sept11

"The ideal way to meet the tough books of childhood," says two-time Newbery winner Katherine Paterson, "is before you need them."

Each time I read Paterson's quote, I wonder: which books would we read to, or with, our children if we could somehow turn back time? Could any book possibly prepare any of us, in any way, for the sucker punch of September 11, 2001?

A few weeks after the terrorist attacks, I began putting together what I thought would be a quick, list-type story for the L.A. Times. I e-mailed about 25 children's book authors, editors, librarians and critics, asking for input on the best children's books for "troubled times." The responses, to me at least, were surprising.

While some were entirely supportive of such lists, and "bibliotherapy" in general, others including children's literature historian, author and critic Leonard Marcus were much opposed. Best-selling author Jon Scieszka responded:

"I can't stand 'issue' kind of books meant to 'teach' a specific lesson. I'm also generally suspicious of most all bibliotherapy. So my list of books to deal with troubled times is exactly the same as my list of books to deal with untroubled times."

After hearing similar sentiments, my reaction was to bail on the story altogether. My editor, naturally, thought otherwise. What follows are the notes, quotes and insights that had to be squeezed from the final edition, as well as further thoughts on children's books in relation to 9/11. I hope you find them interesting.

Leonard Marcus has been Parenting magazine's children's book critic since 1987. Yet when asked which books he thought would be best for children in the days and weeks after Sept. 11, Marcus declined to make specific suggestions. He summarized his feelings on the website of the Loose Leaf Book Company. An excerpt:

"Speaking as someone who lives one subway stop away from the site of the destruction in New York," Marcus wrote, "I would simply suggest that parents spend more time with their children, answer their questions honestly but with due discretion, talk about their own feelings (but also with care not to go beyond what they think their children can handle or understand), and to do things together--reading included--that will be enjoyable for all."

Marcus, author of acclaimed biographies MARGARET WISE BROWN: Awakened by the Moon and DEAR GENIUS: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom, is passionate about children's literature. But the Sept. 11 book lists left him cold, particularly the bibliotherapy aspect.

"My intial reaction after the attack was that I couldn't imagine wanting to put a book between myself and my son [Jacob, age 9] as a way of dealing with the situation," Marcus said. "I could not see using a book as a substitute for talking about what happened. It seemed no book could be specific enough and none could be intimate enough."

Many children's book advocates did come up with suggested reading, of course. The Association for Library Services to Children, the Children's Book Council, the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators were among organizations that compiled lists. Numerous publishers searched their shelves for "appropriate" titles as well.

"I do know at Simon & Schuster, the books chosen to be included on the post-9/11 reading lists were done so with great care and thought," Atheneum senior editor Caitlyn Dlouhy said. "Many parents are looking for books on subjects they may not have been exposed to before the 11th. These reading lists can help parents pinpoint which books might be most appropriate for their child from the thousands of various books out there.

"The lists certainly aren't the be-all and end-all, but they do give parents a starting point," Dlouhy said.

Many children's booksellers shared a similar sentiment, though customer reaction seemed mixed.

In Manhattan, Books of Wonder manager Jennifer Lavonier said for the first four to five weeks after the attacks, customers were requesting books on reassurance and love, loss and death, firefighters and other emergency workers. Later, requests started coming in for books on Middle East culture and religion.

But the initial rush was for picture books. "Everything for the 2 to 6 age range," Lavonier said. "Because at 6-plus, you can talk to them" more directly about such issues.

Outside of New York and Washington, D.C., requests were generally less specific, but some stores took the initiative to set up special displays or compile their own lists.

The afternoon of Sept. 11, Hicklebee's in San Jose, Calif. was set to host an author signing with Sharon Creech. The event went on as planned--Creech responding warmly and openly to questions about maintaining hope in spite of adversity.

Afterward, Hicklebee's owner Valerie Lewis sat down and began to brainstorm, coming up with titles on everything from conflict resolution to dealing with death. "Making up a booklist was the right thing to do," Lewis said. "When there is pain, using a book as the foundation for being close, for discussing difficult issues, is helpful."

