Children six to nine still love to cozy up to a parent or grandparent and
hear a story. But they’re also starting to formulate their own reading likes and dislikes and to choose their reading material. They’re more
sophisticated about content than many would think, but still new enough readers that format has to be just so.
“Writing for this age is truly an art form,” says Hilary Bain, Editor in Chief
of chickaDEE, part of the OWL Group of Children’s magazines. “It is
difficult to write for a child who is just learning to put words together in
print, yet make the material interesting enough that the child wants to
read it.”
The effort has a strong payoff for children’s writers: an appreciative
audience and many opportunities at magazines. Easy reader stories are
always in demand.
Distinct Needs
Children in early years of reading have distinct needs. “Beginning
readers need a layout that won’t overwhelm them, text that invites them
in, with art and short captions,” says Highlights for Children Senior
Editor Marileta Robinson. “Our stories for beginning readers are set in
larger type than stories for older readers – 13 or 16 point versus 10 point
- and are shorter – a 500-word maximum versus 800 words.”
While writers don’t need to worry about type size, they should consider
layout. According to Robinson, “A story for beginning readers should
have several opportunities for different illustrations.” It should also be
divided into short, simple paragraphs. These “chunk up” the text, for
easier reading.
Bain also advises, “Use short words in short, simple, and direct
sentences. A story or article should have a single concept, just one
focus or layer.”
Heather A. Delabre, Assistant Editor at Cricket Magazine Group’s
Spider, explains, “Since children this age are new readers, they need to
be entertained and challenged by the material they read.”
Writers don’t have long to engage children at this age: “I think it’s
especially crucial with beginning readers to capture their attention in the
first paragraph,” says Terry Harshman, Editor at Children’s Playmate,
one of the Children’s Better Health Institute (CBHI) publications. “A story
should be lively and fun, carrying the reader along on this magic carpet
to journey’s end.”
Bain explains that part of the challenge in writing for this age is in not
assuming too much. Often, kids are familiar with a word when they hear
it, but it’s quite different when they read it. For example, exceptional is a
word most children know. But when they read a line of text and come to
this word, it might slow down their reading as they try to sound it out. It
has too many syllables, and as young readers concentrate on sounding
out, they lose their train of thought and forget what they’re reading
about.
Beginning readers also need to be able to identify with the characters,
but not be bored with too much similarity. Delabre cites “An Ordinary
Boy,” by Kate DiCamillo (Spider, August 2001). “In this story, kids read
about a boy their age who is followed everywhere he goes by rain.
There’s enough of the familiar to give young readers the identification
they crave, yet enough of the unfamiliar to keep them intrigued and
having fun with what they’re reading.”
Robinson reminds writers that “playful use of language and stories with
built-in repetition are appealing to beginning readers.”
Tried & True & New
Magazines for easy readers are breaking into two camps: Those
responding to changes in popular culture and those not interested in
reinventing the wheel. But all want material that works, and they want it
fresh.
Highlights isn’t changing its approach. “We still strive to provide
materials for a wide range of reading abilities, while keeping a wide
age-range appeal for all of the material in the magazine,” says
Robinson.
While many magazines that publish easy reader stories seem to focus
much more on popular culture – musicians, television, video games –
than in the past, Cricket Magazine Group publications don’t follow these
trends, says Delabre. “We look for fresh, innovative stories that stimulate
young minds without the use of media trends.”
Aileen Andres Sox, Editor of Our Little Friend and Primary Treasure, two
Seventh-day Adventist children’s publications, says, “Following a
formula that has worked for more than 100 years, we will continue to
focus on true, Christian stories.”
But, as the world changes, some easy reader publications are changing,
too. “Our focus at the Children’s Better Health Institute is expanding
somewhat,” says Harshman. “We have begun to introduce French and
Spanish in our publications. We feel that if children are reached at an
early age, it is easier for them to become bilingual.”
“We realize that pop culture is part of kids’ lives today,” says
chickaDEE’s Bain, “so we try to bring pop culture into the magazine;
otherwise, we aren’t appealing to the needs of our readers. But, we
bring in pop culture in an educational way. If we tell about a popular
movie, we focus on educating kids about some aspect of this movie.
With Mighty Joe Young, we showed kids how the creature was created
for this movie and how computers were used to make it so lifelike.”
