Without, without thinking about it. It just is, who we are and what we did and then realizing that you can deny that who we are and what we do works, do you know what I mean? When we first started this I had no idea what it was going to be like, we just said what was on our mind.
I have many theories, Henry makes fun of me for my theories, but I have a very strong feeling, the theory about this, in terms of writing for children. I think the most successful people who write for children are ones who are not nostalgic about their own childhood and trying to reminisce but they’re right in there with it, you know so.
I think that we both do that, you know if you want to clear a room of children you say when I was young and you know they’re out the door, my own children included. So if you’re writing in the present tense with kids, if you’re really seeing the world from their shoes, from their point of view, then all of that stuff goes away. All the judgment, all the lecturing, all the, you know sort of heavy handed teaching goes away and you’re right there with them and you’re empathetic, you’re feeling what they’re feeling.
Which is usually some kind of powerlessness, and some kind of responsibility to be something they’re not. So once you get rid of that and you’re right there at the same level with them, it all becomes joyful.
And there is tremendous power in a child being heard. That they say something, you go, oh, I never thought of that, oh, that’s interesting, oh, let’s explore that. A heard child is a powerful child.
That’s really, say that again.
A heard child is a powerful child.
Wow. Yes.