Leda Schubert * Writer of Picture Books

Sep 17, 2010 9:55 AM EDT

I think E.B. White said that children are the most demanding audience to write for -- he said you can't write "down" to children, but rather "up," and I think there's a lot of truth to that. While I suppose some chidren's writers come to it with a political or other agenda, I bet most do it because they love to write, they love to tell stories, they love the way children's minds work, they've found a writing voice that works well for children., and they love the challenge of writing convincingly for children.

I once asked Diane Ackerman, a nature writer, whether her writing was driven by an urge to preserve the things she loved and to raise awareness about the natural world, and she replied quite frankly that she writes for purely selfish reasons -- she loves to write, and writes about what she loves, plain and simple. If one of her books happens to cause someone to change their behavior, that's just icing on the cake.

- Brad

Sep 17, 2010 1:18 PM EDT

Brad, I certainly agree with E. B. White. Fascinating comment from Diane Ackerman, whose writing I also love. Thanks.
leda

- Leda Schubert

Sep 17, 2010 1:42 PM EDT

Leda, I hope your reunion is wonderful and life-affirming and friend-affirming - they are lucky to have you organizing it.

I'll say, in terms of writing for children, that though the main purpose is my own pleasure (love to write poems, no matter who the intended audience) I also sense deep within me a desire to help children understand, from a very early age, that the world is a mysterious place, full of wonder and beauty and heartache and complications - nothing is simple, so we should try not to be simple-minded. My goal, if I follow on this desire, is to produce a citizenry that earns its art, that is not as smug and self-satisfied and self-righteousness as all the Tea Party nuts taking over the country right now. I want to suggest that nuance and doubt are good. I ask a lot of questions in my work, and I love to think that kids will learn to ask questions, too.

- Julie Larios

Sep 17, 2010 3:45 PM EDT

Have a fabulous time at your reunion, which is just one way to revisit your own "childhood" (have no idea how old you were at camp...) - writing for kids is the other. Hugs - j

- Janet Fox

Jan 26, 2011 4:03 AM EST

Why write for children? Children's are our just near future we should keep good things for them. Thinking so, I am trying to do so.

- online book shop for children

Jul 07, 2010 5:16 AM EDT

Leda, I know just what you mean about spending ten months of the year yearning for two! Our first true love and sense of longing, I guess. And you're so right about how useful it can be to tap into when writing. Your post reminded me that the first title I had for my camp stories was "Camp Is My Life." It was discarded because the book was about several characters and not in the first person. So the title seemed misleading. But anyone who had the kind of camp bond we experienced will tell you that there is a time when camp is your life. Don't know if you heard this old NPR program on camp but it's worth going back to...just like camp.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/

- Miriam Glassman

Jul 07, 2010 5:30 AM EDT

Thanks, Miriam-- I did hear it. Keep working on that book.
leda

- Leda Schubert

Jul 09, 2010 6:21 AM EDT

Another great blog post to chew on, Leda, and I'm going to come back when I can chew slowly. Yearning is such a fertile topic. (I stopped yearning for summer after I left Vermont. Hmmmm.) The topic of being an outsider sounds like something I don't want to miss.

- Deborah Kops

Jul 09, 2010 6:54 AM EDT

Hi Deborah. Thanks for your response! Right now I'm yearning for winter.

- Leda Schubert

Aug 21, 2010 12:59 PM EDT

Hi Leda. It was nice to meet you today at Norwich Lake, in Huntington. While the physical Camp environment you knew many years ago has changed, I think you know that this special area continues to provide peace and sanctuary. One of our newest residents is a Bald Eagle, which has made it's home nearby. A deer family has found shelter in the woods beyond the old camp tennis court. Children and grandchildren enjoy the water and the woods.

- Alma LaFrance

Aug 21, 2010 5:35 PM EDT

Hi Alma. I think you met my dear friend Lisa, not me, but I'm so glad to hear about Norwich Pond, because I was there as well.

- Leda Schubert

Aug 22, 2010 10:21 AM EDT

PS to Alma: I have now heard from both Josh and Lisa about your role in preserving our beloved camp land, and I thank you with every cell in my body. They think you are a fairy godmother, and so do I.

- Leda Schubert

Jun 17, 2010 6:49 AM EDT

Just curious...
Was this just one summer?
Or did you do the camp thing for 2 or 3 summers?

I had 4 or 5 summers at camp
and subsequently "spoiled" in regards to "normal" life,
which is seldom sufficiently magical.

Darn exquisite Nature.

- Bill H.

Jun 17, 2010 7:16 AM EDT

Bill, I went for 8 summers, and then I spent one summer at a camp for teens. I know exactly what you mean about being spoiled for normal life. Thanks for your comment.

- Leda Schubert