I'm not going to ask how it got to be August already. Nope. I'm just wondering where the previous seven months went.
I subscribe to The Passive Voice, A Lawyer's Thoughts on Authors, Self-Publishing, and Traditional Publishing. In his blog, PG (the lawyer who does not give legal advice) often includes snippets from posts by a variety of sources.
Last week, he included a list of the best-selling children's books of the 20th century. I'm glad it was best-selling, more quantifiable than "best". So many best lists, which always make me wonder who decided something was best. But, I digress.
What surprised me about this list was how many could be listed as paranormal. Children's books. Paranormal. Here's the list so you can see for yourself.
- The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince), Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1943) 140 Million
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J. K. Rowling (1997) 120 Million
- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll (1865) 100 Million
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C. S. Lewis (1950) 85 Million
- The Adventures of Pinocchio, Carlo Collodi (1881) 80 Million
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J. K. Rowling (1998) 77 Million
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J. K. Rowling (1999) >60 Million
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J. K. Rowling (2000) >60 Million
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J. K. Rowling (2003) >60 Million
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J. K. Rowling (2005) >60 Million
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J. K. Rowling (2007) >60 Million
- Heidi, Johanna Spyri (1880) ~50 Million
- Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery (1908) ~50 Million
- Black Beauty, Anna Sewell (1877) ~50 Million
- Charlotte’s Web, E. B. White (1971) ~50 Million
- The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter (1902) 45 Million
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle (1969) 43 Million
- The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame (1908) ~25 Million
- Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak (1963) ~20 Million
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl (1964) ~20 Million
Link to the rest at InfoPlease
I've read 15 out of the 20. As a girl, I read Anne of Green Gables. I read Charlotte's Web, Where the Wild Things Are, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to my students. Who hasn't read The Wind in the Willows or The Very Hungry Caterpillar to their children or grandchildren?
Who's surprised that the Harry Potter books are on this list? Not me, that's for sure.
I love the fact that so many books, geared to children, contain elements of magic, other worldly, fantasy. Appeal to the imagination, make kids wonder, stretch their minds. When I read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, I didn't know what paranormal was. I just knew C.S. Lewis had created a magical place. (My son gave me the whole set of audio books, so I've "read" the end. No spoilers here, but what a surprise.)
The range of release dates for these books also surprised me--1865 to 2007. Not just recent releases. Some books have weathered the test of time. My grandmother and mother read Anne of Green Gables. My mother-in-law collected Beswick china Beatrix Potter characters. I just saw the movie about her life. So interesting.
When we write for children (of any age), we need to respect their intelligence. No talking down to them. That's a real turnoff. At the same time, we need to include elements so our readers can identify with the characters. We want to challenge their reading ability without making it so difficult they give up. Most of all, we need to challenge their imagination.
My oldest grandchildren are fifteen and almost 13. They devour books. It was a disappointment for them that they couldn't read my books. Maybe in a few more years. 😊 Since our family are die-hard Star Wars fans, I knew if I wrote a story for them it had to be in space. Rescuing Mara's Father is a space adventure for middle school and up.
Have you written a book geared to children? Or young adult? What was the biggest challenge?
15 comments:
As a child I read everything (!) but my favorite books were myths and legends. I'd clean out the whole shelf in my elementary school library and then head to the book mobile. Something about the hidden world was so intriguing (until I tried to sleep at night! Good thing my sister was a snorer to ground me in reality.) My teacher final took my mom aside and told her I should start reading some "real' books. My mom gave her a steely eyed look and said I could read anything I wanted. And that was that. She thought reading and imagination was the most important skill a child could develop. Thanks, Mom!
What a great tribute to your mom! Hurray for Moms who encourage kids to read anything. We didn't have many books in our little school. We did have the book mobile, though. I read anything and everything. My favorites were my mom's books, esp. Nancy Drew. Is it any wonder I write mysteries? Of course, there are mysteries in my sci-fi books, too.
I've read 16 of those on the list, but know the stories of 19 of them. And everyone in my house could recite The Very Hungry Caterpillar a few years back. I've always loved the paranormal and sci-fi, so it's not a surprise to me to see so many on the list. Growing up, I remember my mom devouring everything Anne Rice wrote, and she never stipulated what I could or couldn't read. Though she is amazed that there is no end to my story ideas. Always good to write for children every now and again! The first story I wrote as an adult was for my oldest about a lost unicorn. Wishing you a wonderful August ahead!
My Mom read a chapter a night of the Little House on the Prairie books to my sister and I before we could read chapter books on our own. After that I devoured everything- and most of these books. :)
Jess, my BFF knitted a caterpillar to go along with the book for our granddaughter. I love how the book has holes where the caterpillar "ate" through. Did you ever publish the unicorn story?
Maureen, my DIL is reading the Little House on the Prairie books to her daughter. What a lovely time together.
I haven't written, and doubt I ever will, write a book geared to children. Diane, maybe next year Rescuing Mara's father will be on that list!
I’m not surprised by any of the titles on this list, but I admit I haven’t read very many. I loved Rescuing Mara’s Father!
LOL, Linda. Thanks.
Thanks so much, Patty. I'm embarrassed to say I never read Black Beauty. Hasn't every girl??? I was never into horses.
Great post, Diane. I never would have considered Charlotte's Web or even The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe to be paranormal. Maybe fantasy and paranormal are somewhat synonymous? Anyway, I read many of the older ones but never read the Harry Potter series. (My son had the whole set, and the pages are nearly falling out he re-read them so many times.) So many of the great children's books have lessons, not just for kids, but for everyone -- compassion, kindness, loving one another, etc. I did write a children's story about a dozen years ago about a little girl trying to bring peace between two kingdoms. I had a lot of fun! It was short with lots of rhyming (from fairies who, in my head, looked like the Disney version of Tinkerbell). So I guess it would be considered paranormal too! Great topic, Diane.
I too read a lot of these books and loved them. Especially the Harry Potter books. I have the movies too. Love that so many of them contain elements of magic, etc. I don't write children's books, that point is moot to me.
Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed the post.
Leah, when I read those books, I never thought of paranormal either. They were just fun books. Now that I'ma writer, I see the bigger picture. Paranormal includes many different types of stories, like fantasy, science fiction, etc. Whatever we call it, they are still great for the imagination. Harry Potter opened a whole new world for kids. The fact that so many read them is fantastic. Then those same kids went looking for more. Anything that gets kids reading is phenomenal.
Thanks, Tena. Like you, I have all the Harry Potter books (and read them, of course) and the movies. I'm not sure about the spinoffs (the Magical Beasts, etc.) They are interesting but not gripping.
Diane ~ I never published the unicorn story for wide distribution. But, I did make a picture book just for my daughter. She still has it. LOL
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