Today’s busy lifestyles and the ever-increasing role of technology in
children’s lives have brought about a new publication that appeals to
beginning readers. Jennifer Reed and her husband, Jeff, decided to
create Wee Ones, an online-only magazine for kids and their parents.
Reed says, “Often, children aren’t getting the attention they deserve and
that means many are not getting read to. We are trying to fulfill that need
by incorporating technology with good literature for both children and
adults. Children are gravitating toward computers and the Internet at
alarming rates. Wee Ones wants to make sure there is something good
and wholesome out there for parents and kids.”
Missing the Mark
Writers unfortunately often continue to make the same mistakes in
beginning reader submissions.
Robinson still sees too many “stories that tell rather than show.
Beginning readers need stories that appeal to all the senses. Stories
that have appealing characters, action, and dialogue, and that use
humor and suspense, and have a voice.”
At Spider, editors see too many stories that condescend to the child
reader. Delabre advises, “Don’t use baby talk or oversimplify your ideas.
Respect your audience. Spider doesn’t want stories that are too
preachy, didactic, or message-driven.”
Inappropriate anthropomorphism is something else to avoid. “Only use
talking animals if they are integral to the plot,” warns Delabre. “Too
many times, these animals are merely children with fur. If you were to
shift your talking animals into children, would you still have a strong
plot? Or, is the novelty of your story tied up in the animals alone?”
Editors also don’t want stories that disregard word limits, but writers do
just this – often. “These word limits aren’t just arbitrary numbers,” says
Delabre. “Since we have only about 30 pages in which to present the
stories, poems, and activities in the body of Spider, we want to be able
to give readers as many stories as we can, which means strict
adherence to word limits.”
Publications from the Children’s Better Health Institute have a specific
mission. “Often submissions are not in keeping with our mission,” says
Harshman. “It’s obvious that the author has not looked at our
publication. Since we are health and fitness magazines, we have a
particular focus.”
Another common mistake writers make is to assume easy reader stories
don’t need to be just as well written as stories for older children. “Some
writers seem to think that with less words, there doesn’t need to be a
plot. Many stories I see lack structure, plot, and theme,” says Reed.
Breaking In
It’s more difficult to break in at some easy reader magazines than others.
All fiction at chickaDEE is assigned. It sets up articles and stories for
each themed issue about a year in advance. The best way to break in at
chickaDEE is for writers to become familiar with the scheduled themes,
which may be requested, and submit a story on a theme far in advance
of the scheduled publication date.
A rebus story of about 120 words is the best way to break in at
Highlights. “But the author should study several issues worth to see
what makes them tick,” advises Robinson.
Although you’ve heard it before, studying the market is still excellent
advice for any writer wanting to break in at a particular publication.
“Read back issues of the publications you’d like to submit to, in order to
familiarize yourself with the styles, genres, and age ranges of the
magazines. Also, be sure to use a publication’s writers’ guidelines.
“These guidelines will make you aware of length and topic restrictions,”
says Delabre. Many publications have their guidelines available online.
Fiction and nonfiction for the beginning reader must be easy to read, but
that doesn’t mean they’re easy to write. Yet, consider the distinct needs
of both the young readers and the editors who cater to these beginning
readers, and you just might make an easy sale.
Websites for Some Easy Reader Publications
Children’s Playmate, Humpty Dumpy
www.cbhi.org
Highlights for Children
www.highlights.com
Our Little Friend; Primary Treasure
www.pacificpress.com
Spider, Ladybug (Cricket Magazine Group)
www.cricketmag.com
Wee Ones Magazine
www.weeonesmag.com
(Originally published in CHILDREN’S WRITER, the Newsletter of Writing
and Publishing Trends, November 2001)
Suzanne Lieurance is a freelance writer and owner of the Three Angels
Gourmet Co. She also teaches children’s writing for the Institute of
Children’s Literature based in West Redding, Connecticut. Ms.
Lieurance has twelve published books for children. She has written
articles for a variety of publications including FamilyFun, KC Weddings,
New Moon for Girls, Children’s Writer, The Wednesday Magazine,
Woman’s Life, and Hearth and Home. She offers daily food tips online
at http://www.threeangelsgourmet.blogspot.com
)