Why A Good Story Resonates, Whatever Age you might be.
A couple of months ago, I published my first work of fiction – an eco-themed fantasy adventure for younger readers called ‘Meet The Guttafawlk’. It’s a story that, from the start, I envisaged as a book for younger readers. In my mind, I was imagining an 8-12 year old audience of eager bookworms who were used to reading chapter books and who loved the idea of the underground world of the faery ‘Guttafawlk’.
The interesting thing has been how many adults and grown-up parents have enjoyed the book too. The Guttafawlk are tiny faery ecowarriors on a mission to save Mother Nature. Readers both young and old have been getting into the whole climate-change theme and the way the dangers faced by the Guttafawlk actually mirror our own risks as a human society. People have also loved the Guttafawlk characters and the way they pull you into the story and get you engaged in the whole adventure.
So, this got me thinking. Are kids books just for kids? Or does a good story resonate with any reader, whatever your age? It’s an interesting point to consider, as the way publishing works seems to push authors into a specific category or niche. That’s especially true of self-publishing through a platform like Amazon, where you have a limited number of categories that your new book can be assigned to.
Does a book have to fit into either a ‘kids books’ section or an ‘adult fiction’ section?
Or is there a crossover between these two spheres in the Venn Diagram, where a book is just ‘a great story that appeals to all’?
What makes a kids book a kids book?
Kids books get many of us started on the road to literature. They’re the ‘bike with the stabilisers’ that we first learn to ride, before we can begin pedalling our way down the ‘Big Book Highway’ of reading the classics and novels aimed at a grown-up audience.
For something to be seen as a kids book, it has to tick a few fairly obvious boxes:
- The content and themes have to be appropriate for a younger audience.
- The language has to be simple enough for a child in your intended age-range to read the book easily and with limited help.
- The book has to be relatively short, to keep a child’s attention span.
- The story needs to be exciting, engaging and easy to get your reading teeth into.
I don’t think any of those points are contentious. We all, subconsciously, know when a book is appropriate for a younger audience, especially if you’re a parent who’s read hundreds of books over the years to their kids.
But does a book that ticks all these ‘kids book’ boxes automatically have to be unsuitable for a grown-up audience?
A story is a story, is a story…
One thing to always bear in mind is that we have ALL been a child. Every single adult on this planet has been a kid, and many of them will have ready books in childhood that made a huge impression on them.
These classic childhood books can leave an indelible mark in the world of literature – not just as ‘kids books’ but as stories that we can all, young or old, identify with.
Imagine a world without ‘Peter and Wendy’ (Peter Pan), ‘The Wind in the WIllows’, ‘The Hobbit’ or ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. These stories and characters are part of popular Western culture now, indelibly written onto the pages of our lives, in both literature, television and film.
So, are these classics just ‘kids books’? Or are they fantastic stories that anyone, young or old, can enjoy?
I’d argue for the latter. A great story is something that connects with and enlivens anyone who takes the time to open that book.
Reconnecting with your own childlike wonder
The world right now is a scary place – not just for kids but for every human being on the planet. Freak weather, global warming, worldwide pandemics and international conflicts are now part of the everyday news cycle, and to use a bit of slang, ‘it’s a lot!’. Life is stressful. Being grown-up is a challenge. And dealing with the realities of the world can be hard – very hard!
Books have always been a form of escapism. To quote Neil Gaiman (incidentally, a writer who has very happily straddled the two worlds of kids books and adult books), ‘fiction can show you a different world’. And a book’s ability to act as a door to a new world, a new reality or a new universe is SUCH a vital attribute.
A good book can be a key that unlocks a door to somewhere new – somewhere that allows us to escape from the pressures of reality.
Picking up a book for younger readers and losing yourself in the story isn’t something to be ashamed of. It’s a chance to reconnect with your own childlike wonder and innocence. A way to shut away the pressures of adulthood for a few chapters and to step into a safer reality…at least, that’s the way I see it.
Sadly, my daughter is too old now for bedtime stories. She reads her own books and consumes them at a rate of knots. But I LOVED those years of sharing a book with her at bedtime and dipping back into the next section of the story.
In these frantic and terrifying times, I think there’s something to be said for picking up your favourite childhood book and diving back into that comfortable reality. Or choosing new books based not on the age classification but on the themes, characters and narrative that the book blurb gives you.
If the story sounds up your street and makes you want to read Chapter One, just buy that book and enjoy it!
A good story really is for everyone.
Meet The Guttafawlk – an ecological adventure for all ages
Are you ready for an adventure where the fate of the world is at stake?
‘Meet The Guttafawlk’ is my ecological adventure story for younger readers, but also a book that just about everyone can enjoy.
The Guttfawlk are a drain-dwelling race of faery folk, pushed down into the drains by the dirt, rubbish and pollution that the Bigguns (that’s us humans) brought to the world many centuries ago. But the pollution is getting worse, the water is rising in the drains and the Guttafawlks whole way of life is at risk. What do they do when faced with this imminent danger? They decide to come back up to the Above-Ground to teach humanity a lesson.
‘Meet The Guttfawlk’ is available in print and Kindle editions on Amazon now.
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