Does Your Book Have “It”?

Just recently I was interviewed by the Boston Herald about my series Monster&Me. Specifically Monster Needs A Costume, since it will be available in Target stores starting August 2014. The interview was great! The reporter asked me several questions and during the interview I was thinking, “Wow this is going to be a two page spread with the number of questions she is asking!” But of course even reporters have word counts and editors, and the article was not as extensive as I thought it was going to be. I am not complaining, even a little publicity is good publicity. Plus, it gives me a chance to talk about some of the questions the reporter asked that did not make the article. One question in particular really struck home because I hadn’t been asked it before and it made me think.

The question was, what do you want your books to have?

Now this seems like a bit of an odd question because I could have answered it in many different ways. I could say, a good moral message, or comedy, or bright illustrations and strong vocabulary. But when I thought about it, I remembered the books that I grew up with, the ones that I bought and read to my kids because I loved them when I was young. What made me grab those books again, well over thirty years later? What did those books have?

I couldn’t tell you, because I don’t know.

But that’s what I want my books to have. I want my books to have the staying power. Like these two:

I want a child today to read Monster Needs A Costume and then thirty years later want to read it to their child. I know that isn’t too much to ask, right? But let’s be honest: isn’t that what we all want our books to have, that “it” that resonates with someone for the rest of their lives? What that “it” is, I wish I could tell you. For me, sometimes it was an illustration, like the The Berenstain Bears’ Picnic. I specifically remember a two page spread of mosquitoes chasing the Bears out of a swamp where they were picnicking. Other times it was the story, I loved Harry the Dirty Dog because I could relate to the dog getting dirty and thought it was hilarious. How did these authors create this staying power with their books in a time where word count is cut to the bare minimum and illustration tastes have changed dramatically? It is mind boggling when you think about.

I will make a deal with all the readers of this blog, if I figure out the secret recipe for longevity I will let you know it here at Writers’ Rumpus, but then you have to do the same. Let us know with your comments. What do you think the “it” is?

Look for Monster Needs A Costume soon to be in paperback available August 2014, and the newest Monster&Me, Monster Needs a Christmas Tree to be released October 1, 2014.