The first book that entered my mind is The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer because why? It’s partly because I am proud to have read such a thick book with such tiny print, eh? I bought it years ago at a thrift store and surprised myself by actually finishing it. It was so good, I read it again a few years later. Thinking about it now, in the context of this Writing Lab question, I struggle to feel authentic or to justify the book as part of my “canon.” I mean, it’s a history book! And doesn’t pride in reading a book sort of override the depth of the book’s effect on me? As I write, I will throw off that shackle of self-doubt and just say, yes. This book.
Digging deeper, at your insistence, I can say that I marvel at the depth of research the author did to create such a volume! I learned things about which I had unanswered questions. The subject was atrocious and unbelievable. But more than that, the writing style was accessible, sometimes riveting, and never dull. I see that my next task is to revisit the tone and style of the writing so it can inform me of how it has influenced my own style.
The way I came up with my second book for this exercise was to think of what books I have read over and over. There is no competition there. The book, Alcoholics Anonymous, also known as The Big Book, is barely held together by the books on each side of it in my book shelf. I hesitate to mention it here because of the anonymous nature of its presence in my life. But since that anonymity needs to be held at the level of press, radio, and films, I don’t think this little essay constitutes “publishing” in the broader sense.
Interestingly, this book has the same elements of attraction to me as the Shirer book. It is accessible in its writing style, it is on a subject about which I had many questions, and the author, Bill Wilson, known now because of historical significance, did extensive research on the subjects therein. It is also about sometimes atrocious things but I am not sure that has to be a recurring theme in my writing. On second thought….
◦
So, thank you, Storybelly. You have done the almost unthinkable! You have pulled the hen’s teeth of my reluctance out of my head and fingers and have gotten a little bit of writing out of me. You have also allowed me to articulate the very basics of what I like in others’ writing style and what I aspire to accomplish in my own. Clarity. Truth. Knowledge/information garnered. And perhaps a little atrocity?
Wow, Peggy. Wow. Thank you! I am here and all-in for your clarity, truth, knowledge/information garnered and a side-serving of atrocity when necessary. It says a lot about you as a reader AND a writer that you fell in love with a "history book" -- a big, thick book with tiny print and about such tough stuff -- says a lot about the writer, too. There is no need to justify what we read or why we love it (or don't). I think it's marvelous that you chose this one! I haven't read it and yet I can feel its appeal for you. I'm putting it on my "want to read" list.
It's such a surprise to me when I find a book that is written so beautifully and holds such atrocities or at the very least such harsh realities. Two for me have been 1) an adult memoir by Gary Paulsen: Eastern Sun, Winter Moon and 2) Deliverance by James Dickey. Both are a real study in that unity of opposites we've talked about at Storybelly and will keep on exploring.
Gary Paulsen wrote for young readers most of his career, including the book that those of us who write for young people know, Hatchet. The Storybelly Ops-Guru read that book more than once when he was of-an-age for it. I could hear Paulsen's voice in Eastern Sun, Winter Moon, and especially the poetry with which he wrote. The economy of language. I remember reading the end of that book so many times because of its beauty. One day we'll explore endings, here at the 'belly.
I *have* read the Big Book, many times, and feel the same way about it you do, same caveat. I default to the 12x12 more often, though, and both my copies are underlined and dog-eared and falling apart. We have that in common, too. I'm glad you wrote. I hope you write again. You add so much to the ongoing conversation -- xoxo
The books that kept coming up for me when I think of this question are The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and Me Talk Pretty One Day. CS Lewis represents a few things for me. The reality of imagination; the realization that writing by another person can inspire imagination (how??); and the Christian moral tradition in storytelling, because it’s what I was raised with, and it frames my worldview.
David Sedaris is under appreciated. I write mostly nonfiction and Sedaris’s books changed my writing, vastly for the better. He helped me see how nearly every mundane failure or family headache a writer goes through can be reframed as a story, with humor and beauty in it. In high school, deluged with great books and Extremely Meaningful Prose by historically important authors, whose style I emulated to my detriment .. I really needed that.
