I was trying to express the other day why the children’s book community is such a warm and supportive place. I think it’s the same reason why I write for children and young adults in the first place. That is: writers and illustrators of children’s books are trying to achieve something greater than a fantastic story. We are also trying to hold up a mirror that reflects a different image than society is reflecting.

I felt this strongly in high school when I was reading Madeline L’Engle’s A Ring of Endless Light, which showed an awkward, scientifically-minded girl finding love, magic, and poetry in the world. Over the course of the book, Vicky learns how to be strong and I, in turn, integrated her strength into myself.

Before that, in middle school, the same thing happened with the Anastasia Krupnik books by Lois Lowry. Anastasia was always making dramatic and embarrassing mistakes. For example, while walking her dog to the corner mailbox, she accidentally mailed a bag of dog poop instead of her letter. Too mortified to tell anyone, she spends the rest of the book positive that the police were going to arrest her for tampering with the mail. Anastasia’s wild imagination and neuroses helped me find humor in my own.

Before The Great Read of ‘07, I may not have extended this idea to picture books, but now I see that it’s definitely true. Though in a slightly different way. While middle grade and YA books are usually holding the mirror up to the individual (the reader and the main characters), I’ve found that picture books are often reflecting the world at large.

Picture books usually show the way the world should be, or maybe more accurately, the way it should behave. Imaginations are rewarded. Beauty and magic are found everywhere. Grumpy, wild behavior is be forgiven and answered with unconditional love. The lost parent is found, the mix-up is explained, the bully reasoned with. Most of all, kids find ways to fix their mistakes and are easily forgiven.

While so many of these things are not true of the real world, picture books reflect things that should be valued and treasured. They instill a world of creativity and love within a child, that can support and encourage them when the ‘real’ world fails them. This is an awesome and wonderful task. To, page by page, help build the inner world of a child. This is why I write picture books.

Posted in The Great Picture Book Read, Books, Writing

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