This is a blog for writers of books for students in the middle grades, but I'd like to focus for moment on the cross-over appeal Michael Crichton had with younger children. I've read, as you to may have, many of Crichton's books, Andromeda Strain, Congo, the T-Rex collection Jurassic Park and book two The Lost World, Timeline, Sphere and my personal favorite of the them all, Eaters of the Dead. As an educator and as a parent there is a great deal in Crichton's books for adults, adults only if you get my drift. Yet many of his tales have strong appeal to children between the ages of 9-12.
The appeal does not lie in the fact that these stories were simply made into action thrillers. Many of which marketed directly to kids thanks to Mr. Spielberg himself. No, the appeal lies in Crichton's ability to morph the real and unreal into an action packed tale.
Crichton's cinematic style of writing certainly translates well into film and the sheer fantastic nature of how he could tap the fringe of modern science-fact and turn it into science techno-fiction amazes all readers regardless of their age. Crichton may go down in history as the father of the adult "Techno Thriller," but I believe there is much that can be learned by writers for middle grade readers.
Unfortunately Crichton's work would need to be significantly abridged for it to be appropriate for middle grade readers. Take Eaters of the Dead for example, the Beowulf epic retold. Many of the names have been changed, but Crichton's fictional addition of Ibn Fadlan a real-life chronicler mentioned in 7th grade social studies textbooks adds a lot more energy, mystery, and tangible realism to the Beowulf tale. The story certainly has its share of gore and inappropriate adult activity, but minus these parts, the story would unquestionably be rated as a plus over the original Beowulf epic which tends to really turn students off. Crichton's ability to make the implausible seem plausible with modern realism is his greatest asset. Turning the Grendel monster into the Wendol, a pack of blood thirsty neanderthals is a perfect example of this.
So what lessons can be learned from Crichton. First consider the cinematic approach to his writing style. Others have adopted it and have begun to translate their works to the big screen as well Rowling, Gaiman, Riordan, and Pullman to name a few. Like Edgar Allan Poe before him using realism to explain the unexplainable is key. There's not a whole lot of difference between extracting dinosaur DNA from an mosquito stuck in amber and the Plague of the Red Death showing up at your party and killing you, well maybe they're a little different, but both plausible explanations.
So if we want to appeal to our audience we need to take a page from Michael Crichton' s playbook and be unafraid of sending 21st century NASA space shuttles through black holes, and virulent plagues that threaten to wipe out small country cities, and giant squids brought to life with alien technology. These fantastic concepts excite middle grade readers, and it is our responsibility to see to it these wonderful imaginative elements are part of our writing. The adult stuff, let's leave it for the adults, but our readership will reward us with their time, passion and loyalty. What do you think?
I recommend Robert Nye's Beowulf a New Telling if you are looking for an outstanding Beowulf version for middle grade readers.
