Thank you for joining us for part three of our talk with nationally published children’s book author Lynne Jonell. If you missed part one or two, click here.
Lynne, when we left off you were telling us how children have strong emotions and often aren’t able to articulate them. You seek to give children a voice in your books, an empowering and comforting pursuit. Have you heard back from parents about how their children react to your books?
Oh, yes. They’re funny books, for one thing, and parents and children love the chance to laugh together about some of these difficulties and misunderstandings.
I have also had parents thank me, some of them quite earnestly, for writing these books. They say that while they’ve helped parents understand the children’s point of view, they’ve also seemed to help the kids; the books give voice to a child’s frustrations in a way that is acceptable, and that is a great relief to the child.
How is a child supposed to express frustration and fury and a towering sense of injustice? Children try so hard to please their parents, and they know they’re not supposed to throw a tantrum, or hit, or scream, or bite… they lack the words and experience to be able to express what they are feeling in any satisfactory way, and so they get the idea they’re just supposed to shut up and be good, and that’s a very tall order even for adults with a full range of options.
A number of parents have told me that their child, instead of throwing a tantrum when frustrated, will now run to get the book and ask for it to be read. And that’s got to be a step in the right direction!
I agree!
What are the names of your picture books, and can you tell us a little about each of them?
“Mommy Go Away!”, illus. by Petra Mathers, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1997
Christopher is tired of being little. So he shrinks Mommy to doll-size, and lets her ride on his toy boat in the tub. What a switch! Now Christopher is the boss, and Mommy finds out what it is like to be small!
“I Need A Snake,” illus. by Petra Mathers, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1998
Robbie desperately wants a snake, but Mommy is not so sure. She says he will have to wait until he is grown-up, because snakes are too scary. But Robbie looks around him and finds some snakes in the closet and under the bed that even Mommy likes!
“It’s My Birthday, Too!”, illus. by Petra Mathers, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1999
Christopher is having a birthday, and little brother Robbie wants one, too. At the very least, he wants to come to the party, but Christopher says ‘no’—last year, Robbie wrecked everything! Robbie gets mad—but then he has an idea. What if he turned into a puppy? Christopher would let him come, for sure!
“Mom Pie,” illus. by Petra Mathers, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2001
Company is coming for dinner, and Mommy is too busy for Christopher and Robbie. Even knowing that they are going to have three kinds of pie doesn’t help the boys feel better—until Christopher gets an idea. Why not make a Mom Pie? They may not be able to eat it, but it will be better than having no Mommy at all!
“When Mommy Was Mad,” illus. by Petra Mathers, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2002
Mommy was mad, but the boys didn’t know why. Had they done something wrong? Or was she mad at Daddy? Either way, nothing they try seems to fix things… until Robbie decides to turn into a porcupine, and let Mommy know how he is feeling.
“Let’s Play Rough!”, illus. by Ted Rand, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2000
When Daddy sits down on the couch, his little boy pounces. “Let’s play rough, Daddy!” Such romping! Such uproarious tickling and tossing and tumbling! But when Daddy turns into a bear, things get a little too scary. Now what?
“Bravemole,” illus. by the author, G. P. Putnam’s Son’s, 2002
Fairy tales are a time-honored way of approaching difficult subjects. Do we read to children about child abuse, parental abandonment, murder? Sure—if the story is called Hansel and Gretel. We use fantasy—“long ago and far away”, talking animals, mythical characters—to give the child a sense of distance from the awful reality, give them a safe way to look at their fears, and to reassure them that they will be cared for in spite of everything. I attempted to use this device in Bravemole, a story about the events of
September 11, 2001.
Mole reads his babymole stories about dragons—but when a real dragon attacks, Mole goes off to help in the best way he can—by digging. Children who have no need to discuss terrorism see this as an ordinary fairy tale about bravery. Children who have some fears that have been too big and frightening to express in words, find they can talk about moles and dragons with no problem—and suddenly the parents are given a big clue as to the nature of their child’s particular fears, and are able to address them.
Are these books still in print? Can we get hold of them, or read them at the library?
Some are still in print, most libraries will have some or all of them, and those that are out of print can still be ordered online through Amazon, Alibris, any of those online booksellers. You can also get autographed copies of the books through my website (clink on the link to Children’s Literature Network) with the exception of “Let’s Play Rough.”
These all sound great!
Thanks for joining us for our third installment of our exclusive interview with children’s book author Lynne Jonell. We will continue our talk tomorrow, and in the meantime, you can visit her website.
Related Blogs:
Picture Books by Lynne Jonell and Petra Mathers
Mercer Mayer — the Man and His Books
The Picture Books of Laura Joffe Numeroff