August 2007I suppose it’s one of the most controversial topics a writer can take on. No, not sex or politics. Not religion, either. Reviews. Especially reviews of one's own work. Certainly it is known to be bad form to defend oneself against them.We have all heard some writer say, “I never read reviews of my books.” And every time I’ve heard that I’ve thought, Yes . . . and she also flies.Is it truly possible to send your work out into the world without caring how that world responds?

Four books of mine were published this past spring, two picture books, A Mama for Owen and Baby Bear Discovers the World, a ready-to-read, Mount Rushmore, part of my Wonders of America, series, and a collection of linked young-adult short stories, Killing Miss Kitty and Other Sins.The range of response these books have received from reviewers has been...well, I suppose the word is interesting.One important review source starred A Mama for Owen, a storybook retelling of the true story of the baby hippo, separated from his mother and his pod during the 2004 tsunami. Upon being rescued, he made the news by bonding with a giant tortoise. To everyone’s amazement, the tortoise even responded to the baby hippo. The reviewer recommended the book highly and said, “A rhythmic, lulling narrative helps to smooth the barbed edges of the natural disaster.”Another review, however, referred to the story as “sentimentalized.”But then another said, “It’s a well-spun story with gentle repetition and careful structuring bolstering the telling.”Still another said that the effect of the combination of my text and John Butler’s illustrations was “cloying and monotonous.”Another ignored the book entirely, though that was to be expected.My books were reviewed regularly in that particular journal from the beginning of my career. But not a single one has been acknowledged in the years since its most recent editor took over, no matter what kind of response they receive elsewhere.Another review, posted on Amazon.com by a school librarian, said, “Bauer should not be jumping on the bandwagon to put out a book on this subject without putting in the facts.” She objected because my version, in honoring the rhythm needed to build the story, dropped out the information about the rescuers who had brought Owen to the nature reserve. (The rescuers are in the Afterword.) As to “jumping on the bandwagon,” our book came out six months after the first two books for children that tell the tale only because the editor needed extra time to find the right artist.Other reviews on Amazon.com said things like “beautiful,” “touching,” and “elementary-level readers will love it.”Obviously, there is no point in my wading into the fray.Baby Bear Discovers the World, illustrated with photographs by naturalist/photographer Stan Tekiela, has yet to earn a single review from a major journal. That is because, no doubt, it is the first children’s book to be published by Adventure Publications and therefore, apparently, of little interest to the children’s book world...except for those who are discovering it on the shelf and buying it with enthusiasm.Stan and I plan to do another book for Adventure, which will, no doubt, also be ignored by reviewers.Does that matter? Probably not. Stan’s incredible photos make the book leap off the shelf, and the word that has come back to us is that both kids and adults love it.As to Mount Rushmore, all of my Wonders of America books have been received well by reviewers. They are small books, and long experience in this field has taught me that small books, those that don’t reach too far or attempt too much, are usually received well by reviewers.Then there is Killing Miss Kitty and Other Sins. Ah...that one!I can tell you something about my collection of young-adult short stories. It’s the best work I’ve ever done. I knew it was my best at the end of the two-year process it took to complete the stories. The various writer friends who read and critiqued it for me along the way said the same. As did my long-time editor. It’s also, not coincidentally, the most autobiographical fiction I have ever written and the closest to my heart.Reviews in major sources have used language such as “thought-provoking and beautifully literary,” “skilled and graceful writing,” and “each piece is perfectly executed.” But they have also questioned who the stories are for. Will teens “get” them? And will the more mature readers who will be able to appreciate the later stories make their way through the first in which two eleven-year-old girls build a world through dolls?I can almost hear the reviewers shaking their heads.Teen reviewers have been less circumspect. They have said things like, “amazing” and “it ended too soon.”People have said to me, “Don’t worry. It’s the kind of book kids will pass from hand to hand.” But few kids will find the book if the adult gatekeepers have decided it’s not right for them.I’ve discovered through some early promotional activities that Killing Miss Kitty is an equal-opportunity book. There is something in there to offend everyone...and different readers stub their toes on different stories for entirely different reasons.We also found that many readers, offended or not, couldn’t leave the stories behind once they put the book down. One wrote me to say, “It’s so blindingly true, it practically kills me.”And my editor said to me with a bit of a sigh when we discussed the reviews, “Well, Marion, you’ve always been ahead of your time.” The problem with a book that is “ahead of its time” is that it gets lost. Few readers will ever know about it, whether they are ready for it or not.I have been writing for a long time. I am tempted to say a “long, long time.” Reviews these days often refer to me as “veteran author, Bauer.” And I’ve learned that when a book, however much loved, isn’t received as we had hoped, the only answer is to move on to the next project. And yet I cannot insulate myself against the desire to follow it into the world, protecting it, explaining it, holding it out with a hopeful smile.Everyone has a right to an opinion, of course. That’s what reviews are about, opinions. And I certainly don’t love everything I read. I recently purchased a book a friend had said was “stunning” and couldn’t make my way past the opening pages.But, though I’m still writing and expect to continue to do so for many years, I also find myself looking back, gathering my own review of my own work.I began writing for young people thirty-five years ago. When I made my uncertain way into my first novel, I didn’t have a clue whether what I was producing was junk or timeless literature. I have come to understand that it falls very much between the two. It is neither as good as I had hoped nor as bad and I had feared.I am blessed with some small talent and a great deal more determination. I am honest—sometimes more honest than my adult readers care for—and young readers love honesty.I am also extremely fortunate. I have the privilege of spending my life at work I love.And that, finally, is what matters—to me, anyway—to be able to do this work with love.On that subject, no other opinion matters.