Due to being a disabled member of society, I have a cleaner to help me keep on top of my humble abode. Today was her day to visit, and while I was making her a cup of coffee, I heard her comment about the book I am currently reading. The statement was along the lines of 'Well, that's age-appropriate.'
So, you see, I'm currently reading, amongst other things, 'The Boy At The Back Of The Class’ by Onjali Q. Raúf. A book aimed for children aged around ten, about a refugee boy who turns up in the protagonist's class and how the school react to him. I'll be posting a full review when I have completed it, but my cleaners reaction got me thinking. Why shouldn't I be reading such books? In fact, I feel every adult who has children in their lives should be reading children's books.
If you are any type of reader, you will understand the difficulty of finding your next read. Sure, you can pick up the latest from your favourite authors. Still, every Author has a maximum of two hands and one brain and cannot churn out as many books as some avid readers may like. The most prolific Author I am aware of is Brandon Sanderson, and even he is limited to three, maybe four books a year max. (Saying this, James Patterson probably publishes more, but he co-writes most of his book, so that's kind of cheating in my books!) But we are adults who have numerous avenues of personal book exploration open to us. Children, it's a different matter. You have what is recommended in class. Though improving, schools can still be slow in adapting and accepting the latest trends in children's literature. You also have book fairs and catalogues, but they essentially have to judge books by covers. Which we know isn't always the best way to find the best literature out there. I have three goddaughters, the middle one of the three is an avid reader, and one time she showed me what she was reading. I won't say what the book was, but I could tell the marketing team had designed to cover to look highly like another popular franchise out there. So I deduced that my goddaughter had selected this book due to these similarities.
Don't get me wrong, there is nothing essentially wrong with this; at least it kept her reading. However, this will ultimately lead to a path of diminishing returns. Just think back to all the Da Vinci Code clones published 15 or so years ago. Or The Shades of Grey series started off as fan fiction from Twilight.
Returning to where children find book recommendations, of course, the most significant source is from the people around them, which is only as good as the adults' reading habits. This is very much a supposition on my part. However, I often wonder whether one of the main reasons Harry Potter is still so famous 25 years since Philosopher Stone was published is because we are now in the era where the original Potterheads are now the parents of the children reading Harry Potter for the first time. This is similar to how Roald Dahl is still famous 32 years after the Author died. But, of course, quality is also crucial, which is definitely the case with these two examples. However, how many works have fallen by the side in those years? How do we know children are not missing out on the superb works being written today? The only way to be sure is to read them ourselves and recommend them to the children in our lives. I know that children absolutely love it when adults recommend books to them. They also love talking about their favourite books. One of my favourite feelings is seeing a child's eyes light up in surprise when I say that not only do I know their latest favourite book, movie or song but that I've read, watched or heard it. But this is more so when it comes to books because it is sadly more rare to find an adult who has read them.
But there is no shame in reading books for children. On the contrary, you will find that many children's literature is more profound than a lot of grown-up fiction. Some books, such as Watership Down, are marketed as children's fiction when they are more mature than many books sold to an older audience. I'm not saying that the latest Peppa Pig is comparable to A Tolstoy or Dickens, but, There are books out there like The Hobbit, which was initially marketed to children, which has been enjoyed by far more adults over its history than originally intended.
So, next time you are at a loss to read, visit the children's section of the bookstore. You may find your next favourite author and be able to hand it down to your favourite readers.