I understand why parents worry about books - they're worried about their kids. They want to keep their kids safe. But parents aren't always realistic.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
In some families, parents don't read or don't have the money to spend on books.
Kids and adults have a difference of opinion when it comes to what constitutes legitimate reading. Adults often push books that they loved as children, which, ironically, were often books that their parents weren't particularly keen on.
I wish that the adults who are 'in power' cared more about what their children read. Books are incredibly powerful when we are young - the books I read as a child have stayed with me my entire life - and yet, the people who write about books, for the most part, completely ignore children's literature.
I'm sure most parents read to their children to explain what certain things mean. So books are a good way to convey a message to anybody. Everybody reads.
Why not write a book which is as sophisticated as a book for an adult, but is about the concerns that teenagers actually have?
I think what makes good children's books is putting the same care and effort into it as if I was writing for adults. I don't write anything - put anything in my books - that I'd be embarrassed to put in an adult book.
I have so little patience with the whole Y.A. book thing. As far as I'm concerned, you either read books for children or you read books for adults.
As a writer, you should care about reluctant readers. You want these kids to feel like books are amazing and cool and that they're an escape.
Books are such a great way to spend time with your children, open lines of communication with your children, and just build that strong foundation.
Once you've got a child to the point that they've discovered books, they're safe. There's a world of the imagination that when they're hurt or upset, they can move into, and it is wonderful.