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I recently took Marjetta Geerling’s SCBWI Workshop, How to Appeal to Children and Adults When Writing Children’s Books, and can't wait to share the fantastic info with you!

Children are like us, but inexperienced.  You don’t dumb down or talk down to them.  Never condescend, oversimplify, think the audience is ignorant, or take conscious superiority.  Kids immediately realize this!  Children and teachers don’t want a book that screams ‘here’s something you should know.’

When you write a children’s book, you must first appeal to an adult audience.  Children won’t be the first people to read your book.  There are often over ten layers of adult readers…critique groups or writing mentors, agents, editors, marketing people, art directors—and this is all before the book goes into print!  Then, there are reviewers, award committees, booksellers, and then parents, teachers, and librarians that we hope will be so excited by the books we write, they’ll want to share it with all the children in their lives.

Many writers think they need to find a way to get by the ‘gatekeepers’ but in reality, they’re just as much a part of the children’s literature audience as the children themselves.  Think about this…if a child falls in love with a book and asks to hear it every single night—who is doing the reading?

How do we appeal to children and engage our adult audience at the same time?  Marjetta read the book PARTS by Ted Arnold.  I have to admit that I smiled the second I saw it.  My daughters and I absolutely LOVED that book, even after reading it together a zillion times.  In fact…I still have most of it memorized!

I remember the humor and fun illustrations the most.  It takes a few reads to get past the humor so we can analyze it and see all the brilliant layers.  It has some amazing lessons about life for kids and adults…in a way that doesn’t feel preachy at all.   

·       When digging deeper, you can see that both children and adults can relate to the theme—nervousness.  It definitely has un

Ignore the fact that SCBWI Miami took place in January--I've finally downloaded/uploaded my pictures, and I want to post them. (Click to make them larger.) I was not only an attendee, but I also appeared as a speaker on the First Books Panel, along with Marjetta Geerling and Debbie Reed Fischer.


Linda Bernfeld, SCBWI Regional Advisor of Florida, (on the right) is ready to party down after months and months of planning! It paid off, Linda! From left to right, the other conference attendees are Lynne Hansen, Shannon Hitchcock, me, and Angelina Dunbar. Lynne writes YA horror and gave me great tips on how to drum up book signings. Shannon and I had some great conversations, and Angelina was my conference buddy.



I'm standing next to Marjetta Geerling, Alex Flinn and Mindy Weiss. Marjetta wrote Fancy White Trash and signed my copy with a fancy pink pen. She told me YA doesn't have to be depressing and she was right! I read her book, loved it, and saw positive themes throughout the novel even in the midst of serious subject matter. Alex Flinn is the author of many books and the recipient of many awards. Go Alex! Mindy is a Blueboard friend and it was nice to meet her in person.


The great Lisa Yee! What can I say? I loved Millicent Min! Don't let Lisa's small stature and cuteness fool you--she's sharp as a razor and really funny (very quick texter, too).



Gaby Triana worked behind the scenes for months to get the conference going. Not only is she the author of several award winning novels and a nice person to boot, she's hot, too!





Donna Gephart wrote As If Being 12 and 3/4 Wasn't Bad Enough, My Mother is Running for President! My daughter snagged this book from me when I got home and she loved it! Donna and I had exchanged a few emails before the conference, and I was eager to meet her. She is a warm and caring person, and I love her for that.



I had a blast hanging out with Debbie Reed Fischer. She introduced herself as a military brat like myself, and said we had much to talk about. The author of Braless in Wonderland and Swimming with Sharks, Debbie is quick, funny, and just as pretty as the models she writes about.



This is what it looks like when children's writers party! Kimberly Lynn constructed all the decorations, and she did a fantastic job!

i reeeally saw this little girl over the weekend...she LITERALLY sat down, in front of the princess super beautiful store, while her mom and brother walked away...sort of! i dunno if she got her way or not...my son and i had to leave quickly as her banshee wailing was making him sad.

so, mayyybe she got her way...and then again, maybe no princess accessories for the princess on THAT day. :))

enjoy!