This is a fabulous way (and very smart) to look at Sedaris AND Lewis, in juxtaposition with your life growing up and becoming the writer you are. I love every word. And, watching you grow up, I can see those influences clearly… and now with literature as well.
My childhood was an immersion of books (my entire life really) so I left my choices up to what jumped into my mind quickly: Madeline by Bemelmans and The Veldt (short story, not a book, I know) by Bradbury.
These seem a mismatched pair - the first a gentle easing in to setting and character in rhyming lines, ultimately building into threat and risk, all the while making something not scary that could have been. Madeline was the first book I remember reading all by myself to my grandmother. We sat on the front porch and I worked my way through the words and the magic.
While the second jumps immediately into concern from the very first. The danger is much higher, the risk that much greater, while taking something that should not have been scary (a nursery) and making it frighteningly so. I read The Veldt in 6th grade as part of a Great Books program, and I may have been too young to absorb the horror of the ending. I ultimately went on to read just about everything Bradbury. Having witnessed the space age, his otherworldly stories expanded my imagination beyond earth. And he knew how to tell a story.
Wow, what a juxtaposition. Like Deliverance and The Sailor Dog, too... but how cool to find a common thread, eh? I read Madeline so so many times to my younger daughter years ago, and I never got tired of it. There is something in there for adults, too, and the sing-song rhythm of it is so soothing. The Bradbury... I have not read The Veldt but feel like I should now, because I've been playing with a book about Bradbury, have talked to my Bobby editor about it, we've bounced it back and forth, and especially in this book banning climate it feels important... but I have focused more on his childhood, will say no more -- maybe I will put it in a Lab post sometime, just to say for now that we have Bradbury in common, in that way, and I could go on and ON about that! But your connections are what's most important, and I'm so glad you shared them. Thank you.
Try The Veldt. It's one of the stories my 7th graders debate (who is in control?). It becomes more real with every passing year. Bradbury is my favorite author (my students knew to tell me they'd heard when he died). I hope your story comes to be. His website is remarkably curated.
I read a summary of the plot, yikes! I might try it? When my psyche can take it. I’m really thrilled to know how much you love Ray, because I do, too. I checked out the website — another thrill. I love some of what’s on YT, including this great interview he gave near the end of his life that is funny, poignant, insightful, and tender. You’ve probably seen it. It was for the NEA Big Read. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pqp38_uS-eg
This has been a great mental exercise for me the last two days. I will offer a condensed version here vs the entire dissertation I've written in my head. Hear me through on my two choices:
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White and my Bible.
Writers are readers, and all (or nearly all) of the children's writers I've heard speak say they were voracious readers as kids. I barely read as a child (and I discovered there was a reason for that). So, these two books, either heard read aloud or, in the case of Charlotte’s Web read over-and-over-again to myself at the age of twelve, tuned my ear to the sound of good literature.
These are also the two books I turn to for comfort even to this day. When I read my Bible, I am transported to the tiny, dark walled Sunday School room where my Granny, Eula Idelle Brown, taught me my first Bible lessons. I have the audio version of Charlotte’s Web and have listened to the soothing voice of E. B. White countless times falling asleep.
Finally, when I was in my MFAC program, I had planned on writing a thesis titled ONE BOOK IS ENOUGH, expounding on all of the ways reading Charlotte’s Web as a child validated my status as a writer. (I had to convince myself, you see.) The thesis, however, expanded; I ended up writing imaginary academic conversations instead with White’s editor, Ursula Nordstom. In the process I discovered the work of Meindert DeJong, who suffered with similar insecurities to my own. Ursula encouraged him by reminding him of his exposure to the great literature contained within the pages of the Bible.
