“So when are you going to write a real book?”
Any children’s writers reading this are groaning right now, because this is a question we’ve all been asked at least once. Most of us respond with comically-exaggerated confusion and, “As opposed to all of the imaginary ones?”
Meanwhile, we’re drowning in despair, because what the questioner means is, “When are you going to write a book for adults?” As if books for kids are in some way less. Less artistic, or less interesting, and certainly less important.
I argue, however, that books for kids are actually MORE important than books for adults.
Exhibit A – this article from The National Post:
People with Extreme Anti-Science Views Know the Least, But Think They Know the Most: Study
TL;DR is that people—meaning adults—are terrible judges of the extent and accuracy of our own knowledge. Those of us who know the least about a topic believe we know the most… making us the most resistant to new information and ideas.
Kids (and most teenagers) don’t have this problem. Kids are completely aware of the fact that they don’t know everything – and what’s more, they’re hungry to learn. Even kids who claim they don’t like school are voracious consumers of data on the subjects they actually care about. And if you show kids why a topic is interesting or relevant to their lives, you can get them fired up to learn about just about anything.
Exhibit B—the grade 7s & 8s at a school where I presented recently. Middle schoolers have a bad rap for being the hardest to reach, but we had a fabulous discussion about forensic science, during which these teenagers not only paid rapt attention, but asked questions that proved they were integrating the info I was giving them with things they already knew. Several students thanked me for the cool presentation, and a couple even told me that they want to be scientists when they grow up.
These are the kinds of impacts that only children’s writers get to have – more than any other kind of writer, children’s writers have the power and privilege of validating people’s interests and opening their minds to new ideas.
For many writers, this is why children’s books are the only “real” books. For me, there’s an additional reason:
Pop quiz: Out of the books you read last year, which was your favourite?
If you don’t remember, don’t worry—I don’t remember, either! These days, it’s hard enough to remember what I read last year, much less what I thought about it (which is why I track my reading on StoryGraph).
Let’s try this one: What was your favourite book when you were a kid?
Mine included:
Fairy tale collections
Where the Red Fern Grows, which I read over and over again, despite starting to sob ten pages in advance of the terrible thing that happens at the end…
Unlike the reading we do as adults, the books we read as children shape who we are and stay with us forever. I dream of the day an adult will tell me that one of my books was their favourite as a child. And I do my very best to ensure that my work is worthy of the privilege.
That was lovely Lindsey!
Thank you so much, Pat!
This was very inspiring. I am a retired Head Start teacher with a passion for early literacy. I am now what’s considered a “late Bloomer” embarking on a new career as children’s storybook author. Some of my favorite books as a child were The Phantom Tollbooth, Water ship Down, The Great Gatsby, and The Outsiders. I wish I still had time to read as much as I used to but I am busy writing busy on this new venture. My website is being built right now. Hopefully it will be up in a few days.
Thank you, Ava! And we are never too old to cultivate our creativity – your experience working with kids will be a huge asset as you start to explore writing your own stories.
If you’re thinking about writing picture books for those youngest readers you know so well, do try to make time to read as many recently-published examples as possible, paying attention to what you like and don’t like and what the writer is doing that stands out to you. Best of luck in your new adventure!