We write children’s
picture books about an elementary school-aged boy and his marvelous pet weasel.
Often we are asked—understandably so—for what age groups our fun little
episodes are intended. The answer: children between four and ten years old and
the adults who read with them. But the deeper truth: anyone and everyone.
Humans love a good story
and are not always picky about the source. In the pursuit of meaningful
entertainment, boundaries between story formats rarely seem to matter.
Storytelling method becomes secondary if the story is strong and the characters
speak to the audience. And, if done right, a picture book can have the similar
effect as a comic or graphic novel--both of which are widely read by readers of
chapter books.
Also, it certainly helps to be funny. In Wild Wild Weasel, our second adventure in the World of the Weasel book series,
the boy imagines all sorts of things he can train his pet weasel to do, from
chauffeuring the boy around to shampooing the boy’s hair. Laughter knows no
age.
In addition, it helps to
include words that the child may not know but will come to learn and use in
later years. “Pandemonium” and “rambunctious” may not roll trippingly off the
tongue of the average first grader, but in Once Upon a Weasel, our first
book, we wanted to include words that would be fun for the parent to say to the
child and also make the child curious about their meaning.
And it helps to create a
complex story where new details are revealed with each reading. In Wild Wild
Weasel, some visuals may very well escape notice upon first glance—a pigeon
holding a diploma in its beak, a bunny stuck in window blinds, an astounded
fish lifting itself onto the edge of its bowl to get a better look at the
action. (And, as you read all of our books, look for one particular little girl
who simply cannot seem to stay awake.)
Middle-grade readers
then have an opportunity to laugh, learn, teach, and discover. We think that’s
golden, and we hear from plenty of young people who agree!
All of these things we have been
learning since we first decided to write kids stories. And we continue to check
ourselves to make sure that the story is trim and that every word tells. Our
first drafts always contain too many words, which is often the case for any writing
project. But for picture books especially, each word is carefully considered.
By the time illustrator Dave Leonard gets to work it becomes clear that many of
our story points come across better in illustration. Thus begins another round
of culling words. (We always knew a picture was worth a thousand words, but
that old idiom was never so profoundly felt until we began creating picture
books.) Sometimes we describe too much, or grip the reader’s hand too tightly
as we lead them down an obvious road, or try to make things overtly Meaningful
with a capital M. The end product, we hope, is a balance between showing and
telling.
Indeed, we are learning. Trust the
reader and let them discover things on their own. If they don’t grasp
everything at first, they will when they reread the book years later. And
they’ll feel good about the discovery.
In the end, we as a
creative team don’t really have the middle-school student or the adult or even
the four-year-old in mind when we write. To us, the age of the reader is
immaterial. After all, adults go to see animated films geared toward the
younger set. Why shouldn't tweens and teens read picture books? We simply tell
a story that entertains us. Then we hope that people of all ages like it—you
too!
James
Munn is a freelance writer, film historian and
former editor at Architectural Digest. In addition, he and his friends
Salvo Lavis and Dave Leonard have created the World of the Weasel series of
children’s books, which includes the titles Once Upon a Weasel and Wild
Wild Weasel. He is the author of This Is No Dream: Making Rosemary’s
Baby and recently edited Autobiography of a Magazine: 1920 – 2010,
an illustrated history of Architectural Digest by former editor-in-chief
Paige Rense. James grew up in rural Nebraska and currently lives in Hollywood,
California.
Connect with Salvo Lavis and James Munn:
WORLD OF THE WEASELpresents
picture books about a young boy and his pet weasel who injects excitement into
the boy’s quiet life and helps stimulate his imagination. Published by Spitball
Studio, the series currently has two books available with more to follow.
There’s also handmade plush dolls as well as fun t-shirts for adults and kids.
Wild Wild Weasel
ISBN:
978-0-9977982-2-7
Amazon:
Once Upon a Weasel
ISBN:
978-0-9977982-0-3
Amazon:
Nice guest post, I really enjoyed this book too.
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