|
|
|
Welcome to What's in their backpack? This month,
The Edge of the Forest correspondent Kim Winters talks with Esmé Raji Codell of
Planet Esmé about what's hot with young readers, and readers who are young at
heart.
The Edge of the Forest: Esmé, thanks for taking time from your busy schedule to talk with
The Edge of the Forest.
First of all, please tell us a little bit about yourself.
Esmé: I'm a Libra and I love short walks by the beach. Aside from that, I am a former children's bookseller,
teacher and librarian. Currently I am the site director for PlanetEsmé.com,
one of the most highly trafficked children's literature websites on the 'net, and the PlanetEsmé Bookroom, a resource
center for teachers and parents that houses a collection of about 12,000 of the most amazing children's books. I am
dedicated to getting wonderful books into the hands of wonderful kids, and creating more informed consumers to that end.
I am also the author of several books: Educating Esmé, How to Get Your Child to Love Reading,
Sahara Special, Diary of a Fairy Godmother, Sing a Song of Tuna Fish, Hanukkah Shmanukkah,
and this fall, Vive la Paris.
The Edge of the Forest: What attracted you to children's books and why?
Esmé: Well, I always loved children's books and reading, because when I was a kid, it was like having friends
waiting for me between the bindings. It was like getting to travel, even when my parents couldn't take me where I wanted to
go. It was knowing that I was going to laugh. (I read a lot of comic books!) The pictures were so beautiful; it was my
first experience with real art. Reading was magic; those squiggly lines on the page somehow make anything seem possible,
like dreaming with your eyes open.
When I was little, I was attracted to children's books because they made it so I was never bored and never really alone.
But as an adult, I see that children's books have another power: the power to equalize education.
A great book in the hands of a rich kid is the same great book in the hands of a poor kid, so it's really important that
books are accessible to all.
Great children's literature also empowers teachers and parents to individualize instruction to the children they care
about; no one-size-fits-all, but a custom cut! I want all children to have those gifts, and to understand that behind
every book they read, there is an artist who is trying to share something. That's how the initial attraction I felt as a
young person grew into a passion, and a profession.
The Edge of the Forest: Let's talk about children's books. What types of books are attracting early readers?
Why do you think these types of books excite readers?
Esmé: I think there is a desire for early readers to read what they perceive the bigger kids are reading, "real"
books that have chapters, and this is encouraged widely in schools, with their drive for higher test scores and a
perception of "achievement" that is largely quantifiable. In the minds of many, thick books = good readers! I mention this
because I think children of all ages really benefit from picture books; they have a clear narrative structure, beautiful
(language?), and also offer the kind exercises in visual literacy that are extremely important for kids growing up today,
inundated as they are with so many visual messages. The "window of opportunity" children are given to enjoy them is just
too small for all of the wonderful offerings available to fit. So even if emergent readers feel stigmatized by being seen
with them, parents should try to share at least one a night through third grade, and longer if they are allowed.
Ok. That said, a few hot early readers are the Franny K. Stein: Mad Scientist series by Jim Benton, kind of a Captain
Underpants for girls, and Jenni and Matthew Holm's graphic novel series Babymouse has made a big splash. See, even the
chapter books for emergent readers brim with illustration, because developmentally, they want those visual cues! I guess
Lewis Carroll's Alice really summed it up when she said, "what is the use of a book without pictures or conversations!"
Kate DiCamillo's Mercy Watson books, James Howe's Houndsley and Catina series, they all throw chapter headings in when the
books could read smoothly without them, in my opinion. But if the headings make kids feel like they are kicking reading
butt, hey, let's roll with it!
The Edge of the Forest: Which books do your middle grade readers clamor for?
Esmé: I think there are some elements in books for intermediate aged children that are pretty timeless. These kids
look for humor, friendship and adventure in their stories. Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief is a prime example.
After a bit of a dry spell, there has been a new spike in mystery stories. Penguin is even starting a new imprint this
fall, "Sleuth," that includes some intriguing titles such as The Raven League by Alex Simmons and Bill McCay, and
Jennifer Alison continues her popular Gilda Joyce series. I think the element of mystery that was part of Blue Balliet's
Chasing Vermeer success gave publishing a goose; it reminded them that hey, kids are smart and they like smart
books with smart characters!
