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August 23, 2008
Yes to Age Banding
I'm fed up of the hysterical language being used by children's authors in the ongoing age-ranging debate. Darren Shan has declared war. Anne Fine has called it stupid and cruel. Anyone would think the Publishers Association were proposing to coat the pages of children's books with strychnine, but all they are actually saying is that it would help book-buyers if there were age guidance on the back cover of children's books. And well over 80% of children's book buyers agree with them.
Bookshops and online retailers already group their books in age ranges. So why not let the age recommendation for any one book be decided by the author and publisher, who know the book best?
I write in both 'junior fiction' and 'young adult' categories, which occasionally confuses retailers. In Waterstones last year I saw 'The Yellowcake Conspiracy' on the 8-12 shelves. I pity any 8 year-old given 'The Yellowcake Conspiracy' for Christmas. If the book had 'Young Adult' printed discreetly on the back cover, so much the better.
The only convincing argument against age-banding is that Little Timmy on the school bus might be caught reading a 7+ book when his friend Vernon is reading 9+. Well yes, that'll probably happen, but if the story's good enough, Timmy won't care. Besides, the fact of his owning a book at all puts Timmy in a privileged 5% band of children worldwide. Besides, he can always poke Vernon in the eye.
Posted by sahelsteve at 06:49 PM
August 13, 2008
The Passionate English Club
Harouna Sawadogo is the friendly owner of the Djibo Supermarket.
It's not really a Supermarket, at least not in the Tesco's sense - the lights aren't bright, aisles aren't wide and the smell of freshly baked bread is conspicuous by its absence. I think what gives Harouna's place its supermarché tag is that you can actually walk into it, as opposed to standing outside and pointing at what you want.
Harouna likes speaking English, and has the greeting sequence down to a tee, asking after my health, family, cows and so on in the clipped tones of the World Service. His mistakes are more contextual than grammatical - one day I arrived at the counter with my pasta and orange juice and Harouna barked 'You owe me 2,000 CFA' to which I replied 'No I don't'. Further discussion revealed that he was not trying to collect an outstanding debt but simply asking for payment for the pasta-and-orange-juice I was holding.
Anyway, Charlie and I were in the supermarket yesterday and Harouna told us about an English Club which he is starting up. He invited us to the inaugural meeting that afternoon. Charlie couldn't make it, but I went along out of curiosity.
There were eight men and two women at the English Club, and all the proceedings were in French. We spent most of the meeting discussing a suitable name for the club. 'Djibo English Club' was dismissed as too restricting and 'Apple Pie English Club' as too weird. We were going nowhere fast when Harouna said 'We're all passionate about learning English so let's call it the 'Passionate English Club'! The suggestion was greeted with universal approval, and was all set to be carved in stone in the club's Règlement Intérieur when someone asked for my thoughts about the name. Well, I had to be honest, didn't I, admitting that the 'Passionate English Club' might have potentially confusing nuances.
If only I had kept my mouth shut. The name eventually chosen was 'Independent English Club'. Out with the soulful Alexander McCall-Smith-like name and in with the brutally non-committal IEC. We went on to elect a committee (President, Secretary, Treasurer etc) and I found myself in the role of Conseil Technique which obliges the incumbent to teach the club a fully-blown English course. 'I don't have time for that!' I protested, so the nature of the role was changed - now the Conseil Technique just has to correct any grammatical mistakes which pop up during the club's meetings.
When the inaugural meeting of the Independent English Club finally came to a close, the Secrétaire Générale announced that we could now feel free to start speaking English if we so wished. We stood up and circulated and shook hands and mumbled to each other 'See you next time'. And everyone said it perfectly, so the Conseil Technique will just have to hold his fire.
Posted by sahelsteve at 06:14 PM
August 12, 2008
Launch of Sophie and the Pancake Plot
Well, Sophie and the Pancake Plot is now in the bookshops, so feel free to boost the sales by picking up a copy or two for nephews/nieces! Albino Camel sold well, but Locust Curse was something of a lame duck, so hopefully Pancake Plot will get the series back on track.
The feedback so far has been encouraging, anyway. According to this reviewer, Sophie and the Pancake Plot is "almost Kiplingesque in its humour and writing style". Hmm. This is the third time a reviewer has used the adjective Kiplingesque to describe my books or poems, and I confess to being pleased but baffled. The only things I have read by Kipling are a couple of 'Just So Stories' and the Poem 'If'. No, not even Kim (blush). Not even Jungle Book (double blush). Perhaps I should get hold of a Complete Works of Rudyard Kipling and see whether or not being Kiplingesque is something to be desired!