How *thoughtful* this is, Danette. I read it twice, to absorb it. (I'd forgotten about your Eula, same name as my Eula :>). I seem to remember White had to "fight" the audiobook people, to read his own book. I haven't heard him read Charlotte's Web, but I'd love to. You do such deep introspection... I know it serves you well. I am here to tell you that you *are* a writer. xo
I also want to say that what you wrote reminds me a bit of Cynthia Rylant's childhood and choices. You can see her connections to her faith in her many books that center on thanks and gratitude and the natural world. And she didn't read as a child, except, I think, maybe comic books. It wasn't until she was an adult and had a job in a library, if I'm remembering correctly, that she found children's books. Anyway, for what it's worth, you are in good company. Good company here, too, at Storybelly. I'm glad you're here. xo
I love Cynthia Rylant's work! I did not know this about her childhood, or if I did I forgot. Thanks for the reminder. I will walk across the street to my public library and grab an armload of her books tomorrow to refresh myself. She is one of my top *book mentors.*
Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson and My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell.
The repetition of ‘family’ is all the evidence I need to explain why I loved and still love these books and why, in my own writing for children ( but really, for me) the heart of every story is a family in all its messy glory. Family as the seedbed, the oyster grit, the spark at the start of the fission. Family as the multitalented sculptor that shapes and pummels and carves our pliant childhood clay into the shape we’re in.
And if only I had a tenth of the talent of the mother of Moomins for writing light and shade, for lightness of touch with subjects of planetary heft and for her clear-eyed view of our human hearts…as a lonely little girl, Jansson and Durrell gave me community, validation and a hint of the possibilities ahead in life, in love and in making families of my own.
It tickles me to have Debi (a brand-new writer-friend, in Scotland, no less) and Danette (a long-time friend and fellow writer as well, in the US) corresponding at Storybelly. Debi’s book selections are so great. Do you have one or two, Danette?
Wow... community, validation, and a hint of the possibilities ahead in life, in love, and in making families of your own. That's praise of the highest order, Debi. Thank you for contributing to the conversation. Another commenter above, @Jo, turned me on to Moominland years ago, and -- way back in another life -- a friend gave me her beloved copy of My Family and Other Animals. I love making those connections again through your post. Thanks.
Two books using the same criteria as you (absolutely no thought behind it) were Hatchet by Gary Paulsen and Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas. One for the survival adventure, and the other as an example of searching for artistic expression (and love). But one of the first books I read where I though I wanted to write "like that" was Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. I think his style is very compelling.
I wound up reading Hatchet because of the way you two wrote about it. I got a lot out of it. It would be interesting to have a little discussion about it with you sometime. I really liked what I saw as the overall message but found some of the set up as not credible and somewhat ex deus machina. But I’m glad to have been introduced to the book. I would have loved it as a kid!!
I’m up to discuss anytime. Hatchet was published in 1986 during a particularly literary time (to my mind, anyway) in children’s publishing, with the likes of Katherine Paterson, Patricia Maclachlan, Cynthia Rylant, Mildred Taylor, Julius Lester, Beverly Cleary, Virginia Hamilton, and Jane Yolen writing classics that are still read and beloved today. Our Storybelly Ops-guru @Zach Wiles loved the adventure story that was Hatchet — read it multiple times, as did I — at a time when there was nothing like it to compare. I have read it more recently, and find that I’ve grown as a writer and a reader, as has the way books are written for young readers. I’ll start there, not as a defense of Hatchet (or a criticism), just as some context. Tell me what you found not-credible — I wonder if it’s the plane crash? Or the subsequent survival skills? Or the rescue? Or… there is a case to be made for all of the above. :>
It was the survival skills on top of the plane landing. It was just too much. But, as I said, as a kid I would have eaten it up!! Interesting, there was a time I thought maybe he had fallen off his bike and was hallucinating the plane and subsequent events. That would have given the ease of survival more credibility to me. I eventually gave that idea up and just rolled with it.
I have read a lot of true ship voyage stories and some real deserted island stories and in real life the struggle can be horrendous. Also I have tried to make things out of almost nothing and have tried and failed and tried and failed over and over. So his shelter came too quickly for me. And fire. That is hard hard to do.
On the other hand, it was a story of great resilience in the face of disaster and I loved that he changed the way he looked at things over time and after he was rescued. I think the overall message I took and is so important was that feeling sorry for himself did not help his situation. That was brilliant and, though a bit understated, was a huge takeaway.
