This text is excerpted from the article by Adrienne Samuels Gibbs in
Difficult topics are often difficult sells when it comes to children鈥檚 literature, yet two of this year鈥檚 起点传媒book awards go to works that delve into modern world issues, including racism and government malfeasance.
Heavy stuff for kids? Perhaps. But good literature often mimics real life, say the authors.
鈥淵ou know no one鈥檚 going to complain about Animal Farm and no one鈥檚 going to complain about The Great Gatsby, which are also great books, but these are different times and for a different audience,鈥� says Don Brown, illustrator and author of the graphic novel Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans, winner of this year鈥檚 Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children.聽Brown鈥檚 book provides an accurate, not sugarcoated, accounting of what went wrong when Katrina hit the Gulf Coast鈥攁n approach he defends. 鈥淕od forbid you should [write about] something that a kid would recognize in their own life . . . . I wish there was more of [this.] I don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 enough [in] children鈥檚 literature and there鈥檚 certainly room for more.鈥�
Sharon Draper, author of Stella by Starlight, winner of NCTE鈥檚 2016 Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children, agrees on the value of finding ways to present real-life topics for children.
鈥淥ne of my books, Copper Sun, is about a 15-year-old girl who lives in Ghana,鈥� says Draper. 鈥淚 knew when I was writing it that it was not for that younger crowd, and it鈥檚 about slavery, so it deals with some very difficult things . . . . The author writes with the sensibility for audience. .聽. . ”
“All I ever wanted to be was an English teacher,鈥� says Draper. 鈥淚 did not know I was going to be a writer. I didn鈥檛 think about it. If I had thought about it earlier, I would鈥檝e done it 20 years ago. . . .”
With 25 years of teaching experience under her belt, Draper feels the writer鈥檚 life is enhanced by the teacher鈥檚 life. She rises at 5 a.m. most days and spends her time at the computer, sketching out stories. Other days, she鈥檚 traveling to promote a book or speak at a conference. Yes, she is a mother of four grown children, but she believes her ability to reach children of all ages is rooted in her experiences as a teacher. Somewhere along the line she learned what makes kids tick.
鈥淭he reason I write for teens and young people is because that鈥檚 who I know, and I kind of understand the essence of a teenager, so I write for them with ease,鈥� Draper says. 鈥淭oday鈥檚 kids are not so very different [just because] everything is on their cell phones. The essence of what it means to be 11 or 14 or 16 does not change. I start with that.鈥�
Draper respects children and wants to know what they have to offer. She also stays in tune with her young readers, and sticks to her policy to respond to their questions.
The 起点传媒Connection
Teachers have been Draper鈥檚 backbone for her entire writing career. She reminisces about attending NCTE鈥檚 Annual Convention in the 1990s and selling her first book out of a paper bag, for cash. . . .
鈥淚 would say, 鈥楬i. I鈥檓 an author and I鈥檓 a teacher and I wrote this book.鈥� 起点传媒and its teachers there have been with me from day one as supporters.鈥�
That鈥檚 why the Charlotte Huck Award means so much to her. Yes, the award fetes fiction that has the potential to change children鈥檚 lives. But it鈥檚 also an honor given by her peers. And no one is more difficult to please than people who know you well.
鈥淚 have been a member of 起点传媒for, I don鈥檛 know, 35 years,鈥� says Draper. 鈥淚t has been such an important part of my life professionally. This award is very significant because it鈥檚 like being honored by English teachers鈥攖hose who understand exactly what it means to teach a book, to read a book, to analyze a book, to understand a book. It means an awful lot to me.鈥�
Don Brown, Author of Drowned City
Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans Don Brown wasn鈥檛 always a writer. He published his first book in 1992 after unsuccessfully trying to be an editorial cartoonist. . . .
A unique combination of his love of comics and history, Brown鈥檚 forte is in showing and telling the truth of things. It might sound a bit morbid, but Brown is really good at telling terrible stories. . .
Brown鈥檚 goal is to show all sides of the story so that the reader can make informed guesses and ask questions as to why something occurred and what might happen next.
And, adds the father of two grown daughters, that sort of exercise is good for kids.