The things I love about writing for kids

I love writing for kids. 

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying it’s a walk in the park. Creative work is hard sometimes. It’s not the most reliable source of income, for example. Sometimes, I ask established writers whether it’s possible to make a living wage writing for kids, and the response usually goes something along the lines of spitting out their coffee and laughing in my face. Don’t give up your day job, they say. Don’t do it for the money. If you’re writing books for kids, you’d better be doing it for love. 

I do not for a moment downplay the importance of creatives being paid appropriately. Of course we very much should be. 

In the meantime. You know that love that’s so important for a children’s author? That love you have to have if you’re going to do this kind of work? I have that. I love writing for kids. I love it for so many reasons. 

Take picture books, for example. I love them. I LOVE THEM! Sorry for shouting. BUT HAVE YOU SEEN WHAT THEY CAN DO?

Picture books are fun and silly and whimsical. I love their power, at the end of the day, to disarm tension through laughter. I love their power to create precious family rituals of closeness and connection.        

Picture books are serious. I love the resource they provide for families who are struggling, or going through transition, or grappling with challenges, from birth to death and everything in between. And I love that they provide this, all in a format geared to little eyes, little ears and little hearts.  

I love picture books as an art form. The seamless melding of serious artistic intent with lightness, brightness, and delight. The beauty of them. At their best, they are magic.

I love that picture books can have positive, real-world outcomes for the little people who read them. Books have power. They shape us. They teach us how to exist in world, and how to exist with each other. My debut picture book (coming soon!) is about consent. As an author, the privilege of speaking into little lives on this topic honestly blows my mind. My Body, My Rules, illustrated beautifully by the talented Dasha Riley, is coming soon from Scholastic Press. And if this book empowers one child in a way that helps keep them safe, or reminds them to respect others’ wishes when it comes to touch, now and as they grow? Well. It would mean more to me than I can really express.   

Now, I’m working on a middle grade novel. I think back to the books which had such an impact on me as a young girl, as my eyes were beginning to open to all the complexity of the adult world. Books like I Am David by Anne Holm, which acknowledges the hardship and injustice which blights the world and yet is also hopeful, suffused with love. This is the kind of book I would dearly love to write.

Anyway. Suffice to say, the view from Little Kidlit Mountain is just to my taste. It’s good to my soul. I’m glad I get to hang out here. 

Until next time, traveller. 

P.S. You may not know this about me, but I love picture books. I love writing for kids. Did I mention I love writing for kids?