I think my interest in having the discussion is that I would like to know what tools you use to write for young adults - literary, grammatical, etc. I don’t necessarily think I would write one but I am just interested in how your mind works, how you settle yourself down in a certain direction.
Cyndi is going to send me some of your books. I can’t wait to read them!
And I am restoring an old hatchet and that makes me happy. I always wanted one when I was a kid (I might have had one but don’t quite a recall). Also, does that period go inside or outside the parentheses? I think it goes inside but it seems to me it should logically go outside. I used to be a strict grammarian but now I have lost my edge.
Peggy, thank you for permission to talk about your comments/questions in this week's Writers Lab. It's an important question -- I think you're asking about Audience, at heart. I like Jennifer's comment below, too, and would add that young readers today are digital natives and have grown up with so much "reality" at their fingertips, that it makes reading a book like Hatchet a softer reading experience, from a possibility standpoint (if "softer" is the word... less believable?). You picked up on a theme Gary Paulsen was writing toward, however, a theme that is universal: great resilience in the face of disaster. Also, as you mention, facing oneself and discovering you are more than you thought you were... growing into that realization and doing something about it. More on how my mind works when I am coffeed and not on the road to Nashville in an hour. :> THANK YOU for taking the time to read Hatchet and to write us all about what you're discovering. I would like to hear more about restoring your old hatchet... maybe you could start a thread about that in Chat? I might move to Chat, too, to write about Audience and that question of yours, how we settle ourselves in certain directions, make certain audience decisions, as we write.
I have not read Hatchet since it made its launched in the mid-80's. I remember being fascinated by the moose attack and all that the MC overcame. I should re-read it if we are going to delve deep into a discussion. I believe readers are more savvy now. We have seen so much via social media and reality TV shows that we are more aware of what is plausible.
That’s a good point, Jennifer. I am due for a re-read as well. Part of my fascination, which was probably in the early ‘90s, as that’s when I would have read it to Zach, was with the way Gary Paulsen paced and plotted the novel, and the way it landed with my then-ten-year-old boy. The story was a rare thing… as was Gary Paulsen. :> I met him near the end of his life — we were both speaking at a conference, we were at a donor’s home for a dinner, he wore suspenders and a scruffy beard, I was wet behind the ears. I wanted to genuflect and say thank you (and I did) for writing that book and others for a generation of kids (and teachers!) who loved it. (I am pre-coffee… I could say this better. :>)
Ok. So just finished re-reading Hatchet. What a strange experience. Several times my memory supplied things I'd thought I'd forgotten and they unfolded with familiarity. However, there were some things I didn't remember at all. The pacing is both a benefit and hindrance to the story. A benefit to readers who want fast-paced adventure with gritty details and no-nonsense sentences (no flowery language here!). A hindrance to those who know much of this unfolded in an unlikely way. A moose and a tornado in one day? Insane! as Brian would have said. However, it works as a teaching novel. Allowing kids to see what resilience looks like, how to survive. Gary Paulsen mastered the art of writing to keep the pages turning, making it difficult for distractions to interfere. A lot to be said for that.
What a great discussion! I look forward to more. I am still learning how Substack works and have a hard time finding things. I’m also a little stumped at getting my own page going so pardon me if it takes a while to get in the groove. Good to meet you, Jennifer!
Yep. Yep. He was grittier than a lot of MG authors and spoke to boy readers in a way that hadn't been done before (or at least that I'd witnessed). A male version of Judi Blume - maybe? kinda? Forgive me if I genuflect to you when we meet!
I want to read Hatchett again -- it has been many years since I opened that book, but I have it here. I will be honest and say I'm not the reader for Rats Saw God. I'll use the phrasing our fine, discerning reader Walter Mayes uses, "It's not for me." Which takes nothing away from that book. I haven't read Into the Wild. It would make me too sad. I like your list. It's very "you," to me.
The first book that entered my mind is The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer because why? It’s partly because I am proud to have read such a thick book with such tiny print, eh? I bought it years ago at a thrift store and surprised myself by actually finishing it. It was so good, I read it again a few years later. Thinking about it now, in the context of this Writing Lab question, I struggle to feel authentic or to justify the book as part of my “canon.” I mean, it’s a history book! And doesn’t pride in reading a book sort of override the depth of the book’s effect on me? As I write, I will throw off that shackle of self-doubt and just say, yes. This book.
