Why I Write for Children . . .

When I was a kid, my parents divorced.  My mom worked full-time.  My sisters were older and mostly out of the house.  Friends were scarce. 

I spent a lot of time here . . .

The Northeast Regional Library in Philadelphia.  (The children's department was in the basement.)

I made friends with Mr. Popper and his penguins.  I enjoyed the adventures of Ben Franklin and his trusty mouse, Amos, in Ben and Me by Robert Lawson.  But it was Wanda Petronski in Eleanor Estes' The Hundred Dresses that made me feel understood.  Less alone.  Like I had a friend.  Wanda was broke.  She didn't have a lot of clothes.  Or friends.  But she was imaginative and creative.  She was like me.  I was like her.

I hope the books I write help young readers feel less alone.  More understood.  Provide a few hours or days or a lifetime of literary friendship.

That's why it's such a delight when I open my P.O. box and find (not mail for the previous owner) but a letter from a young reader or a large envelope of letters from students at a school, which is what happened last week.

Here are some gems from 7th grade students in Illinois who read How to Survive Middle School:

"I would like you to write about in your next book, maybe about a boy that is having girl problems and doesn't know how to deal with them.  I would want it to be a comedy."  (Idea noted!)

"I really enjoyed this book.  I hope you make a squeal to this."   (How sweet is this misspelling?)

"It was one of the few books I could read, and not bore me.  The only bad part was how many characters there where.  If you fixed that then this book would be perfect.  I guest that nothing is perfect."  (My future editor.)

"I did not really connect to any of the characters."  (Love the honesty.  The young reader went on to tell me all the reasons he enjoyed the book.)

This letter from Emily, had me tearing up . . . 

"I relate to David because, just like him, I got bullied.  After Tommy gave him a "birthday gift," he said "Even though I could turn on my computer and read dozens of fan messages from people all over the world, I feel more alone than ever."  To me, that was the saddest part of the book, but the most relatable because when I was bullied, it seemed like I was all alone, and no one cared or understood what was going on.  I felt like no one knew how to help.  After I read that part of the book, I realized there is someone who is feeling the same way, and someone who was hurt just as bad as I was.  I learned not to give up hope."  

Thank you for your letter, Emily.  It's why I write for children.

Last School Visit and Book Signing of 2010

A big THANK YOU to librarian Karen Marchetto for inviting me to speak to the 6th grade students at Jupiter Middle School.

The day began with Hammy the Hamster appearing on their morning news.

I then proceeded to embarrass myself in front of more than 400 kids by telling them about my dork days of middle school, including the fact that I was a proud member of my school's ping pong club. Clearly, it would be impossible to out-dork me during those braces-wearing, pimple-erupting daze, er, days!

The evening after the school visit, I met great students, parents and teachers at Barnes & Noble, where I signed copies of How to Survive Middle School and As If Being 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother is Running for President!

One girl insisted her father buy her a copy of As If Being 12 3/4 . . . even though she'd already read it. Another girl asked me to recommend books I enjoyed when I was her age. Turns out, she'd already read and enjoyed Mr. Poppers Penguins, so I told her A Hundred Dresses might be another good choice.

I love meeting and chatting with young readers. It's one of my favorite parts of the job.

It's been a fun, busy year of school visits, book festivals and conferences and I look forward to even more in 2011, but for now . . .

I'm going to relish time to finish revisions for Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen. Can't wait till she makes her way into the world Spring 2012.

Favorite Book Friday

As a child, my favorite place to ride my purple banana seat bike was to the local library. I loved the stacks of old books and the strange but friendly librarians.

Last month, while I was visiting Philadelphia, my Aunt Marcia and I visited my childhood library.

Sure things were different – computers were everywhere and the librarians had changed, but as soon as I saw that picture book room and the middle grade novels perched atop the bookshelves, I was transported back to my favorite childhood memories.

It was at that moment I saw a sign: Books for sale. A buck a bag. No kidding. A buck a bag.

Well, I couldn’t run down the stairs to get to the book sale fast enough.

It was obvious the sale had been going on for awhile because there were slim pickings. A tattered copy of Passages by Gail Sheehy and books about Windows 95.

But I discovered and grabbed a copy of my favorite childhood book – Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater, along with Betsy-Tacy and Tib by Maud Hart Lovelace and The Trap by Tabitha King – hey, a girl’s gotta live.

There was nothing else I wanted, but let me emphasize this: I got Mr. Popper’s Penguins for 33.3 cents!

I loved that book so much as a kid that to this day, I adore penguins. And during a Florida SCBWI shindig this past January, I dressed up as Mr. Popper along with Janeen Mason. (Could we creative types possibly get any nerdier?!)

So, what’s your favorite childhood book? And for that matter, what’s the strangest thing you ever dressed as? (Jay, we already know you dressed as a penguin for a day. Too funny!)

By the way, thanks a million (or 33 cents worth) for all the birthday wishes. And thanks to my kids for actually being nice to each other all day yesterday. Thanks to Carilynn for the edible arrangement of fruit (including the chocolate-covered kind) made to look like a bouquet of flowers. And thanks to hubby for the roses, the dictionary with the words to our wedding song marked off and for managing to say “Happy Birthday” to me forty-two times throughout the day. Cute. Have I told you lately?