We are joined today by national children’s book author, Lynne Jonell. If you missed part one, click here.
Lynne, when we left off yesterday, you were telling us how you got the idea for your first picture book. When did you decide it was ready to send to a publisher?
At the time, I was taking a class from children’s author Jane Resh Thomas. Instead of reading the next chapter in my middle grade novel, I read Mommy Go Away!. And Jane told me– “Lynne, you have a gift. You think like a toddler.”
I wasn’t quite sure if this was a compliment or not! But she went on to say that there were a lot of sweet “fuzzy bunny” stories out there, but not so many that really got into the heart and mind of a young child; and she urged me to continue writing picture books. So I did; and when our second son, Rob, was born, I had even more material!
You mentioned a concern some readers have had, that people might think that fantasies like this only encourage children to act up and dismiss parental authority. How do you reply to that concern?
Let me tell you a true story.
A friend of mine has a little boy who has always been a delight— a very easy child to have around. He plays well by himself and with others. He accepts his place in the world and doesn’t seem to challenge authority, or worry. So my friend was very surprised when her son—let’s call him Jimmy— hated the change to a new preschool.
She had thought it would be an easy transition; the new preschool was in their own church, and my friend in her role as director would be there often. But Jimmy hated the transition, and bucked it in every possible way— refusing to get ready on time, losing his socks, not participating once he was there, you name it.
And when his mother tried to find out just why he hated the new preschool so much, the only answer he could give her was, “They don’t have orange play dough.”
Jimmy could not really articulate what was bothering him. Telling about the orange play dough was the closest he could come. And of course it didn’t begin to cover what was really wrong. You won’t be surprised to discover that when his new teacher made up a special batch of orange play dough just for him, it didn’t help at all.
What was he really saying? Well, Jimmy is a child who doesn’t like change. And his new preschool was different, and therefore uncomfortable. Even having his mother there didn’t make up for the fact that everything was changed, nothing was the way it was supposed to be– and his whole world was falling apart.
Coincidentally, there was a particular book at this time that Jimmy asked for over and over again. It was called Up The Wall, and the basic premise was that a child who was always having to pick up his toys and move out of the way when he played on the floor, eventually got tired of it and walked up the wall in order to play on the ceiling. And once on the ceiling, he was happy. Because he was never in anyone’s way. And he could leave his toys just as he liked, and no one made him pick them up or change things in any way. He could make his own world exactly the way he liked it– all the while remaining in the security of his own house, with his parents and siblings near.
Jimmy loved this book. My friend said he asked for it twenty times a day during this period. Later, as he became happier at the new preschool, he didn’t ask for the book nearly as much. It had served its purpose– it had given him, in fantasy, what he could not have in reality. And that helped him, much as a talk with a therapist or a pastor or a good friend might have helped an adult. How wonderful that the book was there for him, right when he needed it!
Did that book make Jimmy more likely to try to climb his walls, or create a play space on his ceiling? Nope. He knew it was a fantasy, just as any children reading my book “Mommy Go Away!” know quite well that they are unable to shrink their mothers and send them off for a ride in the tub. But oh, the wonder and joy of being able to do so in a book!
And I think that’s the bottom line; that’s why I wrote those picture books. I wanted to be a voice for children who cannot quite express what they feel so very strongly… and I wanted to say that, in spite of the inevitable conflicts that arise between parent and child, there is also a great and abiding love.
Lynne, I think it’s wonderful that you are reaching into the minds and hearts of children and giving them a voice.
We’ll continue our interview with Lynne Jonell on Monday. In the meantime, be sure to visit her site to learn more about her.
Related Blogs:
Picture Books by Lynne Jonell and Petra Mathers
The Children’s Picture Books of Margie Palatini