Let me set the scene: my 8th birthday party. Sleepover: pretty big deal. My friends had taken the bus home with me on a Friday afternoon. Everyone was ready to get down and celebrate (as much as second graders can) when I suggested that we all do our weekend assignment of 30 minutes quiet reading time.
“Just to get it done so then we’re not worrying about it,” said I, the ever-practical child. I settled atop my bed with Oliver Twist, after lending my friends books from my fledgling personal library. We proceeded to read in silence, even after my parents tried to dissuade me, alarmed at what must have been the quietest birthday party of all time. This, my friends, is nerdy-ness at its essence.
If that didn’t convince you, behold the as-yet-unpublished manuscript of one of my many childhood chapbooks. As you’ll note, I was very into writing didactic nonfiction:
My favorite part of this is the “About the Author,” which, looking back, I always included in my work. While the firm grasp I had on writing in the third person is noteworthy, I love most the benevolent conclusion: She has written a lot of books for her class. As if I were a missionary for literacy on their behalf! Oy. So embarrassing.
This self-consciousness that comes with reflection is what I want to write about here. My family and I laugh at these memories, and marvel at my unabashed affection for reading and writing. Clearly, I considered myself a master of storytelling at a very young age. Books, words and language were things that I cared about very much, and I had no qualms incorporating them into my daily life.
Then, of course, there was that inevitable transition out of childhood, when it’s no longer cool to write sparse prose about cold weather attire. Maybe it never was, but I didn’t care—until I did.
Jerry Spinelli writes about this very moment—when a child loses a childlike innocence and gains a grown-up awareness— in his upcoming book, Hokey Pokey. It’s too fitting not to mention, especially since I am what is affectionately known in Nerdy Book Club circles as a #pushypublicist. And this brings me full circle, because after an adolescence trying to cover up my nerdy language obsession, I embraced it: took creative writing in high school, went to college and majored in French and English, did my senior capstone in Poetry, and was just pushy/nerdy/lucky enough to end up at Random House.
I work in children’s books, and since my job is to make sure readers are discovering and discussing our authors, I can’t help but wonder about the young people who aren’t. Maybe they’ve already had their “Hokey Pokey moment” (seriously, add to TBR pile) and feel too cool for reading. Maybe they don’t pass around books with their friends anymore. Maybe their parents think they should be focusing on testing and extracurriculars. Or maybe they are reading constantly, like I was, and just don’t feel like they should talk about it.
All I can do is send books and authors out into the universe with as many emails, events, and hashtags as possible. All I can do is try to connect these stories with their young audiences and make it nearly impossible for kids to ignore their inner bookworm. All I can do is hope that with enough pushy publicity, reading will be so encouraged and celebrated that kids won’t think twice about turning their birthday parties into nerdy book clubs.
About the author: Lauren is 24 years old and has 4 people in her family. She has written a lot of press releases for her authors.
Lauren Donovan is a Publicist, Social Media Specialist at Random House Children’s Books.
#pushypublicist is one of my all time favorite hashtags.
Love this post and the memories of my own nerdyness, like setting up school in my backyard where we all had writing notebooks, of course. But even more I love all of the craft in this piece. I will share the writing moves–the moment brought to life with voice and details, not to mention a perfectly placed colon–when I teach in the fall. Great start to my morning. Thank you.
I love your post – your story of your sleepover (I would have enjoyed reading with my friends), your so-sweet little book about winter clothes, your insight into Spinelli’s new book – love the concept, and the hashtag #pushypublicist. Great writing and thinking here.
That’s all we can all hope! To talk about books to whomever, whenever, and wherever and to hope to change the norm. Reading is fun! Nerdy Book Club FTW!
Thank you for the Nerdy confessions. I’m guessing we all have them. At 6, I sat under a desk at school and tried to write in the style of John-boy Walton’s closing monologue. (I’m an old Nerd.) At 9, I talked my mom into buying library pockets and cards at a local stationary shop, then raced home to glue them into my own “fledgling” library selections. (Hint: I was the only one checking out the books.) At my current age (nevermind), I am now pondering the fantastic idea of a grown-up sleepover with a reading focus. My Nerdy friends will LOVE it!
I teach in an independent school where that change to ‘not cool to read’ doesn’t happen, but what does happen is that students begin to be less interested in taking risks with their reading. They came to me (middle school ungraded age) with clear notions of exactly what they liked, so instead of urging them to read, I saw my goal was to broaden their horizons as much as possible. I am way older, but I spent quite a bit of time as a young child alone, & want to share that I too played library. It was totally satisfying to fix all the books, categorize them, & pretend to check them out. I rarely got to go to a library, but the wonderful bookmobile came to my little town, so I was in love with the wonderful shelves full of books! Thanks for a terrific post. I love that you still have some of your created little books!
Lauren what a sweet and encouraging post. And though I am a writer, not a publicist, what you say about embracing one’s inner bookworm really speaks to me. It’s a perfectly timed reminder that the key to telling good stories is finding and celebrating one’s unique passions. Thanks for sharing! And I hope our paths cross someday, in real time and space.
This post made me laugh and sigh as I remembered my own childhood.
This reminded me of a friend in jr. high with whom all social activities together included a discussion of which books we would bring. My mother was certain I would attend prom with my cousin.
That described my childhood as well! As a teacher, I try hard to get students reading more and talking about books again. I am a #pushyteacher you could say. It seems for some they just need that reminder that it is ok to share books and talk about hem. Let’s all keep pushing!
Thank you for the beautiful post, Lauren! Like many others who commented, I curated my own home library with my sister — we hosted readings, signings, and the occasional stern conversation about library etiquette! We all must remember to keep nourishing that little bookworm inside of us and all the other little bookworms just starting out. We’re all #pushypublicists at heart!
Great post. I now wish that I would have kept some of the books that I wrote as a child.