I also think that non-fiction is gaining increasing viability as "real" reading, as the "Eyewitness" books started the
ball rolling years ago, and now the "Ology" series from Candlewick is taking this material in a new aesthetic direction.
Kids live in an information age, and they want information.
Middle-graders are at a developmental stage where they want to feel knowledgeable, good at things. The trends reflect this.
I was really touched when I read Amy Timberlake's new novel That Girl Lucy Moon, because I felt like wow, here is
a book that shows kids how they are: problem solvers, trying to find power in a world where they still don't have much,
still kind of tentative with each other. It wasn't stereotypical. I definitely think there is room for the "quiet" novel;
Deborah Wiles' Each Little Bird that Sings, Kate DiCamillo's work, these books find their audience. I'm glad.
It reminds the business people that you can't always approach books the same way as you do television and other media.
The Edge of the Forest: Do you see differences between boy and girl middle grade readers? If so, to what do you
attribute these differences?
Esmé The biggest difference, frankly, that I see between middle grade boy and girl readers is that girls will read
books with boys on the cover, and boys won't (or at least not until they are in the privacy of their own homes). You can
turn the average boy reader's head with a fantasy like Eragon or Harry Potter. Graphic novels still have a lot of
their traditional testosterone running through them. They still go for a good poop joke, an animal story, a zany cover.
There is a lot of positive support at Guysread.com for folks who want to bring
boys to books. In fact, and this may go against the general consensus, while the gap seems to be closing between gender
differences in what kids are willing to read, I find appealing to girl readers is becoming harder than appealing to boys.
I have encountered more girl "reluctant readers" than I ever have before. They have the same distractions as boys; they are
involved in sports, tutoring, they have cable TV, they are on the computer...you need some downtime to become a reader,
whether you're a boy or a girl, and both genders are overscheduled.
Girls continue to largely seem drawn to books with strong relationships, strong themes of friendship; I think that's why
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was such a hit. More girls seem to be reading fantasy, and looking for fantasies
with strong female protagonists.
I think both boys and girls are acutely aware of what other kids see them reading. I think both boys and girls like to feel
a part of something bigger when they read: book clubs, popular trends, anticipated movie tie-ins.
The Edge of the Forest: Can you talk a little bit about the rise in chicklit as a popular choice among readers?
Why do you think we've seen an increase in these titles?
Esmé: What's that, anyway? A pink cover? I don't give chicklit a lot of thought; I consider it a derogatory term,
like something without enough universal quality to be read by everyone, but good enough to be relegated to women. It's also
part of an older readership that isn't really part of what I do. If there's an increase in titles, it's because it sells.
I will say, though, I think that the feminist backlash is taking its toll on middle grade readers. While girls have always
flocked to The Babysitters Club and American Girls, and have built reading communities around these choices, I think the
marketing is becoming more lascivious.
There are so many books with pieces of a girl's body on the covers; belly buttons and midriffs, beguiling smiles with eyes
covered by hats or shades, so many books about girls who are aspiring models or music video stars. Now, if older readers
apply criteria and this is what they choose to consume, hey, we all like a Big Mac once in a while; I can't do anything
about that other than to keep reminding them that there's filet mignon out there when they want it.
I am, however, concerned that middle grade girl readers are trying to "read up," so they are choosing titles largely about
older girls, containing themes that are sometimes too mature and presented in a way that is misleadingly flippant, vacuous,
or sexually careless; but these readers don't have the experience to understand just how flippant, vacuous or careless it
all is. It stops being entertainment and starts to represent the roles they imagine they are expected to play in the
culture. They are not being given enough to choose from in which they can genuinely identify with the characters. By not
given enough, I mean that not enough of them are given face-out displays or media. They are still out there, just like
the real girls are.
I tried to write the book I would have liked to read when I was about eleven in Diary of a Fairy Godmother, in which I
suggest that girls "Be the One with the Wand," that is, if there's something good enough to wish for, it's good enough to
go out and get for yourself. Maybe that's chicklit. It does have a pink cover. Huh.
The Edge of the Forest: Have you noticed changes in reading preferences among visitors to Planet Esmé? If so, what
are they?
