Children’s Writing by Les Phipps – Business Development Manager
One of the best things a parent can do for any child is to encourage them to read and more importantly, to make reading fun and enjoyable so it is something that stays with them for life, rather than something they feel they have to do. I was lucky to have parents that instilled a love of reading in me from an early age which served me well both educationally but also giving me so much pleasure down the years and is something I hope I have managed to pass on to my children!
As much as I love reading I am not a book zealot that believes you have to have read a certain range of novels to be a well-read individual, anyone who reads is fine with me, whatever the quality of writing, whether it’s the Beano or Proust!
Over the years children’s writing has given us such riches with Alice in Wonderland being one of the all-time greats that should be read by everyone, not just children, why should they have all the best books? Classics that have stood the test of time; Treasure Island, Little Women, Black Beauty, to Mary Poppins, The Borrowers, Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little, Stig of the Dump. As well as great characters who have never aged such as: Winnie the Pooh, Peter Rabbit, Peter Pan, who it could be argued are more popular today than ever before.
One of the great things about children is they are not as judgmental as adults regarding what they read, so many times I hear parents telling children don’t read that it’s old fashioned or worse still, librarians with their own agenda on what children should read. An example of this is Enid Blyton for many years she was seen as an author whose work was too dated for today’s child, yet give the book to a child and all they see it as is fun adventure regardless of any other issues that may exist in the minds of the gatekeepers dictating what is right for children to read! Give a copy of the Famous Five to any child and see how much they enjoy it!
Children’s publishing is stronger than ever today with lots of new authors coming through and is one of the strongest selling categories in retail but the lure of those classic editions which, in many cases, have wonderful illustrations, still hold a place in my heart. I still get a warm glow when I see a child reading a book and the delight in their face when they are given a book to read, it’s quite a magical thing to be asked by a child if they can have a book to read.
You can browse our full range of children’s books here at World of Rare Books.