Why We Should Still Read Children’s Literature

As children, stories are central to our lives. Not only are they extremely beneficial for our development, but most importantly they allow us to expand our imaginations. They provide us with adventure, comfort, wonder, excitement, and empathy. I imagine every one of us (especially my fellow bookworms) will remember at least one or perhaps several favourite stories that they read as children. These stories have stuck with us throughout our lives and every now and then we rediscover them and they always fill us with that same nostalgia and fondness. Even as adults they can grant us great comfort and a respite from our busy and often overwhelming lives.

There has always been an expectation for us to be reading progressively, that throughout our lives we should be constantly progressing to more complicated books and never working backwards. However, there is nothing wrong with revisiting books we loved when we were young, it can actually be beneficial.

Often children’s books can teach adults valuable lessons that we don’t always realise we need to hear. They are filled with messages about friendship, resilience, and how to stay hopeful. Something that is even more relevant in adult life and certainly not solely for children. Children’s books tackle many important topics that adult fiction also covers, and oftentimes in a more succinct and understandable way. Popular children’s author, Katherine Rundell, tells us in her essay, Why You Should Read Children’s Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise that, ‘Real Fairy tales are about hunger: hunger for power, above all; but also hunger for justice, for love, for change and transformation, for other humans... as adults we need to keep reading them and writing them, repossessing them as much as they possess us.’ They allow us to use our imaginations again, somethings that seems to deteriorate in a lot of adults over time. Children’s literature should not be seen as lesser forms of art than adult fiction because they are mostly enjoyed by a younger audience. The values emphasised in children’s literature does not lose importance as we get older. On the contrary they can be equally as important, if not more.

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Children’s books can provide comfort for us and often remind us of important lessons that we forget we need to hear. Rundell also explains that, ‘those who write for children are trying to arm them for life with everything we can find that is true. And perhaps, also, secretly, to arm adults against those necessary compromises and necessary heartbreaks that life involves: to remind them that there are and always will be great, sustaining truths to which we can return’. Despite the fact they have been deemed ‘children’s’ books, they actually have several intended audiences. Their primary audience is children, and the main job as the writer is to try to teach children all that we can through these stories in order to help them navigate life. However, they also indirectly speak to adults in order to remind them of these simple lessons that are relevant to every stage of life but we often forget them as we grow older. These stories provide hope and guidance for children, but they also, in a more discreet way perhaps, offer guidance and comfort for adults.

Children’s literature is also straightforward and easily readable. It can be therapeutic, especially after dealing with our highly stimulating and often stressful lives where we are always on the go. To be able to switch off and lose yourself in a book without requiring too much mental effort to stay attentive or to try to understand is very pleasant and calming. Dr Louise Joy of the University of Cambridge argued that, unlike adult fiction, ‘conversation in children’s literature is clear and direct... It satisfies adult fantasies for language to be used as a straightforward vehicle for communication.’ We often see things going wrong in our lives due to miscommunication and it can be refreshing to witness a conversation be immediately understood and to be able to move on.

Children’s authors write stories that speak not only to the child but to the inner child as well. That touch the hearts of all ages. Movies mostly enjoyed by children such as Disney films are deemed as ‘family friendly’, so why can we not have the same for literature? So the next time you feel slightly embarrassed for being seen reading a ‘children’s book’ just remember that there’s no shame, and in fact you are doing exactly as J.R.R Tolkein, C.S. Lewis and all the other great authors would have wished. After all, they believed that no good children’s story was ever written just for children.