Faithful Elephants: A True Story of Animals, People and War | 
Sometimes I ask our interns read this #picturebook to broaden their perspectives on reader experiences. Children seem to focus on the larger issue of war rather than the particular relationship between the elephants & trainer. Adults sob over the elephants. Something about young brains protects them from tough information. (Not advocating for or against, ymmv.)
emtobiasz That is super interesting! Do you have other resources to recommend about how children interpret/focus on stories differently than adults? I‘m always looking for more to help me talk to kids about books. 6y
RebL @emtobiasz Disclaimer: I am not an early childhood educator & some picture books are not meant for kids. You may try search terms like “theory of mind,” “reader-response theory,” or empathy. I keep this surface level with interns who are primarily learning academic editorial skills. 6y
emtobiasz @RebL Fair enough. I‘m pretty familiar with early child development and young kids‘ responses to picture books, but I have trouble finding the resources I‘m envisioning for independent readers (say, 8-12 year olds). Plenty on teaching them to grow as readers, but less about understanding and meeting them where they are. As you can see, I‘m still trying to articulate exactly what I‘m looking for. 6y
RebL @emtobiasz I wish you luck. I‘d love to hear more from you. I read somewhere (dunno where, maybe Language Arts?) that parents bring experiences to reading that children don‘t because they don‘t have as many experiences. Anecdotally, Ron Himler told me that when illustrating Always with You, he didn‘t show the Vietcong so that readers can interpret as they are cognitively able. I work with a children‘s lit expert & educator. I can ask her? 6y
emtobiasz If your coworker has any suggestions, I‘d love to hear them! I have a feeling I need to dive deeper into readers advisory for children. Since I‘m coming at this from the public children‘s librarian perspective I‘m really looking for ways to talk to children about the books they read in a way that helps me help them find more to read. I‘ll keep you posted as I progress in this. 6y
