Unit 10:Writing for Children

UNIT 10:WRITING FOR CHILDREN UNIT STRUCTURE 10.1 Learning Objectives 10.2 Introduction 10.3 Children’s Writing 10.4 Some famous children writers of Assam 10.5 How to write 10.6 Changing Trends 10.7 Let Us Sum Up 10.8 Further Readings 10.9 Possible Questions 10.1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES After going through this unit, you will be able to : describe the various ways of writing for children, discuss some of the famous children writers, write for children get to know about the changing trends in writing for children 10.2 INTRODUCTION Writing for children is essentially an important segment of Creative Writing. Again, Creative Writing is that kind of writing which is done in a free and imaginative way. It can also be called an exercise on free composition on any subject. There are some people who can write anything on any subject very freely. This ability however depends on one’s power of observation, imagination, innovation, presentation and, the last but not least, the power of one’s expression. Again, in order to strengthen the power of expression one must have a good command over language as also a strong vocabulary. Moreover, a person with creativity has that kind of talent which helps him or her discover a new situation and/or new facts in one’s day-today life and present them before others in the simplest possible manner. With a keen power of observation, such people can easily create and write a short story, novel, poem or any other writing for children. 210 Creative Writing and Its Genres (Block 2) Writing for Children Unit 10 A person may be a very good writer for grown-up people, but he or she may not necessarily become a good writer for children. Writing for children is not an easy task. It is not a difficult task for a writer to write for adults as one can include everything from the life. But in case of children’s literature, one cannot include each and everything that is known to the writer who himself or herself is a grown-up person. The most important requirement is that they must try to exclude things which are not expected by the children. One of the primary differences between writing for children and writing for adults is that the former involves both craft and responsibility. Here ‘responsibility’ means children’s books should impact upon young minds with some morals and values and that must help shape their minds as well as their thinking process and outlook on the world. The objective of this unit is to make the students learn the various ways of writing for children. Despite the influence of television and computers in modern times, bedtime continues to occupy an important place for both parents and children as far as story-telling is concerned. Parents as well as children enjoy reading and listening to these mind- boggling stories that have continued to influence society since time immemorial. But the most important thing about the children’s writing is to understand the young mind. Writing for children not only means writing about what a child is doing and thinking, but also seeing the world through the eyes of the child. Some of the best children’s writers seem always to have retained the ability to reach the child within. Michael Woods, a psychologist who analyzed Enid Blyton through her books, wrote — “She was a child, she thought like a child and she wrote as a child…” Thus she was one who was writing about the child’s world through adult eyes. That is why Paul Hodder-Williams, a publishing executive who had worked with Enid Blyton, noted, “She really loved children and understood instinctively what would interest them. It was with children that her gift of sympathy had its greatest flowering… That is why they have loved and will continue to love the best of the books, which she wrote for them and them alone...” Creative Writing and Its Genres (Block 2) 211 Unit 10 Writing for Children There is also another objective. Children need to be fed with the right kind of food for thought in order to help them grow up to become responsible and right-thinking citizens. This is more so in the modern times when children are equally exposed to all kinds of media and technology, as are adults. Gone are the days when children could be barred by both parents as well as cinema-hall gatekeepers from watching a film with an ‘A’ certificate. 10.3 CHILDREN’S WRITING Children’s writing is basically a writing that is intended mainly for children. The most popular form of children’s writing is the story. Children’s writing requires a higher degree of imaginative power in comparison to writings for adults. Children are said to be the most innocent creatures of God. Their fresh and imaginative thoughts can create strange and exquisite things. They are very inquisitive and that is why they have energetic brains and a strong imaginative power. Their thoughts can create magical landscapes. Their innocence often gets intensified when they dream in an imaginary world. Reading books can transport them to the land of fairies as well as imagination. Once a child discovers the taste of good stories, it can keep them constantly with books and reading. Therefore, the most successful way for making them feel about anything is through good reading. Children’s writing is equally important for parents because a large majority of parents often enjoy reading to their children. Psychologists have confirmed that parents indulging in regular reading sessions for children see their offspring grow up as better and more successful human beings. Ruskin Bond is one such writer of contemporary times who has drawn a totally different and unique literary landscape for children. He writes an extremely simple, dignified prose and such has been the impact that he is loved and revered in the same way by seniors as by the ten- year olds. Bond himself confesses that he writes for those who, like him, are his soul mates. To be a children’s writer, one also has to be an avid reader. In this context, it is important to note Ruskin Bond’s view: “I had read Dickens’ David Copperfield and Hugh Walepole’s 212 Creative Writing and Its Genres (Block 2) Writing for Children Unit 10 Fortitude and decided that I wanted to be like the writer-heroes of both books. Before that my father had brought me up on a diet of the children’s classics as well as other forms of entertainment, and although I was only ten when he died, the seed had been sown and I had begun to dream. The ensuing lonely period with my mother and step-father only cemented my attachment to the world of books.” Some people have started saying that reading habits of children have changed and that children are increasingly moving away from books. This however is only partially correct. Bond, in his book Scenes From a Writer’s Life says, “People say children don’t read anymore. This may be true of the vast majority, but I know many boys and girls who enjoy reading; far more than I encountered when I was a schoolboy. In those days, there were comics and the radio and the cinema. I went to the cinema whenever I could, but that did not keep me from reading almost everything that came my way. And so it is today. Book readers are special people, and they will always turn to books as the ultimate pleasure. Those who don’t read are unfortunate ones. There is nothing wrong with them; but they are missing out on one of life’s compensations and rewards. A great book is a friend that never lets you down. You can return to it again and again and the joy first derived from it will still be there. I think it is fair to say that when I was a boy, reading was my true religion. It helped me to discover my soul.” Children’s writing covers a wide range of categories. These include long and short stories, novels, essays, poems, rhymes, songs, plays, riddles, and of course fables and folktales. Among them again, stories and novels stand out especially if the author can spin an element of adventure and suspense keeping in view the highly inquisitive and imaginative nature of the young readers and listeners. Fables, folk tales and other stories passed down from one generation to the other particularly through the word of mouth have always remained the backbone of the traditional repository of children’s literature. While Aesop’s Fables, Jataka Tales and the Panchatantra have remained global classics, closer home we have some wonderful Creative Writing and Its Genres (Block 2) 213 Unit 10 Writing for Children collection of such stories that have been documented and compiled in written form. Five such books that have withstood the test of time in the Assamese language are Burhi Aair Sadhu and Kokadeuta Aru Natilora, both by Lakshminath Bezbaroa, Moina by Harinarayan Baruah, Latumoni by Benudhar Sharma and Siyali Palegoi Ratanpur by Navakanta Barua. In each community across the world, people have their own distinctive folktales and stories. These folktales not only have an entertainment value, but also help pass down history and mythology related to that community through word of mouth. Moreover, apart from functioning as unwritten history of a particular group of people, these also make the younger generation aware of their heritage and culture, which are required to be preserved and propagated.

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