On Respecting Kids, But Not Being Boring About It
also, ducks
Deep dives on great picture books are here.
We recommend picture books here.
Jon will be joining the (adult) book club at Womb House Books in Oakland on October 26 for a discussion of the Skull. Tickets here.
And Mac will be in conversation with Jennifer Garner at the 92nd Street Y on December 5. They’ll be talking about — you guessed it — picture books. This is also an event for adults. Tickets here.
The Looking at Picture Books Shop is here.
MAC: Hi Jon.
JON: Hi Mac.
MAC: Today our question comes from the University of Michigan.
JON: Or it did, anyway. A little while ago.
MAC: Right, we talked to some students there the other week.
But we didn’t get to all their questions.
We were really into their questions, and then the bell rang.
And the kids left.
JON: Man, they stood up so fast.
They loved us though.
MAC: Definitely.
JON: We’re worth bringing into your university.
MAC: Absolutely.
The students will be abuzz as they sprint off to the dining hall.
JON: Chairs still spinning.
Our faces still projected on the wall. Waving.
(They have the kinds of chairs that spin in this scene.)
MAC: Anyway, we were sitting there, looking at their spinning chairs, still thinking about all their good questions that we still wanted to talk about, and we were like, “Are we just supposed to talk about these students’ questions with each other by ourselves?”
Then we remembered our newsletter!
And here we are.
JON: YOU guys will listen to us.
MAC: YOU would never close your browser and play frisbee on some quad.
JON: Hanging out at The Peach Pit.
MAC: OK, here is today’s question:
How do you approach creating books that respect a child’s intelligence while still being digestible for a young reader?