tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post4270078436638598981..comments2023-07-22T04:51:00.772-07:00Comments on Jennifer Represents...: The "D" WordLiteraticathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513424208149456614noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-63417041017704170422012-11-01T16:26:46.920-07:002012-11-01T16:26:46.920-07:00Oh I definitely know B-Bears is big for kids - sti...Oh I definitely know B-Bears is big for kids - still sells like crazy (and I personally remember LOOOOVING them as a kid). There is always going to be a place for this kind of preachy stuff. But the thing is... it exists already, you know? That is the kind of stuff that publishers churn out in their "merch" catalog -- mass market paperbacks, e-z readers, lessony books, books they sell in a bin in the supermarket... often written by editorial assistants under false names. There's nothing WRONG with these books per se, but they are not exactly art, and they aren't the sort of books that agents often rep. Literaticathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15513424208149456614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-20308753132316613642012-10-31T17:00:40.430-07:002012-10-31T17:00:40.430-07:00I was thinking of Berenstain Bears too. Oh, how my...I was thinking of Berenstain Bears too. Oh, how my husband and I hated reading them for their banal prose and hit-you-over-the head obvious lessons. Oh, how both our kids loved to hear them again and again. Made me think that kids find those "lessons" reassuring. <br /><br />In MG, there are brilliant writers who teach so subtly you don't even know what you're learning. E.L. Konigsburg comes to mind. She somehow brings Savanorola into a contemporary story about -- among many other things -- a vending cart battle. (and that's just one example!)Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17191516795753978883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-80273144944115783892012-10-31T11:18:50.756-07:002012-10-31T11:18:50.756-07:00Debra, I soooo agree with your blogpost! I wonder...Debra, I soooo agree with your blogpost! I wonder if we are talking of the same person, or if not, then even more reason to believe what is being said...Newbery Honor Winner, Marion Dane Bauer, gave an incredible teleseminar with Writing for Children Live on picture book writing and said the same thing!!!! Such great advice Jennifer!!!!!Kim Taylor-DiLevahttp://www.writingforchildrenlive.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-77886387625445450542012-10-27T20:09:25.824-07:002012-10-27T20:09:25.824-07:00I took a children's book writing class with a ...I took a children's book writing class with a person near me known for her expertise with PB. The don't be preachy part seemed so obvious when she reminded us that kids are constantly told what to do, when to do it, and what not to do. They have little power in and over their lives. I liked that she reminded us that the PB should give the protagonist power. Using what you've described, I'd say the lessons may be there, but do it through the experience that give the protagonist power.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08765040609183805198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-62884231629021672102012-10-25T12:12:06.939-07:002012-10-25T12:12:06.939-07:00Entertain and delight, definitely! FUN! Enjoyable....Entertain and delight, definitely! FUN! Enjoyable. Lessons are so bleh.Christie Wright Wildhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13656162315858480593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-39727803131605051182012-10-22T10:04:01.543-07:002012-10-22T10:04:01.543-07:00I love today's post, Jennifer. I was talking w...I love today's post, Jennifer. I was talking with a new writer this weekend about didactic. He asked, "What happened to the books I love as a kid? Why isn't anyone publishing books like that anymore?" Which led to the question, "Would a series like Berenstain Bears be published today?" Now THOSE are didactic books (the lessons are even in the titles! "Pressure", "The In-Crowd", etc.), but kids still love them today. What's changed? Wouldn't you also put someone else (especially an adult) solving a character's problem in the same no-no category? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-47736251471288975202012-10-22T09:51:26.987-07:002012-10-22T09:51:26.987-07:00Didactic = Dejection... :(
{D words are fun to pla...Didactic = Dejection... :(<br />{D words are fun to play with. Sorry to be Distracting.}Mirka Breenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00653086859905415156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11089716.post-55282363077828432062012-10-22T09:36:16.039-07:002012-10-22T09:36:16.039-07:00Yeah, you gotta be clever and funny in your didact...Yeah, you gotta be clever and funny in your didacticism. The thing is, punchy, warm-hearted or funny texts carry messages, too. They're teachy. They're didactic. They're not necessarily SEEN that way because the message is "the norm". Case in point: dressing up like Indians at Halloween? That, in my view, is an organic way for the dominant power structure to retain its power, and its ability to dehumanize American Indians. Debbie Reesehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14972409006633565859noreply@blogger.com