THE ICE PICK

Children’s Writer’s Word Book, by Alijandra Mogilner. Cincinnati: Writer’s Digest Books, 1999. $16.99. ISBN: 0-89879-951-1.

"Fantasy is a healthy field for juvenile publishing. . . . Science fiction becomes popular around fourth or fifth grade when it is a venue for fast-paced adventure. By the sixth grade, character development becomes important."

If you write science fiction or fantasy for children from kindergarten through the sixth grade, this is a wonderful book to have. If you have thought about writing for children, but didn’t know what words publishers would consider appropriate or acceptable for which age level, this book is definitely for you.

If you want to use a word, but aren’t sure what age or grade level it would be appropriate for, an alphabetical list shows you, for example, that "nebula" is a fourth grade word and "airtight" is a fifth grade word.

The second section lists words by grade level. If you want to write for the third grade level, it lists words that an average third grader will understand, e.g., "vapor" and "arctic."

The third section is a thesaurus. For instance, if you want to describe an airtight compartment, it tells you that for kindergarten level, "closed box" or "room" is acceptable. A first grader would know "sealed cell," "place," or "space." A fifth grader would understand "airtight" or "self-contained cabinet," "stall," "department," or "locker," as well. "Compartment" is a sixth grade word, and although many younger children would know the word, the average child would not. You may argue with the list; "prayer" isn’t acceptable until third grade and "earthquake" not until fifth? And your children, with a writer for a parent, may be far more advanced, but these lists are compiled from many basic word lists and standard sources.

Besides the lists, there are tips on writing for children, hints on sentence length and word usage for each grade level, and guidelines for using words not found in the book. Samples of writing for different age levels are given along with discussions of vocabulary development, social changes for today’s children, and what subjects are currently covered in specific grades. If you’ve been out of school awhile, you may find it surprising to see what is, and what is not, covered at the same grade it was when you were in school. Also, there is a discussion of reading levels and what kinds of books and magazines are published for the different age groups.

This is an excellent book, and I recommend it highly.

{Published in SF and Fantasy Workshop Newsletter, May 2006; and reprinted in Washpan News (Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators), June 2006.}