“Only Children”: Authors and the Audiences They Call Into Being

Scholars of children’s literature observe that audience is inherent to their subject. Much debate about the definition of children’s literature revolves around this presumed connection between the child reader and the text and how either one of them might best be understood. Despite the depth and duration of our efforts to understand children’s literature as a body of work, these conversations refer to the reading, rather than the writing of children’s books. That authorship, however, matters to the dynamics discussed by critics. This presentation examines that dynamic with attention to contemporary authors' and illustrators' explanations of how they learned their craft and how they understand the young reader for whom they write.