An All-of-a-Kind-Life

It's surprisingly easy to explain to people why I'm specifically interested in writing children's lit.  For me, the golden age of reading was 8 to 12.  I used to hide books under my desk at school, sneak them under the table during dinner, and read them with a flashlight at night.  When I finished the All-of-a-Kind-Family series, I cried and begged my mom to write the author and ask her for more books.  Don't get me wrong, I like reading adult stuff, but I've never felt as close to the characters as I did when I was a child.

It's not only me, as soon as I start to tell people about my crazy love of books as a child, they join in with their own stories.  It makes sense when you think about it.  Kids don't have cars, and they rarely get to choose what they eat.  Books give them autonomy.  They take them to other places, even other worlds.

The best part about writing for children is I can openly revisit the books I loved as a child and not feel embarrassed.  No one should feel embarrassed.  They're great books.

Portal to Another World

When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”
― C.S. Lewis