From: Deborah Hopkinson <deborahhopkinson_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2012 07:39:11 -0700 (PDT)

First, congratulations, Monica!  Well, I also love back matter in fiction or nonfiction and am always trying to think of ways to present author notes in picture books that are more accessible to kids.    Usually I j ust end up with long notes.  I have a new middle grade novel out next yea r on Dr. John Snow and the cholera epidemic of 1854 (The Great Trouble) tha t has, at least in manuscript form, 16 pages of back matter -- including wh at it means to be an epidemiologist.   What is fascinating to me is how styles and standards have changed over time and how I think we will see changes as the Common Core continues.  Compare, for instance, Seabiscuit with two popular nonfiction books of the 20th century. Seabiscuit has sou rce notes. The Triangle Fire by Leon Stein and Walter Lord's A Night to Rem ember, have no notes whatsoever -- not even bibliographies I don't think. Yet Lord apparently did long interviews and corresponded with sur vivors  (I believe his papers are in a university), but that lack of no tes made any of the survivor quotes off-limits to me when writing about the Titanic  -- as I couldn't source them (from his book anyway).  Whether or not young people read back matter, I am convinced by theirquestions related to Titanic that when a high interest topic is involved, children are dogged researchers, intent on detail and tracking down fact s, and love to argue different points of view   -- they make excellent hi storians. They build on their knowledge and are eager for more. They also retain it -- a lot better than I do, which is a bit scary...    Deborah Hopkinson
Received on Fri 19 Oct 2012 07:39:11 AM CDT