Why I Write With Children

by Laura Hill

“Everyone says the sky is blue but I know its purple and orange and pink.  I’ve met dogs that can talk and seen diamonds wash ashore because I see what’s there, not what I’ve been told too.” –Laura Hill

When my daughters first asked me to help them write a book I thought, ghads! how do I do that.  I was working under deadline to finish an article for a magazine and I didn’t want to stop.  But Ava and Kayla kept asking me and when children are persistent you know that it’s important.  We brainstormed for three months to write King Arthur and the Werewolves of Camelot, which is the second book in the series but the first one we wrote.  Ava, who was five made up the character of Jilly, a fairytale expert who could solve any magical mystery.  Kayla was 8 and much more mature, she wrote about Penelope a real world minded girl who solved her problems like puzzles with science and logic.

Now, five books later, Ava and Kayla have become experts at story writing and illustration, researching and fleshing out their own story lines that we all collaborate on.  I am left with the task of pulling it all together. It’s been a lot of work but has come with many perks. Ava and Kayla have gotten to meet some of their favorite authors, they have been on a TV talk show, attended big book conventions in NYC and learned the ropes of publishing as well as web design and promotion.

But I think the best thing that’s happened to us is that together we pull this off.  We win together, we lose together and we bring our knowledge and inspiration to children in schools all across America.  We know that if we can follow our dreams and do this, other children can too!  And we are happy our books make other people smile.

I speak in a lot of schools during the year and often times my daughters join me.  When we first arrive at a school we are excited and nervous. So are the students, neither of us knows what to expect.  But we break the ice using our imagination, and sometimes a microphone, to make fireworks explode and birds fly across the room. Then we begin to talk about how we write our books. 

The enthusiasm is contagious but sometimes, in the older grades, the cynicism is palpable too.  But as the conversation develops with humor and self-effacing confessions the atmosphere begins to change.  Slowly the children start to see that we aren’t talking at them about what we have done and we aren’t telling them what they should do.  We are giving them a formula to get their great ideas out into the world, just like we did. 

You can almost hear a click as their eyes light up when they make this connection.  To see my daughters present an author visit is too see themselves reflected on stage.  And we tell them, if we can do this, you can too.

I’ve talked to thousands of children across the United States.  The number one thing they want is for you to believe in them.  We give them confidence that their dreams are possible, and courage to make them come true.  And we do one other thing, we believe that their ideas are great.  This is a hard thing to do.

If I had not really listened to my daughter’s ideas conceding the lead when their concepts were better, we would not have this book series.  If they had not trusted me guiding them through revisions, pitches and press they wouldn’t be the kids they are today.  It takes a lot of vision, guts and trust to work together.

And that’s the thought I would leave you with.  When teachers and parents ask me how I write with kids I would say set up an environment of trust and mutual respect then the stories just flow.  Sure I use lots of techniques to coax higher thinking but the basis is you.  You are the only one who can teach them to take a chance on their own great ideas, and the one who can help them get those ideas into the world.

Laura Hill is an author and producer known for helping children find their voice and talents through creative arts and technology. To find out how you can bring her writing programs to your school email Laura Hill or tweet @candylandcaper. 

Is It Magic or Science?

by Laura Hill

There is an ongoing debate at my house about what is science and what is magic.  I know that sounds strange.  We all agree that fairies don't really hide in the grass and that the internet is a technological miracle, right?  But in my circles the conversation goes a bit deeper.  I am of the mind that magic is simply something that science hasn’t figured out yet and that it exists all around us.  Arthur C. Clarke may have said it best when he stated, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

In my Great Story World Mix-Up books there are two heroes who are also sisters that go on a journey to a magical place called Story World.  In this world they need to use their talents to fix some pretty big problems that they accidentally created.  The older girl Penelope, is a real-world minded science girl who solves problems like puzzles with logic, applying proven theories in very unique ways.  Her younger sister, Jilly, is a believer in magic and a fairytale expert.  Her talent lies in her enormous faith that stems from the study of history and the influence of magic in literature.  It is no wonder Jilly’s ribbon wand gains special powers when visiting Camelot.  It’s also not surprising that Penelope uses salt to seed the clouds and make it snow when she travels back to dinosaur times with Amelia Earhart.

What is unique is the blending of the two girls talents, along with those of new friends they meet along the way.  There is never any question as to which is better, science or magic.  Instead, there is a general acceptance that both are necessary, even vital, if Penelope and Jilly hope to succeed in putting Story World back together.  I was thinking of this as I did some research for our upcoming tale The Boy Who Cried Sea Monster.  During the story Jilly finds the rainbow buried under the bark of giant eucalyptus trees.  Just looking at these real examples makes me think magic must be at work.  At a later point Penelope communicates with a dolphin that agrees to wear a tracking device and act as a guide for the pirate ship they are sailing on.  No doubt science has taught her how to do this.

So what’s the point?  Well the point is that whether you’re a science girl or a magic girl the world needs both kinds of people to get things done, the ones who believe it can happen and the ones who can figure it out.  This only becomes possible when we open our minds and our attitudes to things that may seem strange and threatening at first.  When you are a kid this can be really hard.

In a lot of schools students don’t have time to dig down and explore their true talents.  It’s not the school’s fault, there are only so many hours in a day.  But it is our fault as a society that we do not prize the unique talents of each child, instead praising a few types of accomplishments or worse, over praising so a child has no measure of their worth.  Wouldn’t it be great if each of us led when the circumstances called for our talents?  I think so.  

Why not take the challenge today and open your mind and those of your students to both the magic and the science that is all around us. Infuse your curriculum with this message and it will foster the insatiable curiosity that makes us distinctly human while letting each child in your class know that their special talents and unique point of view are not only good, but needed to continue the path of miraculous discovery we are on today.

Let a child know that their special talent is good and needed, then show them how to use it in the context of your class. We will all be better off for it and who knows, you may help a child discover a talent that will one day change the world.

Laura Hill is an author and producer known for helping children find their voice and talents through creative arts and technology. To find out how you can bring her writing programs to your school email Laura Hill or tweet @candylandcaper.