It's a bonus edition of the Book Club for Kids.
Hi, I'm Kitty Felde.
Last week, we discussed The Light Jar by Lisa Thompson.
This week, we talked to the British writer herself.
Lisa, have you noticed a difference between readers in the US versus kids in the UK?
I haven't really.
No, I haven't.
And I think the things that move both readers are the same.
It's.
You know there's a lot of empathy in the readers that I talk to and understanding the characters and seeing their points of view.
And I think it's kind of universal.
I think children just when they step in another child's shoes, in whatever situation they're in in the books, there is just that sort of um backbone of empathy in them understanding and and also i find a lot of my books i would i try to write characters where you think one thing about them at the beginning and then, as you read the ah, that's why they're behaving that way, that's why you're doing that, and that's very universal.
I think maybe UK readers are not as interested or don't pick up graphic books as much or graphic novels.
That doesn't seem to be as big a thing over here, possibly, or just early growing.
You know, the market's quite growing there.
But on the whole, I think my readers are pretty much the same.
And yeah.
That's interesting what you say about graphic novels not being as big a thing in Britain as they are in the US.
Do you think that's because reading levels are higher in the UK?
Not necessarily.
No, I don't know.
I mean I have seen the last few years there has been a drop in reading for pleasure, which is really sad.
And I think there's lots of reasons for that.
I think there's the pandemic obviously affected lots of children.
Phones, I think, is a huge problem.
Games, gaming as well.
Seeing your parents reading.
I think if parents are stopping to read themselves or they're not reading to their children and teachers having time to read in class, I think that's an issue.
So I don't think it's a difference.
There's much difference in the reading abilities.
But I do notice the schools that I visit.
I can instantly tell if there's a push for reading in a school and there's a passion for books.
Because it's just reflected in the choices that the kids have.
You know the variety of books they have on their desks that they're reading.
The different ranges and they could be anything, you know, there's no sort of it's it's it's not even a case of they're reading easier books or but there's nonfiction and the poetry and there's all sorts, which is really, really inspiring to see when you see that in a school.
In addition to the middle grade novels you write, I understand you're also writing books designed for kids with dyslexia challenges.
What's different about writing for kids with dyslexia?
So I'm with this publisher called Barrington Stoke and they publish dyslexia friendly books.
And the very first thing the editor said to me was, don't think about it too much.
You know we'll do a lot of the technical editing, but I don't do flashbacks when I'm writing for a dyslexic reader.
So everything happens in one timeline.
And then also.
The paper is printed on creamy coloured paper, which is easier to read.
And the font is a little bit spaced differently, which obviously I don't have any effect with.
But there's just an extra round of editing to make sure certain words.
Difficult.
There are difficult words in there and they know there will be a challenge for a dyslexic reader, but they would move them not enough.
They won't be on the first page.
You know, they want to keep the reader reading.
So it'd be further on in the book.
And then they're shorter.
So the light jar, for example, is about.
60000 words and the other books I write are 10000 words, so but they're also packaged and for anybody to read, so they're not targeting that particular reader.
And they're really good in schools as well because, like we were saying about reading, it is you know, we want to get more people reading In schools.
It's quite hard for a teacher to get through a 60000-word book.
So a 10,000-word book is achievable.
So I'm seeing them used more in schools as well.
I'm curious about what you said about flashbacks.
Is that a challenge for dyslexic readers?
Yes, apparently it is.
I think it's just following the, The storyline and then you take them out of what's actually happening can cause cognitive issues, I think.
So I'm not an expert in dyslexia at all, but but it's wonderful.
And I've written like early readers, so it would be probably.
Six year olds, I guess, with lots of pictures, but still dyslexia friendly.
And they also they package their books in that they would say a reading age of like a suggestion.
So you might be 10, but you have a reading age of eight and it would be the book for you.
And it's books by other authors that are published.
So they're reading the same books that their friends are reading, the same authors.
Well, You Like Me came from the world of radio, which is basically writing dialogue.
I found it an initial challenge to write exposition in fiction.
How did your broadcasting career affect your writing?
I think it's a huge help without me realizing, really.
So I think the power of your ears when you're writing shouldn't be underestimated.
So I talked to and when I do writing workshops, I sometimes talk about this that you're creating those pictures in your head, aren't you?
And I hadn't really I'd kind of I love writing dialogue.
It's funny you said that because I hadn't really thought about it.
I love writing dialogue and I find the prose harder.
But the way I kind of it just helps with character, doesn't it?
Obviously, with dialogue and you're picturing the person doing the talking.
And then when it comes to the prose, I think there's more thought behind it.
For me, there's a lot more work behind the prose.
It's basically when you're writing.
I always think you're your own film director, creating a film in your head and you're writing it down how it's looking.
And I don't know about you when you're writing, if you're, lots of people do this, but if you're doing a certain, oh, they scratch the head.
I sometimes do the physical work.
How a person's moving, if they're shrugging and I kind of think, well, how does that feel?
Oh, it's this.
The tops of his arms went up and you know I try and describe what I'm doing, if that makes any sense at all.
So it's kind of a little bit of acting.
I've never wanted to act at all, but there is definitely acting in writing, I think.
Thanks, Lisa.
We have interviews with other writers at our website, bookclubforkids.org.
Thanks so much for listening.
I'm Kitty Felde.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
