Children’s Literature

Can Reading Be Stealing?

Posted by on Aug 24, 2023 in Children's Literature | 0 comments

If someone takes your book off a shelf in a bookstore without paying for it, that’s theft.

If someone reads your book online without paying for it, ditto. They may not have a physical book in their possession, but they’ve taken hard creative work without paying a dime. And writers cannot live when readers do that.

But if an AI sweeps up your online book and reads it without paying for it, that’s…innovation?

When the AI reads your book and uses it along with many, many others to create new works that nobody needs to pay for because, hey, nobody actually wrote them, that’s…

I don’t now what that is. Nobody does. But I’m worried that it’s the beginning of the end of a world where writers work hard to knit words together to create characters and plots and worlds and visions that we can share.

Stephen King has some thoughts about this too.

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The Amphisbaena

Posted by on Aug 17, 2023 in Children's Literature | 0 comments

This amphisbaena is from the Aberdeen Bestiary, a 12th century encyclopedia of rare and often mythical animals. It appears to have wings as well as legs, a nice touch.

While waiting…and waiting…and waiting for an editor to get back to me about a new manuscript, I’m hoping so hard that I will get to write this fantasy chapter book with all sorts of delightful legendary creatures–like the amphisbaena, a venomous reptile with a head on each end of the body. Both heads bite. Avoid at all costs.

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American Born Chinese

Posted by on May 24, 2023 in Childhood, Children's Literature, Illustration, What I've Been Reading | 0 comments

Anybody who is interested in or cares about children’s literature, or graphic novels, or Asian-American culture, or just basically anything should read Jamie Fisher’s article about Gene Wang’s unparalleled American Born Chinese and the upcoming Disney adaptation (for which I cannot wait).

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Happy Book Birthday to Two Friends!

Posted by on Apr 18, 2023 in BOOK: Two Friends, Children's Literature, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Two Friends, One Dog, and a Very Unusual Week is in stores and on shelves today. Happy birthday to Emily and Rani, two friends who learn what rules are for–and how to break them.

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