"Out to the hoghouse," replied Mrs. Arable. "Some pigs were born last night."

From this moment of searing darkness, tinged with the imagery of a brutal act yet to come, unfolds one of the most beloved of all children's books, E.B. White's Charlotte's Web.

Wilbur's remarkable journey through lightness and dark culminates in the unforgettably poignant moment of the dying Charlotte leaving her friend with these words:

These autumn days will shorten and grow cold. The leaves will shake loose from the trees and fall. Christmas will come, then the snows of winter. You will live to enjoy the beauty of the frozen world, for you mean a great deal to Zuckerman and he will not harm you, ever.

Winter will pass, the days will lengthen, the ice will melt in the pasture pond. The song sparrow will return and sing, the frogs will awake, the warm wind will blow again. All these sights and sounds and smells will be yours to enjoy, Wilbur—this lovely world, these precious days…

Now, imagine if...

...E.B. White looked at his manuscript and thought "No, this is far too dark for children to read" and edited his story into a simple and happy tale of a talking pig and his barnyard friends.

Would Charlotte's Web have become a beloved and immortal classic that stays with its readers decades after reading it?

Would it even be remembered at all?

There are myriad reasons why children's writers resist giving their work the full spectrum of human emotion and experiences:

• Fear that children can't handle any type of darkness
• Not knowing how to tell what's "age appropriate"
• Fear of being judged ...and many others.

But mostly, it comes from not truly appreciating what children's literature is, and what it can be. And what its readers need and deserve from those who create it.

To write beautiful, emotional, poignant and impactful books that can change the course of a child's life, you MUST understand this:

There is both lightness and darkness in this world, and children deserve a complete picture of what it means to be alive.

Parents fight, people you love get sick, bad people do bad things.

As a writer, if you are determined to ignore the dark moments of life that every childhood includes, you will cheat your readers of the joy and hope that journeys from darkness to light provide.

It's time to start writing the full spectrum of life's experience.

On April 17th (with lifetime on-demand replay) Violet Lemay will teach you how to create the kinds of stories that stay with readers for a lifetime.

Stories that embrace the light and the dark of being a child.

Stories that can resonate from one generation to the next.

We invite you to join us for:

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark:

How Conflict, Setbacks & Emotional Upheaval Can Make Your Writing Come Alive

Price stated will include $20 presale discount!

In her latest work, Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist (Michael Sampson Books) Violet turns darkness to light by honoring the life and unfulfilled aspirations of a young victim of the Uvalde school shooting.

Written with the support of Alithia's parents, this touching story has resonated throughout the publishing world, winning numerous major awards.

Kirkus Reviews stated it simply: A young artist and her art live on in this tender, heartfelt book. We must remember.

On April 17th (with next day on-demand replay), Violet will give you the tools to fearlessly address darkness in your work, so that the light may ultimately shine that much brighter.

And she'll show you how to bring your authentic self — including the totality of your life experience — to the process.

Price stated will include $20 presale discount!

We invite you to join us for:

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark:

How Conflict, Setbacks & Emotional Upheaval Can Make Your Writing Come Alive