As children grow up, they are constantly encouraged to change their reading habits and become more advanced. In school, students are given increasingly challenging books with topics designed more for growth of knowledge and analytical skills than enjoyment. But even after progressing into advanced levels of reading and content preferences, books for children and young adults are still relevant to everyone. They may sit in different areas of bookstores and libraries, but they hold just as much value as any other book.
Though stories written primarily for kids are easy to understand and lack complexities that books intended for adults have, the plots are still hold relevance in our lives. Yes, even the simplest solution to a character’s problems can help break down the intricacies of adult life, making the lessons that children’s books teach timeless.
The basic answers that kids are encouraged to find and apply to their lives through these stories apply to people of all ages. In fact, they can even become more powerful as the reader grows older, proving that not all solutions to life problems have to be complex.
Rereading old childhood favorites can definitely create a sense of nostalgia, while also allowing the reader to pick up on details and themes through a different mindset. In having a larger variety of experiences and gaining new perspectives as one grows older, certain aspects of the content and characters in children’s books become more apparent and relatable, which can create a greater emotional impact on the reader. There is no limit to the amount of interpretations one can take on a story, making every book — no matter who its intended audience — relatable to all who pick it up.
Just because the writing style is easier to comprehend doesn’t mean that it is a poor literary choice. Rather, this type of writing is of a higher quality than you may think. As any good writer is able to hook multiple audiences, children and young adult authors have a great amount of skill in being able to make concepts and emotions palpable for beginner, intermediate, and advanced readers.
For people with busy schedules, children’s books take less time to read. They help the mind relax and enter into a quality story without having to exert a ton of energy to comprehend the plot line and analyze what may come next. Rather than being stuck in the middle of a denser book for a longer period of time, you can get through books for younger audiences quickly — which allows you more time to read other works.
No matter what the book, reading is as enjoyable as it is important. Picking up and enjoying books “meant for” children and young adults is nothing to be embarrassed about. Age does not and should not limit one to a certain genre of books. After all, aren’t we all children at heart?
