Guest blog: John Grisham tackles children's books
I remember devouring Agatha Christie books as a kid, but no one ever suggested that murder mysteries were meant for my age group. Today鈥檚 kids, though, are about to get a new series by bestselling thriller author John Grisham, aimed at 8- to 12-year-old 鈥渢weens.鈥� reported that the series 鈥渨ill focus on 13-year-old Theodore Boone, a legal whiz kid. In the first book, 'Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer,' Theo gets caught up in a high-profile murder trial in his town.鈥�
Whew. That鈥檚 a long way from Encyclopedia Brown.
noted that 鈥淢any a literary name 鈥� from Ted Hughes and T.S. Eliot to Booker winners Margaret Atwood, Roddy Doyle, Ian McEwan and Peter Carey 鈥� has written for children in the past. Big-name commercial novelists going after the youth market are rather rarer,鈥� although James Patterson, among others, have done so.
responded to the news by suggesting, 鈥淪omewhere, a writer for The Onion is balling up a piece of paper and angrily tossing it into the trash, right?鈥� However, the article went on, perhaps Grisham is on to something. Here are a few lines from their suggestions for other bestselling authors looking to capture the kid market:
Danielle Steel's 鈥淪eraphina Skye: Kid Gold Digger鈥濃��
Patricia Cornwell's 鈥淜atie-Sue Scarpetta: Kid Coroner鈥濃��
Sarah Palin's 鈥淏ricklyn Pale: Kid Who Goes Rogue鈥濃��
Jon Krakauer's 鈥淜id With a Serious Death Wish鈥濃��
Malcolm Gladwell's 鈥�Sebastian Buckley: Kid Explainer of the Obvious鈥�
Any others to add to the list?
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