Cold Feet

I started my Children’s Writing class today, and after the first lesson, began to question my rationale for taking the class. Yes, I have a goal to write a Children’s book on virtues for my grandkids (not a preaching kind – a story that illustrates the meaning of the word). But somehow, today, I got lost in wishy-washy.

So, I spent most of the afternoon at the library in the children’s section wandering the shelves, sometimes crawling on my hands and knees, and sometimes sitting on the floor, to read a bit from any book that caught my attention. It was comforting to see the books I devoured in my youth: Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, Sue Barton Student Nurse, to mention a few. "The Black Stallion" leapt out at me, and I couldn’t help picking up an illustrated Grimm’s Fairy Tale book, and perusing a few of the classic stories.

I reread “Make Way for Ducklings”, and then spotted “The Secret Garden”. I had never read this "must read" book, so I sat down on one of the bitty children’s chairs to skim it, and an hour later was still reading it.

Suddenly the room was full of toddlers and moms for Story-Time. I relinquished my chair and stood in the back to watch. There was noise, chaos, and much shuffling until the librarian began to read. Most of the kids quieted down to listen. I watched their faces as they became involved with the story, and I was reminded of why I wanted to write my children’s story. I want to create the look and generate the interest I saw in their eyes. My afternoon at the library was a success. I’m back on track now, to make the most of the next six weeks of my class.

Copyright Parrot Writes 2010