Before I did my first reading in front of children (that's me, above, in 2010 at BookCourt in Brooklyn, NY) I was under the impression that everyone in attendance would be on their best behavior. They would sit quietly and listen attentively. Quite the opposite was true. While some kids did sit sweetly and follow along (some even thanked me afterward), these are some of the situations I've run into at these events: a maniacal laugher (start to finish, whether the page was funny or not), two boys who tried to shock me by whispering "poop" every once in a while, a few kids audibly asking their mothers when it was time to leave, and a whole lot of fidgety little folks. Through it all I kept my composure as best I could, repeating in my head like a mantra "Just make it to the end!" When my second picture book comes out next fall, will I subject myself to these intimidating audiences once again? Of course I will!
Even outside of bookstore settings, children are tough critics. Whenever I tell people I write children's books, I point out that I have two"in-house critics" at home. My kids, ages 5 and 8, are ruthless in their assessments of my work, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Do they like a certain story line or animal or person's name? They will tell me without hesitation. What obstacles should a character encounter? They will undoubtedly have an opinion. The trickiest thing is making changes once the kids have given their blessing. We might have chosen a girl's name for a story but once I've Googled the name and seen that it is already the title of a kids book or, worse, the name of an unsavory real-life character out in the world, I'll need to change it. That does not always go over well with my in-house critics: "But we LIKED the name Amelia!" (or Ashley, or Arabella, or whatever it may be!) That's why I've come to seek their counsel early on in the process and usually keep the editing to myself!
