MEETING UP WITH KIDS, 25 YEARS LATER
So this weekend I went to my school reunion. It has been 25 years since I saw most of the people there, and it was a remarkable day, filled with warmth and laughter. We had all changed, and then again we hadn't. Funny old world.
As I drove home, I thought a lot about the different paths we'd taken and the truths that had come out of our frank discussions about school and childhood. It reminded me exactly why children's fiction is still booming.
It's because we're all different. And diversification is the key to survival for any industry. Well, not all industries. You don't want school to diversify into kids and gorillas, perhaps, and I can't see a mechanics and florists combo... But you know what I mean...
In kids literature, there is reader diversity in genre and in ability. I was surprised to find that some of my old friends had been reluctant readers and others avid to the point of obsession. I was surprised because we all went to the same school, we were all at a certain 'standard' (we sat exams to get in), were taught the same way, were bound to the same code of conduct and recognised the school mission statement - and yet, we developed and emerged as individual as you could ever imagine.
Among us there were doctors, nurses, lawyers, spiritualists, singers, writers, case workers for the police, teachers, make-up artists, horse riders, and even an Olympic marathon runner. I haven't even scratched the surface.
Think of all those brains twenty five years ago that sat through the same lessons but daydreamed in different ways, at different speeds, about their future and the world they were going to make for themselves.
That isn't ever going to change. Kids will always dream their own dreams. And for a children's author that is the most marvellous gift...
I know that not all kids will love my books and that my stories might not be to everyone's taste, but that's okay. That's even GOOD NEWS. Because it reinforces that idea of diversity and individuality, and I know that someone, somewhere is going to think the stuff I write is the bees knees. Because that's just the way they are. And I wouldn't want it any different.
As I drove home, I thought a lot about the different paths we'd taken and the truths that had come out of our frank discussions about school and childhood. It reminded me exactly why children's fiction is still booming.
It's because we're all different. And diversification is the key to survival for any industry. Well, not all industries. You don't want school to diversify into kids and gorillas, perhaps, and I can't see a mechanics and florists combo... But you know what I mean...
In kids literature, there is reader diversity in genre and in ability. I was surprised to find that some of my old friends had been reluctant readers and others avid to the point of obsession. I was surprised because we all went to the same school, we were all at a certain 'standard' (we sat exams to get in), were taught the same way, were bound to the same code of conduct and recognised the school mission statement - and yet, we developed and emerged as individual as you could ever imagine.
Among us there were doctors, nurses, lawyers, spiritualists, singers, writers, case workers for the police, teachers, make-up artists, horse riders, and even an Olympic marathon runner. I haven't even scratched the surface.
Think of all those brains twenty five years ago that sat through the same lessons but daydreamed in different ways, at different speeds, about their future and the world they were going to make for themselves.
That isn't ever going to change. Kids will always dream their own dreams. And for a children's author that is the most marvellous gift...
I know that not all kids will love my books and that my stories might not be to everyone's taste, but that's okay. That's even GOOD NEWS. Because it reinforces that idea of diversity and individuality, and I know that someone, somewhere is going to think the stuff I write is the bees knees. Because that's just the way they are. And I wouldn't want it any different.
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