The Value of Children’s Literature

“Maybe . . . 97.4 percent of kids’ books are crud.”

—Mac Barnett, from Make Believe: On Telling Stories to Children

When the famed children’s book author and National Ambassador for Young People’s literature asserted this in his first foray into adult literature, the children’s literary community showed up in force to declare their outrage at such betrayal by one of their own. To be fair, Barnett’s actual thesis is that authentic children’s literature is complex and psychologically important and should not be dismissed as a genre that is easy to write, but that very valid point is now buried beneath his careless words.

Critics challenged Barnett with an equally valid point: “Who gets to decide what quality books for kids look like?” I have an answer, and it’s not Mac Barnett.

Trusting Children Who Read

I often say that I am not worried about children who read. I’m certainly not worried about any particular title that a student might pick up to read as long as that student thinks critically about the world. Literary snobs and book banners alike want to label and control what children read as if children are not living, thinking human beings. Who among us has not read a book for the guilty pleasure it brings? Its sensationalism? Its popularity? And do we come away sullied by the experience? Nope, we’re all doing just fine.

And the children will be OK too. Not all books serve the purpose of intellectual enrichment. Some books are silly. Some are controversial. Some are poorly written. But let the children be the judge of quality. I spent 20 years teaching English, and I can assure you that children can be trusted to interact with text and draw their own conclusions about its value, both personally and socially.

Put Yourself in Guy Montag’s Shoes

If you doubt my claim, here’s some personal evidence. My daughter grew up loving the Junie B. Jones book series by Barbara Park, probably because my daughter and Junie stray to the rebellious side of things at times. As she entered middle school, my daughter became a fan of the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan, works that introduce a whole new generation of kids to Greek mythology in a way that is interesting and palatable. [Disclaimer: To be clear, I find value in both these book series and am not offering them as examples of “crud.”] As she neared the end of middle school, my daughter’s English teacher challenged her to answer a question in response to Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451:

If you could memorize one book to save from total destruction, keeping it safe for generations of readers yet to be born, which title would you choose, and why?

My daughter’s answer . . . Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus? No. The Lightning Thief? Guess again. Although logical answers in their own right, she answered Night by Elie Wiesel. Imagine yourself as a 14-year-old gentile girl living in Texas in the twenty-first century saying you would be willing to memorize the words of this text and take them into your long-term memory, making them a part of who you are, because you believe the burden is worth the sacrifice? Because you believe the words mustn’t be lost to future generations. Now tell me you’re worried about kids who read.

Trust Your Readers

In response to the outrage, the ambassador issued an apology for his “hurtful” words, calling them “hyperbolic and glib.” My advice to our ambassador? Not that he’s asked for it. Stick to writing your complex, imaginative books for children and stay away from labeling the works of your competitors. Trust the audience you thought you were defending to make their own assessments about literary value. They won’t let you down.

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