Christine Taylor-Butler

Amen. Maybe we need to shout this a little louder. I often ask myself if the industry is publishing "for children" or using children as an excuse to publish books with moral messages or as exercises to please gatekeepers who believe they are advocates.I once wrote a three short stories for an educational publisher. They were a work-for-hire and in one case I didn't see the finished product until it was printed. I was livid. In the story, a young girl is concerned about something going on in her community, crafts a plan and then tells her father she's going to petition to speak in front of the city council. The editor, well meaning and an author herself, changed the context to take away the girl's sense of agency. Instead of it being the protagonist's idea, the father suggested that she talk to the city council and tells her how. That was literally the only edit made to the story. Because you know, there are some in our industry who think it isn't a well crafted children's story unless an adult character inserts their own opinions and takes over the plot line. (sigh)Needless to say when they asked me to write additional stories I asked for a divorce instead.Maybe if we had more editors who insisted there be a firewall between the hopes and aspirations of a child protagonist and the hopes and dreams of the author tasked with telling their story (or the editor armed with a red pen), we'd see more of what you are looking for.So thanks for pointing out the ones that work. Maybe it will act as as signal flare to the industry.

Posted : Nov 14, 2021 04:08