tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post3597243455278098266..comments2024-03-26T23:41:10.319+00:00Comments on Authors Electric: Writing to help children save the world - Kathleen JonesKatherine Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-82624192624651579032015-09-05T23:44:03.341+01:002015-09-05T23:44:03.341+01:00yes a timely post, reminding us of the less busine...yes a timely post, reminding us of the less business-y side of writing! I suppose books for children and young adults are often influenced by the awareness of publishers and agents that it's parents who usually buy books for children, so they need to be on board - some authors may be influenced by that too. This might explain the prevalence of morals or issues.Lydia Bennethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09328239009863878547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-7796267355303860722015-09-05T20:58:33.985+01:002015-09-05T20:58:33.985+01:00It is, isn't it Bill, and it took me a long ti...It is, isn't it Bill, and it took me a long time to realise it! <br />Ann - I'm glad to be able to introduce you to such a wonderful author.Kathleen Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07645566938871914385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-27997894747345966382015-09-05T17:25:58.448+01:002015-09-05T17:25:58.448+01:00A lovely, thoughtful post, Kathleen. Amongst all t...A lovely, thoughtful post, Kathleen. Amongst all the usual angst and fretting about formatting, marketing and the other important trivia of what we do, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that, as authors, we have responsibilities for the effects we cause. But then, what a privilege it is to have such intimate access to others.Bill Kirtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16345949773423764808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-89386654967020834042015-09-05T13:59:48.182+01:002015-09-05T13:59:48.182+01:00Very interesting post, Kathleen. You've mentio...Very interesting post, Kathleen. You've mentioned some books there that I'd like to read, and hadn't known about. Thank you.Ann Evanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09310566139408774783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-78057580562971941422015-09-05T11:36:55.612+01:002015-09-05T11:36:55.612+01:00Thank you Julia. I like your Strong Winds books be...Thank you Julia. I like your Strong Winds books because they do send out a strong message and they deal with contemporary issues in an illuminating way.<br />Hi Jan - I'm currently in Italy, so can't get hold of the Guardian except online, so not sure if I've read the piece you're thinking of. There are several good articles today. <br />Dennis, I'm glad you liked War Boy - I was born after the war, but listened to my parents adn grandparents stories. It was a mixture of the grim and the hilarious. Michael Foreman seems to be able to do both and the writing is so simple and yet so powerful. Kathleen Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07645566938871914385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-7093553207018635732015-09-05T09:32:58.086+01:002015-09-05T09:32:58.086+01:00A very timely and moving post, Kathleen. It sets o...A very timely and moving post, Kathleen. It sets out the responsibility of the serious children's writer: not to preach values but to embed them in the warp and weft of the story and this I have always tried to do. Some subjects, the migrant/refugee crisis for example, are too big for me even to comprehend, let alone write about: there's a great difference between sympathising and empathising. Michael Foreman is a wonderful writer and can do it. War Boy is a marvellous book. I remember it came out just before my own The War and Freddie, which shares its motivation of recording a real and monstrous event from the standpoint of a little boy (a fictionalised me) before it was all forgotten. It's still in print (just: it's now published by Catnip) and has been since 1991. But there lies the difference between Foreman and me. He has the courage and confidence to take on the world as it is, deal with a (then) contemporary crisis and produce the marvellous image you describe in A Child's Garden. I know that to say anything comparable in narrative terms, I have to go back into the past. To show the permanence of hope whatever the situation is, I think, the necessary theme of the children's writer because if we don't, not many others will. That's why I abominate the tendency towards nihilism I detect in some children's/young adult books of today.Dennis Hamleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781139870037634374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-89567623134572024092015-09-05T09:16:14.237+01:002015-09-05T09:16:14.237+01:00Fine piece, Kathleen. Thanks. And have you read th...Fine piece, Kathleen. Thanks. And have you read the Guardian's first leader today? Amazingly good.Jan Needlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15823078224282953782noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-71862969582948990282015-09-05T08:23:47.187+01:002015-09-05T08:23:47.187+01:00Just exactly so - I've been up since early thi...Just exactly so - I've been up since early this morning thinking about migrants and refugees and the wickedness of people who take their money and take no responsibility for their safety. I learned a lot about Chinese migrants when I was writing the first Strong Winds vols and I'm going to use that for my blog this week. YOu blog gives me lots of reading ideas and I'll share it in the hope that others will be glad of them too. Thank youjulia joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09773900100240758504noreply@blogger.com