Do you enjoy reading books for children? Not reading children's books to children for their education, entertainment, and enjoyment. But do you - the adult-like reading them?
Several years back, my spouse and I contemplated the idea of writing books for children. We even had ourselves tested to see if we had the necessary skills and aptitude. We were looking for a means of earning income while working from home and caring for our young children and thought this might be a viable solution. The test results were persuasive, so we decided on this path to pursue our financial goals. We will never know if we would have been as successful as the author of the Harry Potter books. After a few manuscript rejections by various publishers, we turned our efforts to more practical, more immediate, income-earning opportunities.
Although no longer interested in writing books for children, I discovered something about myself that I did not know. I thoroughly enjoy immersing myself in children's books. Not reading them to my children or to children, but I like reading them for myself. Yes. It's an indulgence.
Many books for children, adolescents or young adults are about 100 to 250 pages and are a quick read. Those marvelous children's picture books with their exquisite illustrations are even shorter reads; about 25 pages, pictures included. But what a wonderful distraction they are from the daily grind of work, housework, grocery shopping, and other mundane chores. They're so adventurous and other-worldly. Reading children's books actually refreshes and energizes me.
During the course of our failed attempt at becoming children's book authors, I found numerous writers in this field that I wish I had been introduced to when I myself was a child. I had never heard of many of them and yet they were award-winning, outstanding, notable, respected authors. Laurence Yep, Katherine Paterson, Madeleine L'Engle, and Jane Yolen are four such writers.
- Laurence Yep (1948 -) ~ born in San Francisco, California) holds the reputation as the premier Chinese-American writer. He is best known for his book "Dragonwings". Con't reading.
- Katherine Paterson (1932 -) ~ (born in Huai'an, China) is another writer of books for young readers who may now be well known because of the movie "Bridge to Terabithia", which was based on her book by the same name. Con't reading.
- Madeleine L'Engle (1918-2007) ~ (born in New York City) established herself as a young adult writer. Her last book, The Joys of Love, was published in 2008, posthumously. But I will always remember her for her book A Wrinkle in Time, published in 1962. Con't reading.
- JaneYolen (1939 - ) ~ (born in New York City) in the juvenile section of the library when I was trying to get ideas for subjects to write about. To date, Ms. Yolen has authored 300 children's and fantasy/sci-fi books. Con't reading.
References:
- Paterson, Katherine. Rebels of the Heavenly Kingdom. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1983. Print.
- L'Engle, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in Time. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1962. Print.
- "Jane Yolen." Fantastic Fiction. Web. 27 Apr 2011.
- "Al's Book Club for Kids.", TODAY.com: Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira, Ann Curry, Al Roker, Natalie Morales, TODAY Show Video, News, Recipes, Health, Pets. Web. 27 Apr 2011.
- "Kids' Reading List - Oprah.com." Oprah Winfrey's Official Website - Live Your Best Life - Oprah.com. Web. 27 Apr 2011.
- "Author Katherine Paterson After Bridge to Terabithia - Oprah.com."Oprah Winfrey's Official Website - Live Your Best Life - Oprah.com. Web. 27 Apr. 2011.
- "FIND A BOOK: L'ENGLE, MADELEINE." Anita Silvey's Children's Book-A-Day Almanac. Web. 27 Apr 2011.
Original Source
( NOTE: Full article previously published a YAHOO Voices. YCN website shut down. Portions of the republished content are in various places around the web. )
Browse books by the authors:
Laurence Yep
Katherine Paterson
Madeleine L'Engle
Jane Yolen
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