[MD] Primer children's book

Mon Oct 9 22:20:41 PDT 2006

Hi Dan!

Sorry to come off as negative, usually I lean in the opposite direction. 
But maybe I'm just looking through different goggles here. I have 3 
wonderful kids (6,8 & 9), bibliophiles all, and (among other labors of 
love) I work at an elementary school as a kindergarten aide in the 
morning/computer geek in the afternoon. And I agree, kids know quality! 
Definitely more so than silly grownups like me.

But I did not say that the MOQ is beyond the scope of 'children,' I 
asked if it was beyond the scope of a 'children's book.' I'm thinking in 
terms of very young kids, which books really reach them, which 
children's books reached (and reach) me. I'm thinking about age and 
audience. My frivolous arguments are only there because I think these 
are the issues that would come up in the proposed project. If there are 
solid counterpoints that squelch all of my points, that's great! It's 
just that I know that if I were presented with this as my own project, I 
wouldn't be comfortable with it until I addressed these issues; they are 
the challenges that either solidify the initial idea or help to modify 
it for the better. That can only help the quality of the project, can't 
it? Going in with eyes wide open? I like to go through that kind of 
examination for myself before and during any "big" project, and as long 
as I can keep my focus and stay true to my inspiration, I find that I 
can improve the overall quality of anything I do, because it's all about 
balancing the inspiration with it's vehicle...

I don't see the idea of a "gumption" book as limiting 'myself' to just 
one part; I get to read the whole book! But I know my kids, I read a 
specific piece of the book to them because I saw it as specifically 
useful. They'll read the whole thing or I'll read it to them when I 
think it's time. You didn't read it until they were 12, that was my 
point; I think that's a great age for it. I guess I'm just hung up on 
the logistics, putting myself in the shoes of the author. For me, 
expanding small pieces of ZMM and Lila, sounds more promising than a 
distillation of the whole book(s) into one children's book. Just my 
opinion! And again, I'm thinking about pretty young kids here. I can 
see, for instance, a "gumption" children's book: I can see where to 
start, and have a notion of where to go. My attempt at envisioning an 
MOQ book for young kids left my lenses a bit foggy. But it sounds like 
your vision is much clearer than mine in that regard, so please carry on 
with all my best!

Mike Craghead
humboldtmusic.com
humboldtmusic.com/mc
humboldtmusic.com/sarimike

Dan Glover wrote:
 > Hello everyone
 >
 >   
 >> From: Mike Craghead <mike at humboldtmusic.com>
 >> Reply-To: moq_discuss at moqtalk.org
 >> To: moq_discuss at moqtalk.org
 >> Subject: Re: [MD] Primer children's book
 >> Date: Mon, 09 Oct 2006 17:23:21 -0700
 >>
 >> Greetings!
 >>
 >> Isn't the MOQ a bit beyond the scope of a children's book?
 >>     
 >
 > Having raised 5 children and now being the proud grandfather of 8 and
 > counting, if there is anything at all that I can say a child knows, 
believe
 > me, it's Quality. So no, I do not believe the MOQ is beyond the scope of
 > children. T'is a pity I cannot say the same for a lot of adults.
 >
 >   
 >> In fact,
 >> through many developmental stages, isn't the differentiation between
 >> "self" and "other stuff" (i.e. SOM) crucial?
 >>     
 >
 > That is going to occur despite any books a parent might read to a child.
 > This seems like a frivilous arguement to me.
 >
 >   
 >> Is metaphysics even a
 >> factor until a child is well into the double-digits?
 >>     
 >
 > So far as I know SOM is a metaphysics too despite the fact most 
people fail
 > to realize it. So again, your arguement seems frivilous.
 >
 >   
 >> In my opinion, the two things a children's book needs most are clarity
 >> and humor.
 >>     
 >
 > Of course it does. An overall positive attitude is essential and 
simplicity
 > is better than complexity. Humor is of value as well.
 >
 >   
 >> Without both (in correct proportions!), a book ends up
 >> muddled preachy or or saccharine or [fill in your own substitute word
 >> for "lame" here]. I'm concerned that making the MOQ palatable in
 >> children's book form is outside the realm of possibility, even for the
 >> most skilled wordsmith.
 >>     
 >
 > We all have opinions. If I listened to them back then, LILA'S CHILD 
wouldn't
 > be a reality. So I'm not listening to any negativity now either, 
thank you
 > very much anyway.
 >
 > I've got some ideas I'm bandying around but I'm no wordsmith, much less
 > skilled. Still, I feel up to the challenge. I don't see this project 
as an
 > impossibility at all. Then again, I would have problems getting 
palatable
 > music to come out of an instrument. That is outside the realm of
 > possibility.
 >
 >   
 >> Wouldn't a book about gumption traps be fantastic, though?
 >>     
 >
 > There is nothing glorious about limiting one's thinking to accomodate
 > others. ZMM is in my opinion one of the most powerful books ever 
written and
 > you're going to limit yourself to one part? I'm sorry, but that's just
 > silly.
 >
 >   
 >> I sat my kids
 >> down and read them that part of ZAMM (and I'll probably keep doing that
 >> again and again until it sinks in). Replace the word "carburetor"  with
 >> "homework," and you've got a practical cure for homework-itis.
 >>     
 >
 > I made a point to read to my children every night. My oldest 2 slept 
in one
 > room, the next oldest 2 in another, and my youngest by himself. I 
would read
 > in shifts - 20 minutes in each room. When they were very small we 
would read
 > regular childrens' books but around the age of 8 we began reading the
 > classics like Mark Twain and Ernest Hemingway and many, many others. ZMM
 > came along at about the age of 12. It is such a powerful book to read 
aloud.
 > I thought the kids identified with Chris a great deal and my 
daughters cried
 > when we learned he had been killed. I did too.
 >
 > LILA is beyond the scope of a child, I will admit that. But there's no
 > reason the ideas in LILA couldn't be distilled and installed into a
 > chldren's story.
 >
 > Thanks for your input.
 >
 > Dan
 >
 >
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