Short Takes : Writing Helps Her Cope With Age

NEW YORK —  Singer Carly Simon says coping with middle age is easier when she looks back at the world of children--and writes about it.

Simon’s second children’s book “The Boy of the Bells,” was released this month. It follows her first effort, “Amy and the Dancing Bear,” of two years ago.

Both books were inspired by bedtime stories she once told her own children, the singer said in the Dec. 3 issue of People magazine.

Simon, 45, said she is feeling the passage of time but credits the children’s books with helping her stay young at heart.

She also confronts the issue of middle age in the song “Life Is Eternal” from her new album, “Have You Seen Me Lately?”

Simon says the song isn’t so much about “aging in terms of falling flesh--I’m not looking for plastic surgeons--but aging in terms of renewing the soul’s life.”