Debut Author Interviews

Do you have different taste in kids' books as an adult writer than as a kid?

• Paula Chase on...Taste in Books
• A.C.E. Bauer on...Taste in Books
• Ruth McNally Barshaw on...Taste in Books
• Carrie Jones on...Taste in Books
• Sarah Beth Durst on...Taste in Books
• Kelly Bingham on...Taste in Books
• Eric Luper on...Taste in Books
• Sarah Aronson on...Taste in Books
• Jeannine Garsee on...Taste in Books
• Judy Gregerson on...Taste in Books

Do you have different taste in kids’ books as an adult writer than as a kid?

Actually, no. You would think my taste would have matured. It hasn’t.

What I’ve found is that when reading adult literature I’m drawn to horror, mystery, true-crime and suspense novels. However, when reading YA I’m attracted to light-hearted, soap operaish, wish-fulfillment dramedy. It’s what I liked as a tween and it’s what I write as an author. Without doubt I write the type of books I would have liked reading as a young person.

I think it’s because my adult fiction tastes lean to the dark side that my YA tastes are 100% opposite. Ironically, I’ve never been into very serious, dark YA books…even before I started reading up.

Do you have different taste in kids’ books as an adult writer than as a kid?

I have changed since I was a kid, and so has my taste in books. When I read a children’s book now, my opinion is colored by years of reading. I read on more levels—for personal entertainment, from the point of view of a parent, as a professional writer. The quality of the a writer’s craft matters more to me than it would have as a kid. And some subjects no longer entertain me in the way they use to.

Which means there are books that I have outgrown and wouldn’t pick up anymore, such as the Brigitte series by Berthe Bernage (which followed a young French woman’s entire life over about thirty books). But there is also a great deal of overlap between what I liked then and what I like now. I continue to love The Phantom Tollbooth and Andrew Lang’s Fairy Books as much as when I first read them. I still enjoy Dr. Seuss and Anne of Green Gables, though perhaps not as much as I did as a kid. And I’m fond of comic books, although I now gravitate toward adult titles.

Then there are the children’s books which I discovered as an adult because I didn’t see them when I was a kid, or they hadn’t been written yet. Some that I have enjoyed, such as the Harry Potter series and Kevin Henkes’ books, I probably would have loved as a kid. Others, like The Secrets of Droon series, I might have liked as a kid but don’t interest me now. And then there are books like Hesse’s Out of the Dust and Paterson’s Jacob I Have Loved which riveted me as an adult but wouldn’t have interested me when I was younger.

Although my tastes have changed since I was a child, they haven’t been forgotten. I can still remember curling up on our sofa, lost in a novel, oblivious to time. I still search for that in the books I read.

Do you have different taste in kids’ books as an adult writer than as a kid?

No.
Actually, I keep seeking out books that enthralled me when I was a kid, and I find they’re still well-written.
I read aloud to my fourth grader most nights. We’ve been through many of the classic tween books together (Peggy Parish, Beverly Cleary, Madeline L’Engle), and we’ve also read some newer ones (just finished Because of Winn-Dixie, Tale of Despereaux and Princess Academy). We have a few thousand books here. I’m so glad all my kids love books as much as I do.

I have to say, the book I most enjoyed reading aloud to my daughter was my own, Ellie McDoodle, in ARC form. She laughed in all the right places. This of course makes me want to spoil her rotten. ; )

Do you have different taste in kids’ books as an adult writer than as a kid?

Not really.

I’m pretty much a book slut, and I’ve pretty much always been a book slut.

I’d go to the library and just pull out 20 random books a week from the kids’ shelves and the adult shelves. I’d totter up the stairs. They’d topple on the counter in front of the Bedford N.H. librarian. She’d always say, “Do you really read all these, Carrie?”

“Yes.”

I’d always glare at her for asking. Which is horrible. That poor librarian. What a horrible kid I was.

Then I’d take them outside, sit on the steps, start reading and wait for my mom to come pick me up.

The only differences? Now, the librarian believes me that I read the books and now I have to drive myself home.
It was much more fun before.

Do you have different taste in kids’ books as an adult writer than as a kid?

Nope. Some may say that I have preserved my childlike sense of wonder. Some may say I have the mental and emotional maturity of a four-year-old. I still love my childhood favorites (books like ALANNA, DEEP WIZARDRY, THE DARK IS RISING), and I still pick up books that I would have loved as a kid (KIKI STRIKE, A FISTFUL OF SKY, THE BLUE GIRL). Guess that explains why I write kids’ books.

Do you have different taste in kids’ books as an adult writer than as a kid?

Only my taste in subject matter has changed. I loved to read as a kid…mysteries and fun, sweet, stories…couldn’t bear books where animals suffered, like Black Beauty or Lassie Come Home. I liked to read about animals, mostly, and kids in the twelve-year old range. I couldn’t read scary things. They gave me nightmares.

I still avoid books where anybody suffers unduly, but I do lean more now towards reflective writing. I just love the No. 1 Ladie’s Detective Agency series, for example. So wonderful, so life affirming!

And I have matured enough to where I can handle a little death or a little gore in my mysteries. (But only a little.)

But as far as my tastes….I like well-written, well-crafted books, the kind you don’t want to see end. That hasn’t changed!

Do you have different taste in kids’ books as an adult writer than as a kid?

Actually, I was a reluctant reader when I was in high school. I did everything I could to avoid reading. That included television, Dungeons and Dragons, movies, and Cliff’s Notes. Yes, I’m ashamed to admit it…Cliff’s Notes played an important role in my school experience.

Strangely, these days I have an unquenchable desire to write books. I think that’s why my books are structured the way they are. They have a tendency to grab hold right on the first page and not let go. Having been a reluctant reader as a child and a writer today, I am keenly aware of how important it is to hang on to your reader and not give him or her any reason to put that book down.

Am I digressing here?

Today, I read far more than ever before. In fact, I regret missing all those years of reading opportunity. I think I’m making up for it now.

Do you have different taste in kids’ books as an adult writer than as a kid?

As a kid, I did not read. I loved film and TV. Horror and comedy. I didn’t really read much at all until age 16, when I lived in England, and began studying and devouring English literature.

I began to write as I started reading to my kids. I loved that experience. Kid on lap. Book in hand. Drama!!!

Now when I read, I have to remind myself to read for pleasure. I know that sounds ridiculous, but while getting an MFA, I learned to read to learn to write. (It’s the best way!!)

Do you have different taste in kids’ books as an adult writer than as a kid?

I don’t think my taste has changed, precisely. The books have changed. What I read back in the sixties and seventies were all that were really available to me, and very few of them had any serious “grit.” I used to read teen romances (though I didn’t enjoy them that much) because they seemed to be the most readily available; now I’d probably never pick one up unless there was a serious “catch” to the story, something to blow me away. By age twleve or so, I was reading adult books, anyway. Now I prefer YA books about real kids with problems more serious than the old “I can’t get a date for the prom” storyline. I like quirky characters in dangerous situations, or simply a “normal” character trying to survive very abnormal circumstances—or the “abnormal” characters trying to survive “normal.”

Do you have different taste in kids’ books as an adult writer than as a kid?

I started reading adult books when I was twelve and I honestly don’t remember what I read before that time, although I read a lot. My favorite stories now are about families. I am fascinated with how families work (good or bad) and how people make their way through the different alliances within families. I also like books about strong loyalties and ones that focus on the relationships between people, rather than plot focused books.