Why did you start it? What has it added to your professional life?
My blog, A Patchwork of Books, focuses on reviews of children’s books, from infant to teen age levels. I began the blog in order to spread the word on books 
I love, with the hope that someone will find a gem in the midst of my reviews. My day job is as a Children’s Librarian, resulting in thousands of books being placed in my hands each year, some that many people may never have heard of. By blogging, I not only get to speak out about those books, I also get to find new titles; ones I’ve never heard of!
2. Has running the blog changed your perspective or taught you new things about children’s lit?
Every time I read and review a book, I browse other blogger’s reviews of the same titles, looking forother perspectives. I enjoy knowing what others thought of what I just read. Sometimes we agree, sometimeswe don’t and that’s what makes the entire blogging experience fun!
3. As a librarian, what kinds of books would you like to see more of? What kind would you like to see fewer of?
This is certainly not an easy question. I’m not sure there is any specific type ofbook I would like to see either more or less of, but rather I would enjoy simply seeingmore people reading any book! I do not believe there are any “bad” books, maybe a lot that I personally do not enjoy, but not necessarily books that there need to be less of in ourliterature world.
4. We tell our readers that they must write books for today’s children, and not simply write the kinds of books they enjoyed as a child. What’s the best way for a writer to get up to speed about today’s young readers and their likes & dislikes?
Honestly, go to a library or a bookstore and read all the “most popular” titles. The ones on display or the ones deemed bestsellers. Browse kid lit blogs and see what the most talked about titles are in the blogging world. Do simple, reading research.
5. What are your favorite books of 2008 so far?
I loved Peg Leg Peke by Brie Spangler and Bats at the Library by Brian Lies, both picture books. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins was absolutely fantastic, a young adult book, and I also very much enjoyed Lizard Love by Wendy Townsend, a middle grade novel.
6. If you could tell aspiring children’s writers one thing, what would it be?
Don’t preach! Having positive messages in books is a great way to help encourage children to develop good character, but when a message is overly preachy and incredibly obvious, that’s a definite turn-off. Blend the message in subtly to your plot and you’ll be successful.
Thanks Amanda! be sure to get over to A Patchwork of Books for lots more great insight into the world of children’s books.
…..Abby the Librarian. Abby’s blog is a must-stop for children’s book lovers. She recently took a few moments to answer some questions for us:
1. Tell us about your blog. Why did you start it? What has it added to your professional life?
I started my blog to join this great community of kidlit bloggers and it’s really grown a lot more than I ever thought it would. It’s become a place for me to hone my reviewing skills and share programs and ideas with other librarians and teachers. Through my blog I’ve “met” many great librarians, teachers, authors, and other children’s lit enthusiasts and our blogs provide an easy way for us to exchange ideas.
2. Has running the blog changed your perspective or taught you new things about children’s lit?
It is so hard to write a negative review! I mean, it’s hard to write a constructive review of a book that didn’t work for me in some way. Some bloggers seem to do this with ease, but I’m always a little worried about offending someone. That said, I strive to share my honest opinions about books. Although negative reviews are hard for me to write, I know that negative reviews can be really valuable to people who select books and I think they can be useful to authors if they’re written in a constructive way. My goal is for my book reviews to be useful to someone and that sometimes calls for writing a review of a book I didn’t particularly like.
Also, this is really cliche, but one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. One thing that is obvious when looking at book reviews on the web is that just because I didn’t like it doesn’t mean that other reviewers don’t like it or that kids wouldn’t like it. I try to include links to other reviews and I especially like linking to opinions that are different than mine.
3. As a librarian, what kinds of books would you like to see more of? What kind would you like to see fewer of?
We’re constantly fielding requests for books that are “just like” Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I’m not looking for knock-offs, but books that are funny and feature well-developed plots and characters. I hate to divide books into “boy books” and “girl books”, but it does seem like we have a slew of Junie B. Jones-ian books about spunky girls and it would be nice to see more similar funny books with boy characters.
As far as books I’d like to see fewer of… I’m going to say books that are all about a Point. It’s fine to have a point and we certainly get requests for books about sharing, respecting others, etc. but when those books are obviously didactic, it’s a real turn-off.
4. We tell our readers that they must write books for today’s children, and not simply write the kinds of books they enjoyed as a child. What’s the best way for a writer to get up to speed about today’s young readers and their likes & dislikes?
I think the best way for a writer (or anyone) to get up to speed about today’s young readers is to get involved with kids yourself. Volunteer at a school or youth center, coach a team… Get involved and talk to kids.
5. What are your favorite books of 2008 so far?
Hands down, my favorite book this year has been The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It has a really well-built world, characters I really cared about, and it constantly surprised me. I absolutely could not put it down.
Other favorites are The Underneath by Kathi Appelt, which is beautifully written and doesn’t flinch about discussing violence in a book for young people; Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, which is a richly detailed historical novel about slavery during Revolutionary America; and George Washington Carver by Tonya Bolden, which is a really visually appealing biography about a man who was much more than “The Peanut Man”.
6. If you could tell aspiring children’s writers one thing, what would it be?
Have a website!! That’s one thing I always look for when reviewing books. It doesn’t have to be a really fancy website, but we’re at a point where kids and many adults (parents, teachers, librarians, etc.) have grown up with computers and the internet. When they want more information about you and your books, they’re going to turn to the web. A website gives you a place to put biographical information, info about your books, the stories behind your books. And just as important as starting your website is keeping it up-to-date. When I find an author’s website and it hasn’t been updated since 2004, it makes me wonder why they bother having it.
Thanks Abby! Go visit her blog at http://abbylibrarian.blogspot.com
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