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| Hansel und Gretel |
One of the interesting aspects of watching my pal/novel Jacob Wonderbar enter the world has been the reaction of the people who reside outside of the book blogosphere.
I’ve been living/virtual-breathing in the book world for so long I forget there are adults out there who don’t make a habit of reading children’s books. Most book-related people I know, even those who work on the adult side, dabble with the occasional children’s book.
But outside of the book world? Not so!
Some adults, I suspect, don’t feel as if they’re, like, allowed to read children’s books.
Now, yes, I realize that when applied to my particular situation, such mundane affairs as exploding galaxies, space buccaneers, and planets full of substitute teachers are not for everyone. Heck, I recently found out some people don’t even eat corndogs. Not even the veggie kind!! (I KNOW. I was as floored as you are).
But hey, adults out there! If you’re not reading children’s books these days you are missing out. These books are for you too.
A Golden Age of Children’s Literature
Leaving aside my own work, which I may have a passing bias about, as my former colleague agent Sarah LaPolla recently posted, few genres have experienced as much growth and innovation as young adult literature in the last thirty-plus years. If you haven’t read a children’s novel since, well, you were a child, you have missed one of the great renaissances in modern books.
To be sure, great books for children go back a long time, and there have been beloved classics stretching back for the last few hundred years. But what has changed is that books for children are delving deep into life as it is actually lived by children, and especially teens. They’re stepping up the adventure and inventing worlds as rich and textured as anything written for adults.
The bar has been raised.
And they’re attracting a lot of adult readers in the process. The genre is hot. But even still I’m surprised by the number of holdouts.
The Books
Sure, you’ve probably heard of the incredibleness that is Harry Potter. (Though I continue to be amazed/scandalized at the number of people who haven’t read it.) It’s a good bet you’ve heard of Twilight, and maybe you’re even familiar with The Hunger Games.
These are just the tip of the iceberg, my friends.
What’s incredible about the new children’s books is that they pack so much meaning into a genre that requires a level of pacing and plotting that will still keep a child or teen’s attention. And these talented writers pull it off in incredible fashion. They’re among the very best books being written today, by some of the world’s most talented authors.
There are books capturing the beautiful and painful reality of childhood in a way that’s rarely been done before. Books like Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You by Peter Cameron and Looking for Alaska by John Green and Crank by Ellen Hopkins and The 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher and The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard, and many many more.
There are books that are taking adventure and fascinating worlds to uncharted heights, such as Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, the Ranger’s Apprentice by John Flanagan, Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, and many many more.
I’m leaving so so so many wonderful ones out, more than anyone can count, and I hope people will fill in the gaps with their favorites in the comments section.
Suffice to say: there are some incredible children’s books out there.
Read Them!
Yes, let’s get this out of the way: you’re not the target audience of these books. Yes, they are primarily for kids. But you know what? That’s a good thing! Because reading through the eyes of a child takes you back to childhood in a really wonderful way. It makes you remember, it makes you think, and it makes you look at adult life again through an exhilarating new prism.
These aren’t your grandparent’s children’s books. Heck, they’re not even your children’s books. They’re a breed apart and you’d be hard pressed to read a popular book geared toward 8-year-olds and up that you wouldn’t be entertained and enchanted by.
Children’s books aren’t just for children anymore. Please spread the word.
(And if you’re looking for a place to start, might I suggest Mr. Wonderbar and his cosmic adventure?)
Available at:
Amazon (hardcover)!
Amazon (Kindle)!
Barnes & Noble (hardcover)!
Barnes & Noble (Nook)!
Books-a-Million!
Borders!
Indiebound!
Powell’s!
Kids' books not just for kids anymore? Amen, Nathan! But were they ever just for kids?
I think it was C. S. Lewis (it usually is!) who described kids' stories and books as adults' stories and books that migrated from the library to the nursery over time. I second Tiana Smith's Lewis quotation too.
I am currently reading or rereading the Narnia and Harry Potter series, TWILIGHT and THE HUNGER GAMES. I always have a dozen or more books on the go! I greatly enjoyed LEVIATHAN and it's continuation BEHEMOTH and look forward eagerly to the concluding book GOLIATH.
Exploding galaxies, space buccaneers, planets full of substitute teachers, what's not to love!?Though I haven't got as far as the substitute teachers' planet yet. Because of external distractions, I hasten to add. JACOB WONDERBAR is one of the fastest reads I've ever encountered.
Yet, amid all that unlikely galactic mayhem the scene where Jacob thinks about his AWOL dad is as touching as any such scene in a more 'realistic' novel. We suspend disbelief for the talking spaceship and burp-smelling planet but we believe in Jacob. Like Alice in Wonderland, Jacob is our I-Guy and guide through extraordinary adventures which his very ordinariness helps make believable.
I could write an essay on this, and probably will in the Bransforums, though not before next week. Meanwhile, fellow Bransfordians, have you bought JACOB WONDERBAR yet? There are only THREE customer reviews on Amazon! (I bought my copy from The Book Depository.) Nearly a hundred thousand followers or whatever they call them on social networks, and THREE reviews!? Could it be we indeed write too much and read too little, as Nathan wondered yesterday?
Is this a gentler way of saying that literature is being dumbed down? I think it is.
https://googledisappointsme.blogspot.com/
Categories might have been meant for consumer convenience, but they've sure added misleading dimensions to what's intellectual, valuable etc and what isn't. Most of my friends wouldn't think of picking up a book on a childrens lit bookshelf to read for themselves. They think they'll be judged by other adults as being dumb or childish.
