Book Learnin'

Why should those of us who do not write for children, or have small fry underfoot, care about reading children's books? What could we possibly glean from pages adorned with illustrations of pigs and puppies, or tales of teens?

Lately I've been thinking about all of the books that have influenced me over the years as both a reader and a writer, and I've realized that not a few have been titles I read as a child, or to my own kids. Although I do not write for young children, I think these books have a lot to offer, for they have to captivate an easily distracted audience with very few words, and in a short amount of time.

And that's why I see their importance. Books, especially early readers like Nancy Carlson's "I Like Me", or "The Puppy Who Wanted A Boy", do a superb job of stirring readers' emotions. And isn't that really the job of the writer? When I pick up some of these charming titles, I feel joy, grief, anxiety, relief. In short a whole spectrum of emotion.

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