Susan Orlean, best known for her pieces in the New Yorker, will read from her new kids book at DUMBO’s PowerHouse on Sunday, Sept. 21.

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Susan Orlean’s first children’s book started out as a joke.

Twelve years ago, Orlean, a staff writer for The New Yorker and best known for her book, “The Orchid Thief,” wrote a humor piece called, “Shiftless Little Loafers.”

It was entirely meant for adults,” Orlean recalled. “It was a cheap complaint about how babies get away with murder and they don’t have to work.”

This “cheap complaint” caught the eye of a book editor, who greenlighted the kids version by Orlean, who is just the latest serious author to tackle the kids genre.

“It really is challenging,” said Orlean, who will read from the book on Sunday at PowerHouse Arena in DUMBO. “It’s not easy to imagine the mind of a child.”

Orlean also learned that all kids don’t love all kids’ books. In fact, Orlean’s biggest critic was her 3 1/2-year-old son Austin. When she showed him the book, he said, “I want to read it — but not everyday.”

©2008 Community Newspaper Group