Big Girls Don't Cry
(a few thoughts on childhood loss in children's fiction) When I was first sending out DOTTY and the Calendar House Key to publishers, I had a few responses I hadn’t expected. In particular, one editor commented that he found the prologue to the book so distressing that he just couldn’t get past that to enjoy the rest of the story. And the cause of all the upset? The death of Dotty’s parents. I have to admit I was a bit stumped by this. I mean, a lot of children’s writers kill