A letter…
Dear Reader,
Yes, this one’s for you. You who share stories with children. You who read that same book, over and over and over. You who choose, and buy, and gift the books that line a child’s shelf. This little letter is for you. 
I wanted you to know that although I don’t often write to you, I’m always writing with you in mind. I imagine you sitting curled up in a cosy chair at the end of a long day. I imagine a once wriggly child now still with anticipation beside you. I can see, in my minds eye, the pages of a book open up in front of you both.
I know the book you are reading, because I wrote it. The words you sound aloud in voices shaped by your imagination – with a roar, a cheeky chuckle or a sneaking slyness – were carefully chosen for you. I knew they’d slip off the tongue, or tangle you up in giggles. I put them there, in that particular order, for you to discover and make real. They are a set of keys I’m giving you to unlock adventures I will never go on. Adventures only you and your child will have; leaping springboard off the story I have written.
When I sit at my desk, and the crook of my neck tingles because I’ve been sitting here too long, I imagine the conversations the two of you might have. The laughter, the questions, the silent pondering. They are all part of what I think about. And when I send off my most recent manuscript, it’s your hands I see plucking my hypothetical book from a store shelf somewhere, and I know my work was worth it’s time.
I weave stories. That’s what I do. With words and ideas and punctuation. But you bring them to life. You, by your dedication in reading aloud to the child beside you – whether they are your daughter, your grandson, your nephew, your student or friend. You are the one that opens the possibilities for hope and love and dreams much bigger than my book.
So, yes. This little letter is for you. With thanks. Keep reading please, and I’ll keep writing.
Yours truly,
Children’s Author.
Oh, Penny! You’ve written my heart! What a delightful letter that says exactly what I feel as I write for children. Thank you for putting it into words. I’m sharing this on my social media outlets. Keep writing!
Thanks, Linda – and yes, I’ll keep writing! 🙂
Beautiful! My writing targets readers directly, but I often think about the authors of the picture books I read my own kids. You can tell the ones who are aware of the spoken word and the adult readers. Those are the ones it is a pleasure rereading!
I think my experience as a reader of books to children certainly feeds into how I write. I know which books I like to read and I hope to write those sort of books for others. (Having said that, I’m also aware that I’ve written the sort of books kids love to hear over and over, but the parents are ready to move on – for that I apologise profusely to the parents subjected to torture by my books!)
Thanks, Cheri, for your comments. 🙂
How sweet. I know this will connect with your readers.
Thanks Janice!
Beautiful! Thanks Penny!
🙂
Dear sister ,penny
Have a blessed day,
Keep on your heart to writing books for kids. Thnanks
Thanks Bimal!
Lovely and true, Penny! Thanks for saying it so well!
🙂 Thanks, Diane.