I just
finished reading Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan. It was written in 1942, and
is about Norwegian children outwitting German soldiers during World War II. The
children save millions of dollars of gold from falling into German hands.
When I
posted it on Goodreads, I was shocked to find that Snow Treasure is still in
print. (My copy is from the library, and our library is known to have some
pretty old books.)
How would it
be to have your book in print for almost 70 years? Seventy years!
Since it was
written in 1942, there are some things that wouldn’t make it past editors
today. Ms. McSwigan gets on her hobby horse a couple of times. There is some
‘telling’ that could be shown, but as a whole the book is full of tension and
keeps the reader engaged.
Chapter
endings are cliff-hangers, as they should be. There are adults in the story,
but the kids are the ones that save the day. The adults empower the kids to
solve the problem and get out of the way so they can do it.
How many
children in seventy years have enjoyed this book? I love that magical time when
a child is drawn into a story (or even when I’m involved in a story myself). As
mothers we see it with little children when we read to them. As a child grows
older and learns to read, he engages himself in that magical place by himself. As
a writer, my one wish is that I might charm a child into that magical time with
one of my stories.
I have this
secret wish that I want to be invited into special space and be part of a
child’s magic. To me, that’s the ultimate goal of writing.
What’s your
secret wish about writing? Do you have one?
Christy
No comments:
Post a Comment