Author: Emily Sara Smucker

For a long time, when people asked me what kinds of books I liked to read, I said “Children’s books.” That was confusing, because people thought I meant picture books. No, I meant real books, with chapters and plots, that were written for children. I eventually learned that the technical term was “Middle Grade.” Ah,…

There are two phrases that modern commentators often use when describing old books. The first is “a product of their era.” The second is “ahead of their time.” In fact, after a while it starts to feel like anything we agree with in an old book points to it being “ahead of its time,” and…

When I was a kid, there were certain tropes that appeared over and over again in my literature. Here is a list of some of the ones I detested. 1. When the book made statements about the way that “grown-ups” are silly. Example: “Grown-up people find it very difficult to believe really wonderful things, unless…

Recently I heard someone say that men, in books that are written for women, are’t men. They’re women. I don’t remember who said it, or where this idea came from. If this rings a bell please let me know. As far as I can recall, the reasoning behind this sentiment was that these fictional men sense…