Are Many Popular Children's Books Really Too Scary?

We live in a crazy world, fraught with danger. Many parents are worried about how to ensure their children’s safety and emotional wellbeing. There are worries today that my parents never dreamed of. Are the crib slats far enough apart? (Who knew you could get your head caught between slats?) Is the car seat secure? (My kids crawled around in the back of the station wagon.) Do the medicines all have childproof caps? (There was no such invention.) And now, parents are even questioning popular children’s books.

Why were we (people of my generation) able to read children’s books without becoming alarmed?

After all, Little Red Riding Hood walked through woods alone and found that her grandmother had been eaten by a wolf. That never scared me.

Hansel and Gretel were abandoned in a forest. I was never afraid.

The Gingerbread Man was eaten by a fox. Nope, still not afraid.

Do parents today know things that my mother didn’t know? Didn’t my mother realize that Curious George was actually abducted from his home in Africa by a strange man in a yellow hat?

Did anyone recognize the fact that the Cat in The Hat was a stranger that came into the house when the kids were home alone? And, he created chaos to boot.

In the ever-popular book, The Lady With The Alligator Purse, Miss Lucy actually puts her baby in the bathtub “to see if he could swim.” He then tries to eat the bathtub “but it wouldn’t go down his throat.” It never would have occurred to me (or my equally talented siblings) to actually try to eat a bathtub.

Will my fairy books scare anyone? After all, my mischievous fairies do sneak into houses and cause a bit of trouble.

Are people today over reacting or just getting smarter? What do you think?

Bobbie Hinman
http://bestfairybooks.com

Writing For Children? Try Thinking Like a Child

One of the advantages in writing for children is that I get to think like a child. How do children think? If you have to ask that question, you might want to spend more time with children before attempting to write for them. One of the privileges of being a teacher, a mother, and now a grandmother has been experiencing firsthand the magical world called "childhood."

Relative to the world of children's books, here are some of my unscientific observations about how children think:

Children are enthusiastic. They are eager to know what is coming next in a story.

Children are creative. Ask them what they think will come next in a story, and enjoy their answers!

Children love pictures. They thrive on visual stimulation and they love bright, colorful illustrations. Try this: Tell a child about a dog riding a bike, then show them the picture. You will see a huge difference in their reactions.

Children love sensory descriptions. It's not enough to say, "The toy was soft." Children have a better understanding of descriptions such as “soft as a puppy” or “loud as a whistle”.

Children love happy endings. I don’t think there is ever a reason to have a children’s book with a sad ending. Let childhood be a time of optimism and fun.

A Children’s Story Doesn’t Need to Be Realistic. Children have no trouble at all believing that chickens can talk or rabbits wear clothes. In fact, it's much more fun to believe in make-believe.

Children love rhyming words. They also love the patterns of words that are repeated, such as "Fly,fly fly in the sky, sky, sky."

So, that's my short list of what it's like to think like a child. If you would like to write for youngsters, find a group of kids, sit on the floor, talk to them and, above all, listen!

Bobbie Hinman
http://bestfairybooks.com

How My Grandkids Helped Me Create a New Career

How was I to know that by simply combing my granddaughter's hair, I was standing on the threshold of a new career.

It was the Spring of 2005 and my husband and I were babysitting for our 6-year old twin granddaughters and their 9-year old brother. It was actually day 2 of our 10-day babysitting stint, but that's another story!

I was trying to comb through Emily's morning tangles, she was crying, and, well, you know the scene. So...I did what grandmas do so well - I made up a story. Suddenly, out of nowhere, came the story of the sweet little Knot Fairy who visits sleeping children and loves to tangle their hair. Emily stopped crying. She loved the story and begged me to tell it every day - not only to her - but to all of her friends. Not only one time, but over and over and over.

To make a long story very short, my hubby and I were energized by the grankids' excitement. We created a publishing company, incorporated, hired the best illustrator we could find, hired a graphic designer, found the perfect printer, and Best Fairy Books, Inc. was born. That was 2005. This year we published our 4th book and we just received our 19th children's book award.

We actually have 10 grandkids and they are all a part of the process. They are the source of new ideas and they are my best - and most honest - critics. Their names appear on all of the dedication pages and their funny little voices are features on the CDs that accompany my books.

I would never have believed it if anyone had told me how my grandkids would change my life. They have taught me to always be open to new possibilities and to go after whatever life has to offer - even in the Golden Years!

Bobbie Hinman
http://bestfairybooks.com

The Fart Fairy Has Launched!

At long last, the Fart Fairy has launched. It seems as though I have been working on this book forever. In fact, it now seems as though the word ‘fart’ has been a part of my daily vocabulary for a very long time. There were a few small hitches in getting the book ready to print, like a re-recording of the CD, the re-hiring of a vocalist, the re-writing of the Fart Fairy song, and the re-illustrating of a little boy whose color was a bit gray, but we made it.

We planned a huge launch party at Barnes & Noble in Bel Air, MD and were delighted beyond belief when 350 people showed up! Luckily there were plenty of extra books on hand, plenty of cake and (thank goodness) enough free whoopee cushions to go around.

I have to admit, I was a bit worried about this book. Would people accept my new found vulgarity? Would anyone show up at my launch party just to heckle me? Would there be raised eyebrows? Smirks and harrumphs? The answer is no! Almost everyone I have come in contact with has approved of my use of a sweet, little boy fairy to explain the whereabouts of the annoying sounds and odors that are a part of everyday life. I say ‘almost everyone’ because there have been a few people (mostly members of my generation) who have looked at me in utter disbelief when they heard ‘that word’ come out of my mouth.

Let’s always keep our sense of humor – and our sense of smell!

I’ll end with my hubby’s new favorite saying: “Never fear the fart!”