Dear Laura,

What are the qualities that make a memorable illustrated children’s book?

Many things make a picture book memorable. Well-defined characters with whom young children can identity, and who have a problem or goal that young children can understand and find important. A well-paced plot that inspires the child to turn the page and see what happens next. Lyrical, rhythmic text that sounds appealing when read out loud. Engaging illustrations that contain details not found in the text, and also add another layer to the story. And finally, an original, imaginative story that the child, parent and editor haven’t seen before!

If you think about your favorite books from your own childhood, they are probably stories that made you feel something: wonder, joy, excitement, surprise, or even sadness. Those stories that speak directly to a child’s emotions are always the most memorable.

Laura Backes, Publisher

Children’s Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children’s Writers

Dear Laura,

Is it possible or advisable to have a lead character who is an adult, rather than a child, in a novel for kids ages 8-12? It seems to me that many successful books involve a lead character who is approximately the same age as the audience, unless the book involves animals as characters. Is it a generally accepted convention or a rule that the character who experiences the main conflict and changes in a children’s book should be a child? Or is it possible to have an adult as the lead character if the supporting characters are children and if the problems faced by the adult involve issues which are relevant to children? Do you know of any examples of any successful books for ages 8-12 in which the lead character is not a child?

Your questions are very perceptive. You’ve noticed that most books have children as main characters, and that the conflict needs to be something relevant to a child. As a result, it’s hard to have the main character be an adult, though not impossible. Everything that comes to mind as examples feature a prominent adult character, but the story’s still told through the viewpoint of a child. For example, The Pigman by Paul Zindel is about an eccentric loner, but the story’s told by two kids who befriend him. Even in these books the adult is facing problems that are relevant to the middle grade readers. So to give you a firm answer to your question, I believe it would be difficult to successfully make an adult the main, viewpoint character, though he/she can be a very strong secondary character or even the focus of the book as long as a child is the one telling the story.

Laura Backes, Publisher

Children’s Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children’s Writers

Well, this certainly made my morning:

Susan Gray’s wonderful Gottawrite Girl blog has an interview up with yours truly, entitled “SuperSite SuperStars”.  Finally, someone has acknowledged my proper status! 

Many thanks to Susan for this.

Go have a look — and be sure to bookmark Gottawrite Girl!

http://gottawritegirl.blogspot.com/2008/10/supersite-superstars.html

Young adult fiction is hot right now, especially for older readers ages 14 and up. New publishers and imprints are popping up all the time. Be sure to check out our exclusive interview with Evelyn Fazio, publisher of WestSide Books, in the November issue of Children’s Book Insider. WestSide will debut its list of contemporary, realistic teen fiction in Spring 09.

When I teach writing workshops around the country, I meet aspiring authors who want to try their hand at YA, but sometimes feel a disconnect with the grittier, more realistic fiction being published today. They want to study the market, they want to understand the genre and try to write it, but it’s so different from the novels they read as teens that it feels alien to them. Of course, I’m speaking to those of you over 40 right now. You youngsters can just skip to the next post.

Check out Monica Edinger’s Educating Alice blog post about putting aside her personal prejudices and tastes while serving on the Newbery and NCTE Notable Books committees. Judges have to read outside their comfort zones all the time, and they learn to appreciate literature that they don’t think they’re going to like. If the new crop of YA books makes you squirm, but you’re open to learning what they’re all about, Edinger’s advice may be just the ticket.

One of the toughest tasks for writers is to get inside the brain of a child. Sure, we all have our own childhood memories, but those can be spotty at best. And even accurate recollections reflect a different time and a different mindset.

The standard advice is to observe and interact with children. Being around kids can give a window into the language and interpersonal dynamics of today’s kids. But even this is far from foolproof. Youngsters are thoroughly aware of an adult’s presence and may simply be trying hard to be on their best behavior. There is another way, however, that is remarkably efficient and is a surefire way to get an accurate picture of the likes, dislikes and passions of kids: read some magazines. Read more

By Laura Backes, Publisher of Children’s Book Insider

 It’s a great time to be a [tag-tec]children’s book author[/tag-tec] or illustrator. Recently, the industry was abuzz with the news that Brian Selznick won the Caldecott for his 544-page The Invention of Hugo Cabret, published by Scholastic for ages 9-12. Selznick, who wrote and illustrated the tome, described his work like this on Amazon.com: “My new book … is a 550 page novel in words and pictures. But unlike most novels, the images in my new book don’t just illustrate the story; they help tell it. I’ve used the lessons I learned from … masters of the picture book to create something that is not a exactly a novel, not quite a picture book, not really a graphic novel, or a flip book or a movie, but a combination of all these things.”

Not to be outdone, the Newbery committee awarded this year’s medal to Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! by Laura Amy Schlitz, illustrated by Robert Byrd (96 pages, Candlewick Press, ages 10 and up). This book is a series of 22 portraits of medieval characters between the ages of 10 and 15, written in prose and different verse forms, designed to be either performed out loud or read silently. Historical notes appear in the margins, and occasional two-page spreads feature short essays on historic topics related to the narratives. Illustrated with Byrd’s pen-and-ink drawings, it’s not quite a novel, not quite a play, not exactly nonfiction, but rather a wonderful melding of all three. Read more