There is another thing about a kid, if we all remember, that you have an attraction to evil. Evil is exciting and evil is interesting, and plenty of kids have a fascination for it.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
While early childhood experiences may impel, they do not compel. In the end, evil is a matter of choice.
The first idea the child must acquire is that of the difference between good and evil.
In plain terms, a child is a complicated creature who can drive you crazy. There's a cruelty to childhood, there's an anger.
Who isn't fascinated by evil?
Psychology doesn't like to talk about evil. It likes to talk about bad childhoods. But I very much believe that some people are evil and motivation is not necessary for evil.
I find that the only way to make my characters really interesting to children is to exaggerate all their good or bad qualities, and so if a person is nasty or bad or cruel, you make them very nasty, very bad, very cruel. If they are ugly, you make them extremely ugly. That, I think, is fun and makes an impact.
Every child is so different. Their experience growing up and their experience relating to the world has so much to do with their temperament, and their likes and their dislikes.
The task of the educator lies in seeing that the child does not confound good with immobility and evil with activity.
Kids search for what's relevant, what connects with their life... now. They know bad things happen like Hurricane Katrina. Through character driven stories, they explore what it's like to survive, thrive, and become more themselves.
Children are not only innocent and curious but also optimistic and joyful and essentially happy. They are, in short, everything adults wish they could be.