Sharon Hearn, owner of Children's Book World in West Los Angeles, agrees. The store's recent newsletter featured a staff-chosen list of "books for difficult times." Though "not a fan of didactic books, per se," Hearn said she felt books that offer some sort of guidance in troubled times can be of great benefit. She was not promoting patriotic titles, however, as she feels it important to emphasize a more global view.

On that note, children's booksellers and librarians nationwide complained of a lack of good books on the Middle East and Islam. Evan St. Lifer, School Library Journal's editor-in-chief, said librarians scrambled to find adequate titles, but simply couldn't find enough, or a wide enough range.

Works by Palestinian-American poet Naomi Shihab Nye and Pakistani-Canadian Rukhsana Khan have gained increased attention, in part because they are among the few whose viewpoints aren't based entirely in the West.

"I have urged teachers to read poems from the Middle East that remind us of our shared humanity," says Nye, whose upcoming collection of Middle East-related poems,19 Varieties of Gazelle, is due out in Spring 2002 from Greenwillow.

Khan's picture book, The Roses in My Carpets, illustrated by Ronald Himler, is the story of an Afghani boy in a refugee camp who finds hope and solace in the carpets he weaves. The book, first published in 1998 by Stoddart Kids of Canada, is based in part on a Afghani refugee child Khan befriended many years ago.

Khan's American publisher, Holiday House, recently released Celebrating Ramadan by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith, a nonfiction title with photographs by Lawrence Migdale.

"It's very important for kids at a very young age to find out [Americans] are not at the center of the universe," St. Lifer, SLJ's chief, said.

Of course, global awareness is one thing, bibliotherapy quite another. In polling more than 150 children's book advocates, opinions on the latter subject were decidedly mixed. A sampling:

Los Angeles author Joanne Rocklin has a PhD in psychology and has published more than 20 books for children. In an article for Central California Parent, Rocklin wrote:

"Bibliotherapy is a big word for a simple idea: the use of books (especially fiction) to help a child work through emotional difficulties, such as the effects of divorce or the loss of a loved one, or the more universal problems of loneliness, bedtime fears, or occasional lowered self-esteem."

Rocklin, who gave up professional psychotherapy to write full-time, cautions that when used improperly, bibliotherapy can turn kids off to books and reading, as well as aggravate emotional problems. But as far as the Sept. 11 books lists go, Rocklin doesn't have any major objections.

"Certainly we don't write books solely for therapy, and kids will always read mainly for enjoyment, but we'd be terribly remiss if we didn't offer wonderful books with particular themes when the situation called for them," she says.

Author/critic Michael Cart compiled a suggested reading list after Sept. 11 for young adult readers. Cart points to author/therapist Chris Crutcher, quoted in Don Gallo's Author Insights as saying: "Stories can help teenagers look at their feelings or come to emotional resolution, from a safe distance...

"I have never met a depressed person, or an anxious person, or a fearful person who was not encouraged by the knowledge that others feel the same way they do. 'I am not alone' is powerful medicine," says Crutcher.

Eve Bunting, author of more than 200 books--many involving "difficult" subjects such as death and war, welcomes any book written to "help," providing the author is sincere in his or her intentions. Said Bunting: "If an author writes something that is in her heart and it becomes useful in a family or national crisis, or perhaps a national shame that leaves a subject open for discussion and further understanding, then I say 'Bravo!' for children's writers."

Scieszka, bestselling author of The Stinky Cheese Man and Baloney, Henry P., and a former elementary school teacher, is not a fan of books that try to impart a message.

"The one best thing I learned from my elementary school kids when I was teaching was that being didactic will usually get you nowhere," Scieszka says. "It's precisely when you think you are being most wise, and informative, and really Teaching with a capital 'T' that you're probably reaching the fewest of you intended audience."

Virginia Walter, associate professor at UCLA's Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, says she doesn't generally think books should be used as medicine, "however, I have found that books can comfort children and they can create frames of reference for adults and children that make it possible to talk about events in a story than events in real life," she says.

As an example, Walter points to the death of Charlotte the spider in E.B. White's classic Charlotte's Web:

"I cry every time I read it, and so do many children," Walter says. "As we grieve for Charlotte and for Wilbur, who will miss her so much, we understand grief as it touches all of us sooner or later."