Throughout April, I’m tackling 26 A to Z topics related to children’s literature. Today is all about the letter K, which has me reminiscing about the first chapter I ever wrote: “Koren of the Quest.”
I was still a kid myself when I wrote my first book children’s chapter book.
Between fifth and sixth grade, I was reading The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, which consist of four books: “Dealing with Dragons,” “Searching for Dragons,” “Calling on Dragons,” and “Talking to Dragons.” They were my newly found favorites, and my latest goal was to write a book similar to Patricia C. Wrede’s series.
That summer, I collected a ream of loose leaf notebook paper, a few sharp pencils, and a manila envelope that I labeled Top Secret. I dug out a baby name book and wrote down every name that sounded like it belonged in a fantasy story, and I took special care to outline characters based on the name’s meaning. According to the baby book, Leila meant “black or darkness of night.” So I created a character dubbed Leila the Black and Darkness of Night.
The name Koren, incidentally, was said to mean “quest.” I selected Koren as my main character, and the book would be about her quest.
I recall some details of the book better than others. There was a dragon named Tallulah. There were two kingdoms: one consisting of women, and one consisting of men. They were separated by a mountain range, and they never mingled. If either sex crossed into the other’s kingdom, it would spark war. Koren encountered and befriended a lost boy named Owen, who somehow ended up in the women’s kingdom. And Koren’s main goal in life was to get her title. To reach womanhood, every woman had to earn her title. (Such as Leila, whose title was The Black and Darkness of Night.)
I don’t recall the inciting incident that set Koren off on her quest. (I have a vague idea that her quest might have been to return Owen to his kingdom before he was found and killed.) But Koren and Owen set off together, and they eventually are joined by Tallullah and a fairy clan.
I also borrowed heavily (probably to the point of plagiarizing) from The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. I included vanishing cliffs and dragons bane and melting wizards and the sexless title King of the Dragons, which could be given to male or female dragon rulers.
I regret that, as a teenager, I found the handwritten manuscript and deemed it unworthy of keeping; after all, it was unpublishable in its current form, so I threw it away. At that point, my focus was moving toward writing books for adults.
These days, I wish I still had that folder of loose leaf pages. Even if it never got edited and polished and got bound between covers, it would be nice to have that artifact of my personal writing journey.
To the other writers out there: Do you remember your first full-length project? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
FAMILIARITY. When it comes to picture books in particular, familiarity and name recognition go a long way. Picture books have several classics, such as “Where the Wild Things Are,” that are must-haves for every kid lit collection. During our weekend Barnes and Noble excursion, this is one of the titles I ended up buying. I want our kids to meet the Wild Things in our home and have a copy of their own.
When it comes to picture books, the back cover copy is replaced by reading the actual book. If I like the story and interior art (because in picture books, art is part of the reading), there’s a good chance the book is coming home with me at this stage. Take “Tuesday,” for example. The title first caught my attention, and while the cover art isn’t particularly exciting, when I opened the book I found beautiful illustrations and a story (told almost exclusively in pictures) that made me laugh. “Tuesday” is now in my home collection.
Take A. F. Harrold’s “The Imaginary,” for example. It’s a book about a girl named Amanda Shuffleup and her imaginary friend, Rudger, getting separated when Amanda is in a coma. It explores the question of what happens to imaginary friends when their children aren’t around or outgrow them.
Katherine Applegate’s latest chapter book, “Crenshaw,” also features an imaginary friend playing a main role. As a child, Jackson imagined an overgrown cat named Crenshaw as an imaginary friend. Even though he’s about to enter the fifth grade and considers himself too old for something as childish as an imaginary friend, Crenshaw returns when his family goes through a crisis. As the family loses their home, Jackson learns to cope with the situation.
There’s also my new favorite picture book, “The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend.” I fell in love with Beekle as soon as I saw him on the cover. (Seriously, how adorable is this little guy? He reminds me of the adipose* from the Doctor Who episode “Partners in Crime, Season 4, Episode 1). Once I read the story, I loved him even more. Beekle lives on an island where imaginary friends wait to be chosen, and he waits for a child to claim his as their own. But when he continues to be overlooked, he stops waiting and instead goes seeking to find his friend.
And, of course, there’s “Imaginary Fred.” A lonely boy named Sam wishes for a friend, and that’s how he discovers Fred, who is an experienced imaginary friend. Fred has accompanied plenty of children as an imaginary friend, and he wishes for a long-term friend. Then Sam meets a girl named Sammi, who has an imaginary friend named Frieda. The story shows the development of friendships and groups of friends.
Several months ago during a regular Barnes & Noble excursion, I encountered a Pantheon edition of “The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales.” The husband and I are slowly but surely building a collection of children’s books so by the time a Baby Barichello enters the scene, we’ll have a well-stocked library. So I figured I’d buy the collection.
Julie Stroebel Barichello | Author 