I have always had a love for children's books. From picture books to juvenile literature, I have devoured many books in my lifetime.
It is more than just Dr. Seuss that has molded my life. I remember when I was in third grade that my goal was to read every Nancy Drew mystery the school library had. I ended up rereading them as well. My mother would keep boxes of comic books in our van on road trips. We read everything from Archie to Garfield and still looked up from time to time to see what state we were in.
I have always been older than the targeted reading audience when it comes to some forms of kid lit. I was in college when Harry Potter came out. There was no hesitation when I would pre-order the next book in the series for me, not my kids. But I am not alone. Do you remember the Twilight series? Adult women were talking about where they were at in the book and lining up for girl's night in the theater. If you ever go into the young adult section of a book store, do a quick guess on the age of the shoppers contemplating the selection on the shelves.
Whether you are reading a book to someone younger or writing a book for a younger audience, the words that you put on that page are the ones that impact them. Maybe your story will be the foundation of their reading future. Maybe it will be a book that expands their mind for a brief moment before they pass it on to the next reader. Maybe you will touch the adult that is reading it for the first time. It's ok if they are not the target audience. All you wanted to do is have your words touch your reader. And it will.
A good book is one that has an impact on you. Sometimes those books go beyond age, race, gender, and time. Whether the foundation of your reading interests started with Hop on Pop or The Invention of Hugo Cabret, don't make excuses for the books you want to read today or the stories you want to write for tomorrow.
Take a look in a book
and the wonders you see,
your mind's eye will wander
to what was, can, and will be
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