Digging deeper, at your insistence, I can say that I marvel at the depth of research the author did to create such a volume! I learned things about which I had unanswered questions. The subject was atrocious and unbelievable. But more than that, the writing style was accessible, sometimes riveting, and never dull. I see that my next task is to revisit the tone and style of the writing so it can inform me of how it has influenced my own style.
The way I came up with my second book for this exercise was to think of what books I have read over and over. There is no competition there. The book, Alcoholics Anonymous, also known as The Big Book, is barely held together by the books on each side of it in my book shelf. I hesitate to mention it here because of the anonymous nature of its presence in my life. But since that anonymity needs to be held at the level of press, radio, and films, I don’t think this little essay constitutes “publishing” in the broader sense.
Interestingly, this book has the same elements of attraction to me as the Shirer book. It is accessible in its writing style, it is on a subject about which I had many questions, and the author, Bill Wilson, known now because of historical significance, did extensive research on the subjects therein. It is also about sometimes atrocious things but I am not sure that has to be a recurring theme in my writing. On second thought….
◦
So, thank you, Storybelly. You have done the almost unthinkable! You have pulled the hen’s teeth of my reluctance out of my head and fingers and have gotten a little bit of writing out of me. You have also allowed me to articulate the very basics of what I like in others’ writing style and what I aspire to accomplish in my own. Clarity. Truth. Knowledge/information garnered. And perhaps a little atrocity?
Wow, Peggy. Wow. Thank you! I am here and all-in for your clarity, truth, knowledge/information garnered and a side-serving of atrocity when necessary. It says a lot about you as a reader AND a writer that you fell in love with a "history book" -- a big, thick book with tiny print and about such tough stuff -- says a lot about the writer, too. There is no need to justify what we read or why we love it (or don't). I think it's marvelous that you chose this one! I haven't read it and yet I can feel its appeal for you. I'm putting it on my "want to read" list.
It's such a surprise to me when I find a book that is written so beautifully and holds such atrocities or at the very least such harsh realities. Two for me have been 1) an adult memoir by Gary Paulsen: Eastern Sun, Winter Moon and 2) Deliverance by James Dickey. Both are a real study in that unity of opposites we've talked about at Storybelly and will keep on exploring.
Gary Paulsen wrote for young readers most of his career, including the book that those of us who write for young people know, Hatchet. The Storybelly Ops-Guru read that book more than once when he was of-an-age for it. I could hear Paulsen's voice in Eastern Sun, Winter Moon, and especially the poetry with which he wrote. The economy of language. I remember reading the end of that book so many times because of its beauty. One day we'll explore endings, here at the 'belly.
I *have* read the Big Book, many times, and feel the same way about it you do, same caveat. I default to the 12x12 more often, though, and both my copies are underlined and dog-eared and falling apart. We have that in common, too. I'm glad you wrote. I hope you write again. You add so much to the ongoing conversation -- xoxo
Thank you for your words. I can see that you do write write write! Books! Stories! Comments! Replies! Assignments! Essays! You are an inspiration.
I, too, am a big fan of the 12x12 and mine is falling apart, as well, but not quite as much as the other one. All love to you. More will be revealed.
Ha! That's a frequent saying around this house. "More will be revealed!" I can sound almost threatening at times, lol.
The books that kept coming up for me when I think of this question are The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and Me Talk Pretty One Day. CS Lewis represents a few things for me. The reality of imagination; the realization that writing by another person can inspire imagination (how??); and the Christian moral tradition in storytelling, because it’s what I was raised with, and it frames my worldview.
David Sedaris is under appreciated. I write mostly nonfiction and Sedaris’s books changed my writing, vastly for the better. He helped me see how nearly every mundane failure or family headache a writer goes through can be reframed as a story, with humor and beauty in it. In high school, deluged with great books and Extremely Meaningful Prose by historically important authors, whose style I emulated to my detriment .. I really needed that.
