There's always a scary moment, going between worlds - a shock when Alice falls through the rabbit hole or, in The Lion the Witch and theWardrobe, when Lucy pushes through the fur coats at the back of the wardrobe and finds herself standing in the middle of a dark,snowy forest.
'Lucy felt a little frightened but she felt very inquisitive and excited as well'. In my new book, The Little White Sprite, I've used these three feelings: fear, curiosity and excitement in a story suitable for picture book age, where a child squeezes through a hole in a hollow tree and enters another world. This is the picture that shows the scary moment of entry. I make sure I follow it with a much more reassuring one once the child finds his feet. I won't give away what happens but, once in this 'other' world, the child will have to eventually find his way out again and arrive safely back with his family.
i tested a pb text on my little nephew the other day - it has a boy falling through a hole in a pancake into another world. i had dummied the story with rough drawings. after i read him the story he wouldn't look at the pictures of the boy fallling into the hole. it made me realize how delicate the balance of fear and funny is. and it didn't matter that the world on the other side was not scary but fun.
ReplyDeleteI think the age of the child is the critical thing. How old was your nephew? When I try my story on reception children - that is 4-5 years they are not afraid. I haven't yet tried it on a three year old.
ReplyDelete