Monday, August 10, 2009

Making Sense of the World

Warning: This post has some sad content, so if you are highly sensitive, you might want to skip it.

Linda at Swell Books wrote a post a couple of weeks ago called Why I Write for Kids. I wrote a kind of dumb answer in her comments section and now I'd like to give it another go.

As a mom of two preschoolers, I watch my two kids struggle to make sense of the world around them. In particular, Josh with his constant categorizing. Pablo is a boy. Uniqua is a girl, right? Or his more recent, I think Manny and Diego are kids (Ice Age). But I know Alex is a kid because he has a Mommy and Daddy. (Madagascar) I don't even bother to remind him that I am a grown up and I have a mommy and daddy (because I want him to stop his rambling and go to sleep!)

Okay, this is where the sad part comes in. My husband was out with the kids the other day and they saw a baby deer who had gotten his foot caught in a sewer grate. The poor thing was terrified. They called the police. The policemen arrived on the scene and after conferring for a second, one of them came over to my husband and said, "Sir, get the kids out of here."

David heard the shot as he drove off.

My kids live in a world where the police officers saved that baby deer. That's what policemen do. They SAVE lives. You call them, and they come to the rescue.

I think I write for kids, because I still want to be living in that world.

19 comments:

Linda said...

Corey, that's a wonderful story! Sad, yes, but a great reason to write for kids. Thanks for sharing it.

I wish we could all live in a world where the deer could be saved.

Susan R. Mills said...

I'd still like to be living in that world, too. That's an awesome reason to write for kids! But what a sad story about the deer.

lisa and laura said...

Don't we all want to be living in that world???

MeganRebekah said...

That just broke my heart. I know you warned us, but still. Animals and kids are my soft spot. I take any animal and picture it being one of my dogs. Or kids, being a kid I know. Sigh.

And you're right, that's the world I wish I lived in. What a great reason to write!

Yat-Yee said...

Stories like this makes me sad for the inevitable loss of innocence that kids must experience. Hope your kids didn't hear the shot or if they did, didn't put two and two together....

PJ Hoover said...

Oy, that is sad :(
Seems like there should have been another way. Sigh.
I totally live in the world of the happy deer still running around.

Kelly H-Y said...

Oh goodness, that gave me chills. Yes ... you nailed it with the reason we write for kids! Perfectly and eloquently said.

Ladybird World Mother said...

Poor little thing. Nice of the police to show such sensitivity. And I like your reasons for writing...

Tess said...

that's the beauty of picture books and why they are timeless and so influential in our lives.

Kate Karyus Quinn said...

OMG that is so sad that the deer was shot - I'd rather live in the little kid world where that doesn't happen too!

The other day I actually chased a baby bunny out of the street because I was afraid he was going to be hit by a car - the poor little guy kept hopping around in circles because he was too small to jump over the curbs. After he was safe on the grass I had to drive away - but at least I felt better knowing he was at least a little safer.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Oh that is sad, and you are right, I'd rather write a world where the deer is saved. I'm glad the cop at least told your husband to take the kids away.
I once lived in a rural area where someone hung a shot dog from a tree next to the school bus stop. There was a sign with it that dogs who kill pigs meet their maker. What jerk hangs it by the bus stop?

Stephanie Faris said...

It's interesting I write for young adults since my adolescence was hardly ideal. Things at home were tense and I just never really fit at that age. But maybe I'm trying to recapture that time through the eyes of teens who didn't have it so rough?

kah said...

Why do I punish myself? I read your disclaimer (knowing I'm Miss Over-sensitive) and kept reading. Now I'm all teared up. I like that kiddy world too. Gonna read the comics to cheer me up now. ;)

Elana Johnson said...

That's a perfect reason to write for kids. Perfect.

B.J. Anderson said...

Awwwe. That's so sad. Why couldn't they have done something?? Oh well. And yes, that's exactly why I write for kids, because I believe life should have many happy endings.

Shelli (srjohannes) said...

did they know?

Corey Schwartz said...

Shelli,

No, not at all. They came home so proud that they played a role in the "rescue." That's why I wish I could be them.

Sherrie Petersen said...

Oh, man, how awful! Why did they think that was best? I guess I'm still a kid, wondering why the grown ups (cops) didn't do what I consider the right thing...

Anonymous said...

Oh gosh, that's so sad. I wish the police would have called a wildlife rehabilitator instead. Did I tell you that's what we did? We saved two baby squirrels two weeks ago. The video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOn8cTYP2B8