Why Do I Write for Children . . . Nancy Bo Flood
Photo by Sebastien Gabriel on Unsplash
I write for children because when I see something that is amazing, I want to share it. When I see something beautiful, I want others to see it too. Maybe it is the summer’s evening light glowing gold and warm on a red-rock desert wall, or the sound of waves crashing on a beach followed by the tinkling of shells and coral shards tumbling back into the sea.
While hiking in a canyon I spied a handprint on the rock, a child’s small handprint left centuries ago. Who was that child? Why did someone spend hours, maybe days, creating that “shadow” of her hand? I want to share that question so others can ask their questions too and feel the wonder of connection, of mystery.
I believe that stories help heal our hearts and give us new eyes to see others and ourselves. I write to celebrate the courage of children as they cope with challenges – the first day of school, the loss of a parent, or perhaps displacement because of war, discrimination, or having different abilities. When a character in a book becomes “real” to the reader, when the reader begins to feel what that character is feeling, then a bridge is being made. In Warriors of the Crossfire, bombs are exploding. Father is missing. The night is dark and full of danger. Our main character, Joseph, must find a safe hiding place for his mother and sister. It’s war. Where can he go? Who can he trust? A reader senses the terror, feels the chill of death closing in and begins to have a deeper understanding what it means to experience war. A well-told story can crack open our hearts and help us see beyond our own judgments or stereotypes. My books for young readers have been given a number of awards including the White Raven International Award for stories that encourage compassion and offer cultural understanding. But best of all is when I child asks, “Read the book again, please!”
“Let us meet on the bridge,” were the words and message of author, Tim Tingle, Choctaw. He was speaking about writing, sharing songs and stories, at the Tucson Festival of Books. He talked about how one can never “know” another culture, just as one can never completely understand the experiences of another generation. Our job as writers is to research, experience, taste, listen, read, walk - and then tell the best story we can, an honest story, a story that informs the mind and touches the heart, building bridges.
During author visits children will sometimes give me a big smile and say, “You wrote Navajo Year? That’s my favorite book.” The very best of all was while reading from Cowboy Up! Ride the Navajo Rodeo to second-graders at Many Farms Elementary, this little guy wearing a too-big tee shirt, jeans, and cowboy boots, looked at me, grinned, and raised his hand. Then he said, “I am in your book.”
Books build bridges. Stories invite readers to leave the familiarity of their own shore, stand in the middle, listen, and see with new eyes.
That is why I write. Cowboy Up, for that second-grader in Many Farms, I Will Dance for every child who refuses to be held back from the life they want to live. Every child needs to find their story in a book.
Nancy Bo Flood, Ph.D. has authored a variety of award-winning books, including I Will Dance, a story about a child with cerebral palsy who wants to dance. Nancy earned her degree in Psychology and Child Development at the University of Minnesota with a research focus on brain function. She has applied her training to develop resources and programs for students with disabilities and mental health challenges and to write books for children.
Nancy lived and worked on the Navajo Nation for nearly 20 years. With Navajo teachers she helped develop curriculum meaningful for local students. She has authored a variety of books that celebrate Navajo culture and the beauty of the desert – fiction and nonfiction: Soldier Sister, Fly Home, First Laugh, Welcome Baby (with Navajo elder, Rose Tahe), The Hogan the Grandfather Built, and Cowboy Up, Ride the Navajo Rodeo. Informational books include Water Runs Through This Book and also Sand to Stone and Back Again.
