It is VERY EXCITING for me to have come very far in the process with my first children's book "Plugnose and the Fisherman" and a new illustrator who is very talented and engaged!

Most children's books (picture books) these days are based in fantasy with almost exclusively animals performing people's functions.

I asked one bookstore owner. why this is so. She said, perhaps because we have to be 'such a politically correct society' not to offend anyone (virtually impossible) that it is a lot easier to have animals doing everything!

‘Such a sad commentary if you ask me! (‘Just my opinion…)

Not my stories... One of the best ways for children to learn is from positive real life people examples. My story has built in lessons for both adults and children.

Even back in the 1980's with the Berenstain Bears books, I was a clinical speech-language pathologist and sometimes worked in schools and noticed all of these bears doing people things. With the language impaired, it's important to give a sense of normalcy and reality.

In the 50’s and 60’s there was a fascination with teaching lessons about friendship to kids using Animals - Charlotte’s Web - the 1952 classic- 
Charlotte’s Web is the story of an unlikely friendship between a runt of a pig named Wilbur and a spider named Charlotte. One day, Wilbur hears from one of the farm animals that he is destined to have Christmas dinner. However, one animal is determined to save him, Charlotte. She starts to weave messages into her web about how incredible Wilbur is. Will it be enough to save the pig?

Dr. Seuss’s “Cat in the Hat” has been described as a horror story with things going on that should never be in real life…

The Grinch -  The beloved story taking place on my birthday - Xmas Evee - Is the Grinch an Animal Vegetable or Mineral? LOL There was “A Bear Called Paddington” who was dropped off at a railway station and needed a home. He was taken in and caused havoc as well as taught lessons;

As for real life among the rich, there was Eloise, (1955) ( A kid, not an animal) who had the run of the Plaza Hotel in New York, neglected by parents, and driving her nanny mad, being her bratty self. ( A sad but true commentary for a lot of rich kids.)

The 1960’s (when I did the majority of my reading as a child)  had its share of animal  focused books too- “The Velveteen Rabbit”, “Curious George” about a monkey brought from the wilds of the jungle to the city who gets in a lot of ‘curiosity trouble.’ “The Mouse and the Motorcycle’ animal fantasy again…

HOWEVER, the 1960’s brought us real life in the form of many ‘people characters’

• Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus and the rest, spoke volumes regarding relationships, coping with life and emotions;

• We had Nancy Drew Mysteries were geared for ages 8 to 18 with her friends Bess and George solving a multitude of violent and non-violent crimes by being a true investigator with curiosity, the right timing and being kind.  This also includes  the Hardy Boys Mysteries.

•  In the Comic genre, we had The Archie Comics with Veronica  Archie, Jughead, Betty, Midge and the rest, acting like teenagers of that era in the Midwest.

• One of my  favorites was Henry Reed’s Babysitting Service  about a young entrepreneur  who decides to set up a babysitting service one summer with his friend Midge, written in diary form, filled with lots of adventures! 

• Other favorites were Judy Blume books, first published in the late 60’s. ‘It’s Me Margaret’ a sixth grader, and its sequel, dealt with real life issues including religion, depression, puberty, sex, being bullied;

• Did you know… that Random House also published 13 Barbie Novels focusing on Fashion and Beauty?  Some of the content would now be considered politically incorrect. The true authors apparently remained incognito. Reference- https://blogs.princeton.edu/cotsen/2023/07/fashion-and-beauty-in-barbie-novels-from-the-early-1960s/ 

My unscientific survey, while perusing national and local bookstores, libraries over the past few months, has convinced me that we desperately need a lot more people based, real life, inspiring, ‘food for thought’ stories for the children of 2024 and beyond.

Yes, there definitely is a place for some animal fantasy.

However, we need a balance if children are to grow up healthy, happy and able to take the lessons from books and function in a people filled society.  

Psychologists tell us that true abstract words, concepts  in which a child can understand basic emotions like’ happy, sad, good or bad’ begin at  about six years old. However, children truly begin to comprehend another person’s (or animal’s?) perspective at about 12 years old. 

So, let us not contribute too much to the confusion between what animals and people can do!  Enough said…