I think there are times when we would all like to be able to get inside the heads of the children we know, to better remember and understand what it’s like to be them. There are plenty of middle grade and young adult novels that help us with that, as well a number of...

As background research for my next middle-grade novel, I’m reading some books on issues related to adolescent development and self-esteem in kids. I thought I would share some of the tidbits I find. For example, in How To Develop Self-Esteem In Your Child: 6 Vital...

I just read a new collection from the late C. S. Lewis (of Chronicles of Narnia fame) entitled, On Writing (and Writers). I wanted to share some things he says about children’s literature. He starts: “I am almost inclined to set it up as a canon that a children’s...

I want to give a plug for E. L. Konigsburg’s charming, insightful children’s novel, From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. It’s a gem. Claudia Kincaid is “one month under twelve” when she decides to run away from home. Here is how the story begins:...

I just wanted to send out a quick note about the amazing boxed set of Roald Dahl books now available on Amazon—just in case any of you don’t know about this The set includes 16 of Dahl’s magical stories including his greatest hits: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,...

One of my favorite children’s book authors is Kate DiCamillo. You may know her from Because Of Winn-Dixieor The Tale of Desperaux, both delightful. But today I want to recommend her book, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, which begins: “Once, in a house on...

I’d like to start the year by giving a plug for one of my very favorite young adult novels: Marcelo In The Real World, by Francisco X. Stork. If you want something to recommend to a young adult reader, or if you’re looking for a read that will inspire you for the New...

As a kind of holiday/new year greeting I would like to share an excerpt from my kids’ novel, The Tale of Hodgepodge. Hodgepodge was a baby hippo, abandoned at birth in the jungle, then found and adopted by Moxie the elephant. When he grew up and realized he was a...

I’d like to give a plug for Shel Silverstein’s book, Where The Sidewalk Ends, in case you haven’t read it. It’s a delightfully witty and inventive collection of humorous poems and drawings by the celebrated author of The Giving Tree, A Light In The Attic, and many...

In his book, Myth As Fairy Tale, Jack Zipes discusses why classical fairy tales have endured. He says: “The classical fairy tale makes it appear that we are all part of a shared community with shared values and norms, that we are all striving for the same happiness.”...

  In the last chapter of his book, Feeling Like A Kid, Jerry Griswold points out that one big difference between adult literature and children’s literature is that in books for kids, everything is often alive—from the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland to...

  We’ve been following Jerry Griswold’s book, Feeling Like A Kid. In Chapter Four he introduces another major theme in children’s literature: lightness vs. heaviness. We see the love of “lightness” in the way kids are dazzled by kites and helium balloons, zoom on...

Children are fascinated with smallness, says Jerry Griswold in his book, Feeling Like A Kid. So it’s no surprise that littleness is a frequent topic in children’s literature: Alice shrinking, Dorothy among the Munchkins, Stuart Little in his little car, Little Red...

  We grownups are sometimes tempted to imagine childhood as sweet and innocent. (No wonder many children’s stories are sentimental and saccharine.) But the truth is, being a kid is scary—says Jerry Griswold in his book, Thinking Like A Kid. Remember the terror of...

Kids love snug places. They like to play underneath tables or make tents from blankets and chairs or find secret hideaways. In his book, Feeling Like A Kid, Jerry Griswold shows that Snugness is a big theme in children’s literature—from Badger’s cozy underground home...

What does it actually feel like to be a kid? Jerry Griswold, director of the National Center for the Study of Children’s Literature, has written an insightful little book that helps us with that. It’s called Feeling Like A Kid. Griswold says there are five themes that...