Big Ideas in Books for Young Readers
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Although they are written for children aged nine to twelve, “middle-grade” novels often fascinate adult readers for their tendency to cloak big ideas in deceptively simple plots and characterizations. Curious? Wondering what the young people in your life are reading? Or perhaps you’ve thought about writing for children yourself.
Please note: This colloquy will focus on books for younger readers than the “young-adult” novels discussed in the fall.
A former weekly newspaper editor, Ellen Booraem is the author of River Magic, Texting the Underworld, Small Persons with Wings and The Unnameables. She lives in Brooklin, where she is a longtime volunteer writing coach in the local elementary school.
Anne Manson is an aspiring writer and orchestral and opera conductor with a degree in Creative Writing from Cambridge University.
Syllabus/Reading
Join us for a discussion of four novels for middle-grade readers: Kate DiCamillo’s The Tale of Despereaux, Christopher Paul Curtis’s The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963, Homecoming, by Deer Isle’s own Cynthia Voigt, and for insights into manuscript revision and the publishing process, Ellen Booraem’s first book, The Unnameables. The discussion will focus on writing craft and the decisions authors make in writing for children. For those interested in writing themselves, we will offer exercises to get you started on your journey. There will be time allowed to discuss current trends in publishing for children.
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