You don't need to have kids to write a good book for kids. I don't want my kids to see themselves in my books. Their lives should be their lives.
Interpretation
You can create impactful children's literature without being a parent, allowing kids to maintain their own unique identities.
Kevin Henkes expresses the idea that authors are not required to be parents to write compelling children's books. He emphasizes the importance of individuality, suggesting that children should experience their own lives and identities rather than see themselves shaped by the narratives created by adults. This reflects a broader notion of creativity and representation in literature, highlighting that the value of storytelling lies in its ability to inspire without imposing predetermined identities.
In practice
An author might use this quote in a workshop about writing children's literature.
Children are coming to school with trauma, everyday trauma, that they live under: violence in the homes, alcoholism in the community, unemployment thats 80 percent, not just during the recession. We need to help treat that before they can even go sit in a class and learn about math.
Libraries offer, for free, the wisdom of the ages--and sages--and, simply put, there's something for everyone inside.
The tragedy is that society (your school, your boss, your government, your family) keeps drumming the genius part out. The problem is that our culture has engaged in a Faustian bargain, in which we trade our genius and artistry for apparent stability.
I have been a teacher myself all my life. I have an intense passion to share with people. Our only salvation is in knowledge, in learning.
When I was 17, I worked in a mentoring program in Harlem designed to improve the community. That's when I first gained an appreciation of the Harlem Renaissance, a time when African-Americans rose to prominence in American culture. For the first time, they were taken seriously as artists, musicians, writers, athletes, and as political thinkers.
The environment itself will teach the child, if every error he makes is manifest to him, without the intervention of a parent of teacher, who should remain a quiet observer of all that happens.
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