Terrfific Kids' Books of 2015

How does one pick "the best?"  Very difficult, as these decisions are so subjective.  I have chosen three books, one picture book, one middle grade novel, and one young adult novel.


Let us begin with the picture book, The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt.  The book is the sequel to the mega-hit, The Day the Crayons Quit by the same author.  This new book features crayons that have been misplaced, or had a rough time, or wanting adventure.  The book's interest lies in the emotion and personalities of the individual crayons, not to mention colorful!


For a middle grade book, I have selected The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin.  A look at friendship, betrayal,  loss of life and, in some ways, innocence, this is a powerful story for middle graders to digest.  However, the thought and care put into this book redeems any notion that it might be too old for such callow readers.  I thoroughly recommend it for readers of this age!


The young adult novel that I have chosen is All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven.  There are several important books about mental illness, always an important topic for this age group, but this one is pivotal, indeed.  Seniors Theodore Finch and Violet Markey run into each other on their school bell tower, both thinking about jumping.  They travel through Indiana looking for a geography project and fall in love.  While doing so, they deal with darkness, happiness, and possibilities of life.

All three books, so different in all ways but one, and that is excellence.  These authors deal with topics kids will love, or be intrigued by, or will fear.  But through it all, they will learn to deal with certain aspects of life and the challenges it is sure to provide.

You Have a Great Idea for a Middle Grade or Young Adult Book? Now What Do You Do?

So you have a wonderful idea for a book.  How can you turn that fabulous idea into a great book?  And how do other authors do it?  

Certainly middle grade novels require a bit of amping down, but with young adult, all bets are off.  You can create the creepiest, meanest, or most selfless and heroic characters you want without fear of doing so.  In fact, young adult novels have become known as “crossovers,” appropriate for teens and adults alike!

Let’s start with characters—protagonists and antagonists.  Immediately move them out of the ordinary but not too slant.  By that I mean, keep them a little bit “everyman” while making them non-ordinary.  Most of us write characters with whom we can identify—those within our comfort zone.  Get rid of that notion.  Try writing about the hapless, the flawed, those who are different than you but, of course, are still human with many of the same desires and wishes.  Hard to do?  Yes, but so worthwhile in creating a complex and memorable character.  (Think Tennessee Williams, Ernest Hemingway, Margaret Atwood.) In The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood gives the Cinderella protagonist no quarter—and no handsome prince to save the day.  She’s on her own, and the readers love it!

Have your characters do—not describe, or talk the reader to death, or kill them with boredom.  In other words (and I hate to say it again but will) show, don’t tell.  Let the people you’ve brought to life on the page live, betray, love, and hate—all the time showing what they do instead of describing how they do it.

Think of gestures you or others do.  Things we’re not really aware of many times on a conscious level. A look, a non-look when one should occur, a gesture, a speech hesitation, too much speech, a realization that one knows s/he has said too much, and s/he knows you (and perhaps the whole table) knows…I could go on forever.  These human markers drive fiction, they drive the story, heck—they drive life!  Use them to your advantage.  But remember, don’t describe them, make your characters live them.

If we (and I place myself first here) can infuse our writing with such techniques, our stories will improve. They will stand out.  They will shine. They will be art imitating life.  And who knows?  They may be as true to life as life itself.