Which titles should you choose for your kids? - By Susan Patron

Which titles should you choose for your kids?

They can be literary or light reading. Aim for a mix of classic titles and popular fiction that will draw them in and keep them reading.

By Susan Patron

latimes.com

CHILDREN'S BOOKS 

My job as a young children's librarian in the 1970s was to connect kids with books. The first time a teacher called, requesting a presentation for her fifth-graders on famous people, I was on it. I gathered biographies -- athletes, artists, astronauts -- and leafed through for the telling phrase or incident sure to pull in the kids and vivid writing that would keep them turning the pages.

When the class arrived, I booktalked the bios (it's a librarian thing -- like a film treatment) but was met with polite, blank stares. No one made a move for the books. The teacher was browsing over in adult fiction. "OK," I said. "I don't get it. I thought you were doing reports on famous people." A girl spoke up: "We are, but we want to read about really famous people." A boy mentioned a rock star. Someone else suggested a teenage actor. Then I got it. It's all about perspective.

I wasn't a strong or confident reader as a child. Then in fourth grade our teacher read "Charlotte's Web" to the class. The shared experience, the powerful story and E.B. White's lyrical language turned me into a reader and made me decide to become a writer.

My newly discovered Wilshire branch library did not carry Nancy Drew or comic books, a strategic omission that conveyed the subtle message that they were negligible or bad. I continued (even though they didn't "count" in the library's summer reading club) to read my own traded copies. This was because I labored over the stories the librarian recommended, as if I were reading underwater. But the rewards of those harder "literary" books were great: They helped me perceive subtleties of truth, understand something about courage, mull over complexities of love and death, and sometimes they moved me to tears. I loved books that made me cry.

Happily, librarians now recognize that children, like adults, are not degraded by reading popular, lightweight books. In fact, this type of reading bulks up literacy skills, provides cerebral entertainment and allows for a safe outlet from the stresses of daily life. It's restful, like a long-distance swimmer floating on his back or a writer endlessly playing computer solitaire (not that I would ever, ever do this). But kids find these popular series on their own. We adults should introduce books they might not otherwise discover, books that can help them decipher what it means to be human.

So how to pick the book that will make them want to stay up late reading? The American Library Assn. offers annotated lists arranged by interest level ( www.ala.org and type "notable children's books" in the search box). You'll find recommendations in many areas: fiction, information, poetry, picture books and even audio books. Or ask a bookseller or children's librarian.

"A writer either speaks to adults and bores kids, or speaks to kids and upsets adults," says author Lois Lowry, who knows what she's talking about: Her 1994 Newbery-winning novel, "The Giver," has garnered legions of impassioned young readers and, over the years, has upset many adults -- people who seek to have the book banned in school and public libraries. It's a story about conformity in a seemingly safe, utopian society, a world in which choice has been taken away. "The Giver" raises questions and shines a light on the human heart, but those who want to censor it apparently fear that the concept of free choice is too mature for upper elementary kids. I propose instead that we respect their intelligence, that we acknowledge their ability to think about deeper truths.

My aim as a writer is to speak to kids (and I've indeed managed to upset some adults along the way), and I know that my stories have had a powerful impact on some readers, though certainly not on all.

Letters and e-mails from kids are revealing. "I might of liked to have more excitement in the book but it's always good to take a break from adventure. Keep on writing!" read one. "You have a good eashmason [I'll prove her point by translating this as imagination] and Lucky is a lot like me," writes Grace, "but I do not think you remember much about your childhood." A reader like this can gladden a writer's heart and break it in the space of one sentence.

"I am writing to you because of a school assignment," writes Cecile, and I worry. This can be the kiss of death, where students must grapple with questions about the author's intent and the themes of the story, questions that can shut off the deeper, more personal responses I hope for -- but she goes on to write, "We had to read your book. I cried."

While visiting a class in Albuquerque on a book tour this year, I talked about growing from an indifferent to an avid reader, from librarian to writer. During the Q and A, several girls conferred in whispers and one raised her hand: "Do you know any famous writers?" I thought about the handful of Newbery awardees I've met, some of the finest writers in the field.

"I do," I said, "I know --"

"Stephenie Meyer?" the girl broke in, referring to the "Twilight" series author. I should have known better. They meant really famous.

Patron's latest book, "Lucky Breaks," is a sequel to "The Higher Power of Lucky," awarded the 2007 Newbery Medal. She worked in children's services at the Los Angeles Public Library for 35 years.

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