This is a fabulous way (and very smart) to look at Sedaris AND Lewis, in juxtaposition with your life growing up and becoming the writer you are. I love every word. And, watching you grow up, I can see those influences clearly… and now with literature as well.
My childhood was an immersion of books (my entire life really) so I left my choices up to what jumped into my mind quickly: Madeline by Bemelmans and The Veldt (short story, not a book, I know) by Bradbury.
These seem a mismatched pair - the first a gentle easing in to setting and character in rhyming lines, ultimately building into threat and risk, all the while making something not scary that could have been. Madeline was the first book I remember reading all by myself to my grandmother. We sat on the front porch and I worked my way through the words and the magic.
While the second jumps immediately into concern from the very first. The danger is much higher, the risk that much greater, while taking something that should not have been scary (a nursery) and making it frighteningly so. I read The Veldt in 6th grade as part of a Great Books program, and I may have been too young to absorb the horror of the ending. I ultimately went on to read just about everything Bradbury. Having witnessed the space age, his otherworldly stories expanded my imagination beyond earth. And he knew how to tell a story.
Wow, what a juxtaposition. Like Deliverance and The Sailor Dog, too... but how cool to find a common thread, eh? I read Madeline so so many times to my younger daughter years ago, and I never got tired of it. There is something in there for adults, too, and the sing-song rhythm of it is so soothing. The Bradbury... I have not read The Veldt but feel like I should now, because I've been playing with a book about Bradbury, have talked to my Bobby editor about it, we've bounced it back and forth, and especially in this book banning climate it feels important... but I have focused more on his childhood, will say no more -- maybe I will put it in a Lab post sometime, just to say for now that we have Bradbury in common, in that way, and I could go on and ON about that! But your connections are what's most important, and I'm so glad you shared them. Thank you.
Try The Veldt. It's one of the stories my 7th graders debate (who is in control?). It becomes more real with every passing year. Bradbury is my favorite author (my students knew to tell me they'd heard when he died). I hope your story comes to be. His website is remarkably curated.
I read a summary of the plot, yikes! I might try it? When my psyche can take it. I’m really thrilled to know how much you love Ray, because I do, too. I checked out the website — another thrill. I love some of what’s on YT, including this great interview he gave near the end of his life that is funny, poignant, insightful, and tender. You’ve probably seen it. It was for the NEA Big Read. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pqp38_uS-eg
Thank you so much for sharing this interview. I had not seen it. He is a wonder. As is his writing.
This has been a great mental exercise for me the last two days. I will offer a condensed version here vs the entire dissertation I've written in my head. Hear me through on my two choices:
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White and my Bible.
Writers are readers, and all (or nearly all) of the children's writers I've heard speak say they were voracious readers as kids. I barely read as a child (and I discovered there was a reason for that). So, these two books, either heard read aloud or, in the case of Charlotte’s Web read over-and-over-again to myself at the age of twelve, tuned my ear to the sound of good literature.
These are also the two books I turn to for comfort even to this day. When I read my Bible, I am transported to the tiny, dark walled Sunday School room where my Granny, Eula Idelle Brown, taught me my first Bible lessons. I have the audio version of Charlotte’s Web and have listened to the soothing voice of E. B. White countless times falling asleep.
Finally, when I was in my MFAC program, I had planned on writing a thesis titled ONE BOOK IS ENOUGH, expounding on all of the ways reading Charlotte’s Web as a child validated my status as a writer. (I had to convince myself, you see.) The thesis, however, expanded; I ended up writing imaginary academic conversations instead with White’s editor, Ursula Nordstom. In the process I discovered the work of Meindert DeJong, who suffered with similar insecurities to my own. Ursula encouraged him by reminding him of his exposure to the great literature contained within the pages of the Bible.
How *thoughtful* this is, Danette. I read it twice, to absorb it. (I'd forgotten about your Eula, same name as my Eula :>). I seem to remember White had to "fight" the audiobook people, to read his own book. I haven't heard him read Charlotte's Web, but I'd love to. You do such deep introspection... I know it serves you well. I am here to tell you that you *are* a writer. xo
Thank you, Deborah. Those words mean a lot coming from you.
