Picture Book Panel: Lee Wardlaw

Lee Wardlaw is the award-winning author of nearly 30 books for kids.

How do most of your books start?

Lee has done nine picture books. She, unlike the others on the panel, is not an illustrator. Each picture book has been a different dance for her. 

When writing WON TON, she was writing it in prose, but it wasn't working. She realized that if the cat could speak english he would speak in haiku.

Typically Lee begins with character and that character's motivation.

Should we be concerned about trends?

Even if your book does speak to the trends, if it has those elements that make it timeless, it doesn't matter.

Who is your intended audience?

"I write to entertain myself because if I'm not having fun, what's the point?" The many other audience connections come later. 

Is there interaction between the author and the illustrator? 

Lee answers with a flat-out, "no," with reasons. She says the author and the illustrator each bring their own story to the book. Lee shared the example of her book FIRST STEPS and the surprise which illustrator Julie Paschkis brought to the story. While Lee expected to see the baby taking a wobbly walk across the room, she did not know that Julie would put in the added story of the mama and baby bird taking place outside the window, which made the book even better. 

FIRST STEPS by Lee Wardlaw, Illustrated by Julie Paschkis

What makes a picture book timeless?

Authenticity that speaks to all ages. There has to be layers in it so that anyone reading can enjoy it. 

Lee Wardlaw: What Every Children’s Writer (and Illustrator!) Should Know about Children, Tweens, and Teens

Lee Wardlaw

Lee Wardlaw, author of WON TON: A CAT TALE TOLD IN HAIKU, is also an expert in developmental child psychology. In her fascinating session, she took us through development from birth to age 24--focusing on the key questions kids ask, and the common things they say.

Here are a few tidbits:

Infancy: the sensory explorer - there are two segments, from birth to age three, and from age three to six.

Kids in this stage of life wonder what things are and want to do things by themselves. They're concrete thinkers, they live in the present, and are learning to make predictions about cause and effect. They love routines, repetition, and ground rules.

Childhood: the reasoning explorer - again, two phases, from ages six to nine, and nine to twelve.

Kids in this stage often ask "why" and often say "that's not fair." They can be ungracious, interested in clubs, and have a strong sense of moral justice and interest in good/evil.

Adolescence: the humanistic explorer - ages 12-15 and 15-18.

The favorite question is "How do I fit in?" and the favorite quotation is "Don't tell me what to do."

Growth and development accelerates again--it's comparable to the first three years of life the changes are so substantial. IQ literally drops as neurons are pruned and brains marinate in hormones. Kids this age are extremely sensitive to criticism and will rebel against authoritarians (moreso than just authority). They really want to make a memorable mark on the world.

Maturity - the doer: ages 18-21 and 21-24. 

These people ask "Why am I here? How far can I go?" A favorite quotation: "What can I do?"

Physical growth is complete or nearly so. Impulse control/judgement development continues and they start to ask, "Is this a good idea?" There's a hunger for self-knowledge, self-understanding, self-realization, and they feel responsible to the world, though they need to overcome possessiveness, materialism and lust for power.

Lee made a great case that we can write books that will resonate with kids by understanding their emotional development at the level we're writing for.

"The more the child understands about himself, his potential, and his environment, the more he'll understand what his role in life can be," she said. "This means he'll be seeking to read about and identify with characters--fact or fiction--that are ready, as he is, to search, explore, challenge, and understand life--and make a memorable impact on it."