Me, I think a mature person wouldn't care about being judged, would be happy to try out new (and old) things, and give any kind of literature a chance before labelling it as reader-specific or dumbed down.
I love YA fiction, and hope more adults will realise what treasures are sitting on the YA shelves (and e-shelves:D) right now:)
Oh, and may adults and kids alike enjoy the Space Kapow, Nathan:) Cheers.
Well i love childrens books and YA but i am a child(Tween) so…but i hope when i am a adult that i stil enjoy all my books on my current bookshelf
Okay, I have a confession to make.
I've never eaten a corndog.
I can't even promise to remedy the situation in the near term.
I hear your horror and concern for my well-being.
But: I can share your larger experience about YA/Adult readers. Within our little author-sphere, YA is a fine thing to consume even for adults. Outside that safe wordy world, adults ask me "how are your children's books doing?" (To which I always want to reply, "Read them and find out! They're not just for children!")
I think part of the problem is the oh-so narrow age restrictions placed on the back of most books these days. When potential readers ask me "What age is this good for?" I reply, "The publisher says 9-12. I say 8-80."
Thanks for this blog. I will share it with everyone who is trying to channel an inner nine year old. And please add "Oliver's Surprise" and "Cape Cod Surprise" to your list of "good for adults" YA. Meanwhile, I will read Jacob and learn why corndogs are so crucial to my future.
I feel like times have changed somewhat… or maybe it's just me. I used to be embarrassed when reading YA in college, but now I pick up whatever I want at the store and buy it without a tiny ounce of regret. J. K. Rowling did such a wonderful job with the Harry Potter books that I don't think as many people judge you anymore for reading kid books. My friends don't look at me strange for reading them at least. Sometimes they are reading the same books.
We read many kids' books in our house. Some favorites are:
Toys Go Out – Jenkins
All the World – Scanlon
Cowgirl Kate & Cocoa
Mr. Putter & Tabby – Rylant
The Relatives Came – Rylant
It is a joy each time I get to read one of these!
Great post Nathan! I love reading kids books because often I find that I notice something in the book (either in the text or the images) that I hadn't noticed when I'd read it as a kid.
~TRA
https://xtheredangelx.blogspot.com
Kids books are my bread and butter. I feel sorry for anyone who misses out on them. Oh, and have you checked out the YA section at the bookstore lately? It's as big as the fiction section!
Well, I'm going to read your book Nathan! Have my two copies for the grands and one will be read before the giving – she won't mind, she's only 19 months and won't even notice 😀
Nathan, what do you make of the "Amazon Sunshine Deals" thing – I'm a part of that but admit I don't know diddly what the end result will be and details etc . . . you always have a good take on things – maybe for your next publishing news you'll talk about it?
Wait. There are veggie corn dogs?
Hey Nathan, I read your interview on WriterUnboxed.com. It was a really nice read!
I guess it depends on what you classify as children's books. I mean, I think picture books like Cat in the Hat or early chapter readers like the Boxcar Children. Harry Potter, Twilight, Hunger Games…they're more YA in my mind, and I have no qualms about reading such books. Maybe it's because they are a lot closer to adult books that middle grade/independent reader books, but I've never considered them 'kids' books. Then again, I did start reading the encyclopedia in 4th grade…
I never thought the Ranger's Apprentice was a children's book!
I think adults read YA because they know that the book will not be full of purple prose and make them feel stupid.
Skim through the bestseller list and tell me how many titles do you think the average high school educated adult would want to read. How many of those books would a male reader want to read?
The YA tags comes across as saying: "Hey, I'm not a difficult read. Pick me up. I'm not the boring stuff you had to read in high school English class."
My favorite kids books will always be Henry Reed, Encyclopedia Brown, The Enormous Egg, The Mad Scientists' Club, and One Morning in Maine.
For today's books, Skellig is magical, and Shiloh has a pitch-perfect, natural voice.
Nick Hornby: "I see now that dismissing YA books because you're not a young adult is a little bit like refusing to watch thrillers on the grounds that you're not a policeman or a dangerous criminal, and as a consequence, I've discovered a previously ignored room at the back of the bookstore that's filled with masterpieces I've never heard of."
I love this thread for the recommendations – thanks!
J.T. – you are absolutely right. I forgot about Amazon reviews. I'm going to review Nathan's book tomorrow, when I'm not so tired. Thanks for the reminder!
I think adults would love THE BOOK THIEF and OCTAVIAN NOTHING even more than kids do. Grownups who think they won't like YA/MG have probably never tried it. Give them a copy of THE HUNGER GAMES, and chances are you've got a new convert.
What I love about kids books is they allow us adults to escape the confines of our daily existence and go someplace magical. As a kid who always had a big imagination, going to strange and different worlds was a great part of my childhood.
Sometimes that magic plays itself out in different ways, like challenges or fears faced and managed in strange/new worlds, opportunities created, hope rising, friendships made, lessons learned and about a thousand other varieties.
But the really special thing about kids books for me is just that space to experience the feelings kids would feel in any given situation and in a sense, relive my childhood imagination transformed into adult feelings and experiences. It's kind of like blending old with new, new feelings with life experience and delivering a wonderful, rich result for me as a reader.
I'm having a lot of trouble posting a comment tonight so I'll just post this as anonymous but it's Leila.
Oh yay, I don't have to feel guilty about hanging out in the kids' section of the library any more.
I'm fifteen.
:/
Such a good post. Well said. Thanks!