Caroline Bock's Blog: Caroline Anna Bock Writes - Posts Tagged "review"

What Makes A Children's Book Great? was the theme of the May 31st conference on children's publishing I attended at Scholastic headquarters (in downtown Manhattan -557 Broadway. Note: the open-to-the-public bookstore is on the ground floor worth a visit for anyone with children in their lives!).

Did the four-hour conference answer the question? Not exactly. Perhaps there is no answer is the answer. Lots of thought-provoking things were said, and the energy in the packed auditorium with its bright Clifford-red seats was high, full of hope that someone will write another break-out, surprise us all, someday classic. Random quotes include:

"Young adult books are popular with adults because they hooks readers in quick. They tend to be more plot driven.... I'm still getting used to saying 'the last century'..." Pamela Paul, Children's Book Editor, New York Times Book Review

"It's still about authors writing stories they're passionate about..." David Levithan, Scholastic editor and young adult author

"The line is blurring between literature and entertainment...[in the digital age] writers are impatient..." Rosemary Stimola, literary agent, most notably of Suzanne Collins, author of the Hunger Games

"What makes a book great...the evidence not just of a brilliant mind but a glittering heart..." Beth Kephart, young adult author.Small Damages, Kephart's seventh young adult novel, will be released this summer. (I plan to read it: review copies were given out at conference!)

"If it lingers in my imagination, it's great..." Peter Brown, children's book author and illustrator.

What do you think makes a children's book great?

Truly, author of LIE
a critically acclaimed young adult novel -a must-read for your summer's list. more at www.carolinebock.com

Caroline Bock

When Women Were Birds, is a slim lyrical meditation, about writing, about loss of a mother, about change in mid-life. The author, an ex-Morman, deals with the death of her mother, by focusing on what she has left behind -- blank journals, and what this means in a philosophical sense. Why hasn't her mother filled these journals -- a mandate for every Morman woman-- what did this mean to her, and know what does it mean for them to be left to her daughter, a writer. I read this book on a train trip, and it was the perfect book to go in and out of as the train lurched through the ice and snow from DC to New York. It was probably the only way I could have read a mournful book like this -- Caroline

P.S. Look for my new novel -- BEFORE MY EYES -- 2.11.14. More at http://www.carolinebock.com