Esmé: I'm really lucky. I just love my visitors to pieces. My site isn't really geared towards kids, it's geared
toward the grown-ups who want to be better supporting characters in the reading life stories of kids. The people who visit
my website are usually pretty enlightened, or they would like to be. If anything, my visitors have been even more intent on
finding quality; just the fact that they've arrived means they have been searching, and I have a lot of respect for anyone
who takes the time to do that.
Many of my visitors want grade levels, AR points; their requests reflect the pressures they are under...but you can't
really peruse the thousand-some reviews on PlanetEsmé.com and stay hung up
on levels. You can't be a book snob. You'll miss too much fun that way. Usually, my visitors are just looking for a good
book, and the books I recommend are generally good for read-aloud, which I encourage and which they ultimately can't help
but try. Some things are just too good not to share. Whatever their preferences are, the more exposure
they get broadens their horizons to what's really available.
The Edge of the Forest: Any differences you see in today's reader as compared to 5 years ago? 10 years ago?
Esmé: Yes. For one thing, I notice that books seem more disposable; kids don't seem to build collections. For
another, I think young readers are increasingly media savvy, and yes, it is hard for books to compete with all the fabulous
beeping and booping and smashing and crashing that surrounds them. Even the quiet ones know how to use the internet (which
has a lot of reading on it, too).
I think the trick is not to try to beep and boop and crash and smash; I hate when books try to be movies. The thing that
makes books great are the things that other media can't do: give us insights into the ways characters feel, think, what
they wish for, way down deep, deep, deeper than a camera or a cable can connect us.
Books are presents that authors and artists make for us, and they challenge us to receive the world gracefully and
gratefully. Books can preserve the past, give us ideas, make us believe.
Trends suggest there will probably be fewer people willing to take the time to find this out; it seems the act of reading
is more of a craft than we might have realized. But when I think of the work of art that the reader is, I mean the actual
person who has been changed by reading, whoa nelly! It's worth holding on to the tradition of trying to share something in
plain old fashioned print.
The Edge of the Forest: What books are you recommending to your readers and why?
Esmé: Check out the new PlanetEsmé Book-a-Day Plan,
featuring recent recommendations of books based on the myriad of criteria I put forth in How to Get Your Child to Love
Reading. I recommend picture books, fiction and non-fiction for children birth through sixth grade. Lately I have
recommended Laura Ruby's The Wall and the Wing, Sue Stauffacher's Harry Sue, the legend of
Lugalbanda, Dianna Aston's masterpiece An Egg is Quiet. Why? Because if you go to a chain bookstore, the
selection you experience has already been put through a kind of sieve; they need to put out what they think will sell
most. The selections aren't kid-tested, they may or may not be read aloud, and who knows how they are integrated into a
classroom or a library storytime?
Books are too expensive, in my opinion, to gamble on. So I try to suggest things that I believe will hit a home run (or at
least get on base) with real children, real readers, so that grown-ups who pay for these things can feel a little more
successful and confident about their choices. I want to offer them a consistent and reputable source for recommendations,
and I put my name on every one. I also recommend that people get to know their local independent bookstore through
Booksense.com, and support their public library. These are wonderfully
reciprocal relationships worth cultivating.
The Edge of the Forest: What was the last good children's book you read?
Esmé: I'm in the middle of Here Be Monsters! by Alan Snow, and I can't wait to get back to it.
So toodle-oo!
Esmé Raji Codell's Books
Diary of a Fairy Godmother. Hyperion, 2005. ISBN: 0-7868-0965-5.
How to Get Your Child to Love Reading: For Ravenous and Reluctant Readers Alike.
Algonquin Books, 2003.
ISNB: 1-5651-2308-5.
Sing a Song of Tuna Fish : Hard-to-Swallow Stories from Fifth Grade. Hyperion, 2004.
ISBN: 0-7868-5509-6.
Educating Esme: Diary of a Teacher's First Year. Algonquin Books, 2001. ISBN: 1-5651-2279-8.
Sahara Special. Hyperion, 2004. ISBN: 0-7868-1611-2.
Hanukkah, Shmanukkah! Illustrations by LeUyen Pham. Hyperion, 2005. ISBN: 0-7868-5179-1.
Forthcoming October 1, 2006: Vive la Paris! Hyperion, 2006. ISBN: 0-7868-5124-4.
|
| |
|
|