I also want to say that what you wrote reminds me a bit of Cynthia Rylant's childhood and choices. You can see her connections to her faith in her many books that center on thanks and gratitude and the natural world. And she didn't read as a child, except, I think, maybe comic books. It wasn't until she was an adult and had a job in a library, if I'm remembering correctly, that she found children's books. Anyway, for what it's worth, you are in good company. Good company here, too, at Storybelly. I'm glad you're here. xo
I love Cynthia Rylant's work! I did not know this about her childhood, or if I did I forgot. Thanks for the reminder. I will walk across the street to my public library and grab an armload of her books tomorrow to refresh myself. She is one of my top *book mentors.*
Same here!
Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson and My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell.
The repetition of ‘family’ is all the evidence I need to explain why I loved and still love these books and why, in my own writing for children ( but really, for me) the heart of every story is a family in all its messy glory. Family as the seedbed, the oyster grit, the spark at the start of the fission. Family as the multitalented sculptor that shapes and pummels and carves our pliant childhood clay into the shape we’re in.
And if only I had a tenth of the talent of the mother of Moomins for writing light and shade, for lightness of touch with subjects of planetary heft and for her clear-eyed view of our human hearts…as a lonely little girl, Jansson and Durrell gave me community, validation and a hint of the possibilities ahead in life, in love and in making families of my own.
My Family & Other Animals! 😻
These books are going on my read list. TY!
It tickles me to have Debi (a brand-new writer-friend, in Scotland, no less) and Danette (a long-time friend and fellow writer as well, in the US) corresponding at Storybelly. Debi’s book selections are so great. Do you have one or two, Danette?
Wow... community, validation, and a hint of the possibilities ahead in life, in love, and in making families of your own. That's praise of the highest order, Debi. Thank you for contributing to the conversation. Another commenter above, @Jo, turned me on to Moominland years ago, and -- way back in another life -- a friend gave me her beloved copy of My Family and Other Animals. I love making those connections again through your post. Thanks.
Two books using the same criteria as you (absolutely no thought behind it) were Hatchet by Gary Paulsen and Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas. One for the survival adventure, and the other as an example of searching for artistic expression (and love). But one of the first books I read where I though I wanted to write "like that" was Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. I think his style is very compelling.
I wound up reading Hatchet because of the way you two wrote about it. I got a lot out of it. It would be interesting to have a little discussion about it with you sometime. I really liked what I saw as the overall message but found some of the set up as not credible and somewhat ex deus machina. But I’m glad to have been introduced to the book. I would have loved it as a kid!!
I’m up to discuss anytime. Hatchet was published in 1986 during a particularly literary time (to my mind, anyway) in children’s publishing, with the likes of Katherine Paterson, Patricia Maclachlan, Cynthia Rylant, Mildred Taylor, Julius Lester, Beverly Cleary, Virginia Hamilton, and Jane Yolen writing classics that are still read and beloved today. Our Storybelly Ops-guru @Zach Wiles loved the adventure story that was Hatchet — read it multiple times, as did I — at a time when there was nothing like it to compare. I have read it more recently, and find that I’ve grown as a writer and a reader, as has the way books are written for young readers. I’ll start there, not as a defense of Hatchet (or a criticism), just as some context. Tell me what you found not-credible — I wonder if it’s the plane crash? Or the subsequent survival skills? Or the rescue? Or… there is a case to be made for all of the above. :>
It was the survival skills on top of the plane landing. It was just too much. But, as I said, as a kid I would have eaten it up!! Interesting, there was a time I thought maybe he had fallen off his bike and was hallucinating the plane and subsequent events. That would have given the ease of survival more credibility to me. I eventually gave that idea up and just rolled with it.
I have read a lot of true ship voyage stories and some real deserted island stories and in real life the struggle can be horrendous. Also I have tried to make things out of almost nothing and have tried and failed and tried and failed over and over. So his shelter came too quickly for me. And fire. That is hard hard to do.
