The illustrious Cynthia Lord wants to know what middle graders think about books. She is speaking at a Washington State SCBWI conference in April and she’s gone straight to the mouth of babes for her material.
My nine-year-old agreed to answer a few of her queries, and you can just color me enlightened right now.
I didn’t know she wished Pacy (from Grace Lin’s Year of the Dog) were real so they could be best friends.
I didn’t know she wouldn’t choose a book if the cover were messy.
And I didn’t know that she thought this:
One thing I see in books that isn’t really true about kids is that all kids hate there siblings.
That warms the cockles of a mama’s heart.
(Thanks for the great questions, Cindy…)
Aww. I didn’t hate mine either. Not even my two younger brothers.
Sibling love!
Oh that does indeed make a mama’s heart sing. Way to go Liz. I’m going to pose those questions to my own brood. What a fun way to gain a little insight.
What a refreshing look into your own child’s thoughts on reading and … everything else. I wish I could pick my own child’s head (and I don’t mean checking for lice in the midst of an epidemic).
Amy Hanek
http://www.houseonthegladehill.blogspot.com
My 13-yo answered too. She said there are too many books about kids from New York’s Upper East Side and not enough true teen life struggles. She also said, when asked if she preferred 1st person or 3rd person: “I tend to like both equally, it mainly depends on how well the book is written for me to judge that.”
Her favorite characters:
1.Belle (and Tom) from Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend
2.Stephanie from Skulduggery Pleasant
3.Elinor from Sense and Sensibility (!)
I could kiss Cindy for writing the questions, since I’m so blown away by M’s answers.
Wow. That cover comment would make Fuse happy (and makes me happy, too, as someone who appreciates good illustrations and good design).
I’m 1,000 years behind on blog-reading (’cause of work), including yours, and I’m so terrifically lost. But it’s good to be back here again. I’ll have to look later to see if I’ve missed much.
jules, 7-Imp