Saturday 18 May 2013

GUEST POST - CHAT ABOUT MIDDLE GRADE BOOKS - CORDELIA DINSMORE


Do you think children at schools these days are encouraged enough to read? and/or do Imaginative writing?
I can’t speak for most schools, but in my experience, our school system does encourage the students to read. I have spent many hours volunteering at our local elementary school, and I’ve been privy to many library reading hours, and observed lots of students taking their AR tests. I’m not so sure about the creative writing side of things. I think there is still much room for improvement on that level.

Did you read a lot at school and write lots of stories or is being a writer something newer in your life?
 We’re speaking ancient history here, so I can only go on my faulty memory. But I read a lot as a child. Since my mother wrote poetry, she instilled that bug in me from an early age, also. I made up poems about everything – from roadkill to the moon shining in my window.

Did you have a favourite author as a child?
I loved and still love Dr. Seuss. But I didn’t read a lot of children’s books. By the time I was twelve, I was reading Hemingway and Victoria Holt. I love, love, loved gothic romances and my mother let me read them.

Do you have a treasured book from your childhood? If yes, what is it?
My fourth grade teacher, Ms. Ramo, gave me a copy of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.  That book fascinated me, and it will always be one of my favorites. I also have some very old copies of some of the Elsie Dinsmore books. They are very interesting reads, and I’m always on the lookout for more of them when I go to sales or junk stores.

Did you have a favourite genre of book as a child?ie fictional, non-fiction, history, educational,adventure,romance,animals, pets,etc?
 I loved animal books, and read Zane Grey and Jack London. As I wrote above, I loved gothic romance. Victoria Holt was also a favorite. I never got interested in non-fiction and the closest I got to history was reading about Merlin.

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