On the other hand, it was a story of great resilience in the face of disaster and I loved that he changed the way he looked at things over time and after he was rescued. I think the overall message I took and is so important was that feeling sorry for himself did not help his situation. That was brilliant and, though a bit understated, was a huge takeaway.
I think my interest in having the discussion is that I would like to know what tools you use to write for young adults - literary, grammatical, etc. I don’t necessarily think I would write one but I am just interested in how your mind works, how you settle yourself down in a certain direction.
Cyndi is going to send me some of your books. I can’t wait to read them!
And I am restoring an old hatchet and that makes me happy. I always wanted one when I was a kid (I might have had one but don’t quite a recall). Also, does that period go inside or outside the parentheses? I think it goes inside but it seems to me it should logically go outside. I used to be a strict grammarian but now I have lost my edge.
What a journey you have started me on! Thank you.
Peggy, thank you for permission to talk about your comments/questions in this week's Writers Lab. It's an important question -- I think you're asking about Audience, at heart. I like Jennifer's comment below, too, and would add that young readers today are digital natives and have grown up with so much "reality" at their fingertips, that it makes reading a book like Hatchet a softer reading experience, from a possibility standpoint (if "softer" is the word... less believable?). You picked up on a theme Gary Paulsen was writing toward, however, a theme that is universal: great resilience in the face of disaster. Also, as you mention, facing oneself and discovering you are more than you thought you were... growing into that realization and doing something about it. More on how my mind works when I am coffeed and not on the road to Nashville in an hour. :> THANK YOU for taking the time to read Hatchet and to write us all about what you're discovering. I would like to hear more about restoring your old hatchet... maybe you could start a thread about that in Chat? I might move to Chat, too, to write about Audience and that question of yours, how we settle ourselves in certain directions, make certain audience decisions, as we write.
I have not read Hatchet since it made its launched in the mid-80's. I remember being fascinated by the moose attack and all that the MC overcame. I should re-read it if we are going to delve deep into a discussion. I believe readers are more savvy now. We have seen so much via social media and reality TV shows that we are more aware of what is plausible.
That’s a good point, Jennifer. I am due for a re-read as well. Part of my fascination, which was probably in the early ‘90s, as that’s when I would have read it to Zach, was with the way Gary Paulsen paced and plotted the novel, and the way it landed with my then-ten-year-old boy. The story was a rare thing… as was Gary Paulsen. :> I met him near the end of his life — we were both speaking at a conference, we were at a donor’s home for a dinner, he wore suspenders and a scruffy beard, I was wet behind the ears. I wanted to genuflect and say thank you (and I did) for writing that book and others for a generation of kids (and teachers!) who loved it. (I am pre-coffee… I could say this better. :>)
Ok. So just finished re-reading Hatchet. What a strange experience. Several times my memory supplied things I'd thought I'd forgotten and they unfolded with familiarity. However, there were some things I didn't remember at all. The pacing is both a benefit and hindrance to the story. A benefit to readers who want fast-paced adventure with gritty details and no-nonsense sentences (no flowery language here!). A hindrance to those who know much of this unfolded in an unlikely way. A moose and a tornado in one day? Insane! as Brian would have said. However, it works as a teaching novel. Allowing kids to see what resilience looks like, how to survive. Gary Paulsen mastered the art of writing to keep the pages turning, making it difficult for distractions to interfere. A lot to be said for that.
What a great discussion! I look forward to more. I am still learning how Substack works and have a hard time finding things. I’m also a little stumped at getting my own page going so pardon me if it takes a while to get in the groove. Good to meet you, Jennifer!
Yep. Yep. He was grittier than a lot of MG authors and spoke to boy readers in a way that hadn't been done before (or at least that I'd witnessed). A male version of Judi Blume - maybe? kinda? Forgive me if I genuflect to you when we meet!
I want to read Hatchett again -- it has been many years since I opened that book, but I have it here. I will be honest and say I'm not the reader for Rats Saw God. I'll use the phrasing our fine, discerning reader Walter Mayes uses, "It's not for me." Which takes nothing away from that book. I haven't read Into the Wild. It would make me too sad. I like your list. It's very "you," to me.