tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post3258153853410273199..comments2024-01-10T17:38:08.333-05:00Comments on Elizabeth Burns: There Is Nothing Wrong With Writing Nonfiction Books For ChildrenLiz Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16671844475303001610noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-61271264507963033912014-10-10T08:21:42.060-04:002014-10-10T08:21:42.060-04:00Vicki, thank you -- that means a lot coming from y...Vicki, thank you -- that means a lot coming from you! and thanks for the link to your post. I was so quick in getting this up I didn't round up other peoples responses, so thanks for including it.<br /><br />Jennie, thanks for the reminder!<br /><br />Jenny, I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who saw this within the context, overall, of what children's/YA NF is or is not. There's something interesting out there -- that the assumption is that younger = dumbed down, rather than streamlined or presenting information in a different way.Liz Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16671844475303001610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-18935766593983216832014-10-10T08:19:03.837-04:002014-10-10T08:19:03.837-04:00Marjorie, part of me was thinking over 700 pages? ...Marjorie, part of me was thinking over 700 pages? Really? When does it change from a crafted work of nonfiction to "oh I have to include it all." And I've recommended YA/kids NF to people who just want a general understanding of a topic: some people just want that 250 pages. <br /><br />Debbie, I saw some of that commentary on twitter but I'm not sure if anyone has done an indepth post.<br /><br />Jennie, along with correcting errors, an editor on a listserv conversation about this also pointed out that the younger edition may instead address one part/story of an adult book, and that source material for photos etc may not have been earlier available.Liz Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16671844475303001610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-78039813326030014762014-10-09T21:51:51.355-04:002014-10-09T21:51:51.355-04:00I love that you wrote this. One of the hugest thin...I love that you wrote this. One of the hugest things I wanted as a kid was nonfiction at my level (I was a good reader, but the thousand-page tomes intimidated me), and there was so little of it out there. I have to think that at some point, people are going to realize there's a serious market for kids' and YA nonfiction, and suddenly there will be tons of awesome kids' nonfiction. At least that is what I am choosing to believe because that would be really great.Jenny @ Reading the Endhttp://readingtheend.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-56048539849705681932014-10-09T15:34:00.038-04:002014-10-09T15:34:00.038-04:00Liz-- I just always forget that she changed jobs!Liz-- I just always forget that she changed jobs!Jenniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02024880986964198385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-21523935208505037682014-10-09T15:29:56.030-04:002014-10-09T15:29:56.030-04:00Great post. Love to see this discussion out there ...Great post. Love to see this discussion out there in public. I, too wrote a response to the Times piece you can read here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vicki-cobb/watering-down-adult-nonfi_b_5952822.htmlAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07214356318088069618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-19904583112004907602014-10-09T11:40:18.342-04:002014-10-09T11:40:18.342-04:00Jennie, so much for me trying not to be too wordy!...Jennie, so much for me trying not to be too wordy! Yes, I concentrated on Angela's pull quote and frankly I assume 2 things: they either only asked her about teen readers (despite the age she works with now/ workplace) or she said more about children readers & school reading and they omitted it. So I quickly (and not clearly) concentrated on it as "teen librarian" rather than "librarian talking only about self selected teen reading." Liz Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16671844475303001610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-14790491298241449942014-10-09T10:01:55.785-04:002014-10-09T10:01:55.785-04:001. Minor point-- Angela is now a K-4 public school...1. Minor point-- Angela is now a K-4 public school librarian. <br /><br />2. I think the other point the article failed to mention is that young reader editions offer some other benefits--<br /><br /> a chance to correct any errors that may have slipped into the adult version (O'Reilley's Killing Lincoln is a fantastic young reader's version of his adult book, which had several factual errors that don't appear in the kid's version.) <br /><br />They're also more tightly edited (Before it was discredited, I couldn't get through the overblown writing of 3 Cups of Tea, but I liked the YR version). <br /><br />AND, they add in context that many adult readers have that young reader's don't. I mean, an adult book can just say "Berlin Wall" or 'modem" or "9/11" or "Challenger" because the adult reader knows what that is. A younger reader won't. <br /><br />3. The thing that really, really, really bugged me is that the authors that were interviewed didn't seem to be working with a co-author. Many young reader versions have a coauthor who knows something about children's books. (For instance, Patricia McCormick is working on the YR version of I am Malala) Where were their voices? They're critical in making a YR version that's worth reading and celebrating.Jenniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02024880986964198385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-7275285421108233942014-10-09T09:43:02.568-04:002014-10-09T09:43:02.568-04:00My response to that article was how clearly it ref...My response to that article was how clearly it reflects who the author(s) images the audience for the sanitized books to be: white, mid-upper class. That abstract image of kids who live lives were untouched by violence or oppression in the present and past and who, indeed, benefit from past violence and oppression. The 1%, in other words. <br /><br /> Debbie Reesehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14972409006633565859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12461652.post-69948139723034915382014-10-09T08:46:31.088-04:002014-10-09T08:46:31.088-04:00Great post! I missed your Twitter rants (I'm s...Great post! I missed your Twitter rants (I'm still not sure I GET the utility of Twitter, but that's another post) so I'm glad to have read this. <br /><br />I totally agree. What struck me about the Alter piece was how little she seemed to trust authors. While writing for kids and teenagers may be a somewhat diff skill from writing for adults, it's strange that she approached the piece with the notion that it's impossible to write smart, nuanced NF for younger readers. Odd place to come from. As you said, authors who've lived and breathed this material for ages may be REALLY EXCELLENT at conveying it in more and less streamlined ways. <br /><br />I read both versions -- YA and adult -- of Neal Bascombe's book about the capture of Eichmann. The YA version was BETTER. Significantly. Tighter, more suspenseful. It actually felt more disciplined. <br /><br />There were also two books by two different authors about Prohibition that I'm too lazy to look up right now -- I read them back to back, one YA and one adult. Ah, the adult one was called Jews and Booze (the title was the best thing about it) and it was about (duh) the role of Jews on both sides of the movement, and the YA version was more generally about Prohibition, but it dealt with religious figures' role as part of the narrative. Again, the YA version was better -- more streamlined, more engagingly written, less wanky, clearer. marjoriehttp://www.marjorieingall.comnoreply@blogger.com