What Kids Want in a Book:
A Psychological Perspective, Part 1
from the teaching files of children's author
Barbara Jean Hicks
As children’s writers, our stories need to appeal to several audiences: children, first and foremost; publishers, who can get our stories to market and hope to make a profit by doing so; and parents and librarians, who have purchasing power and can get our stories into the hands of readers. Let’s start today with the Child Audience, which seems to me the most important!
I’ve always been intrigued with the work of Bruno Bettelheim (1903-1990), and started with him in my search to understand what it is, from a psychological perspective, that kids want from a book.
Bettelheim, a well respected and influential child psychologist, taught at the University of Chicago from 1944 to 1973 and wrote a number of works on both normal and abnormal child psychology, the most celebrated being his 1976 book The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. In this book, Bettelheim suggests that children are attracted to and respond to the dark themes and symbolism of fairy tales at a deep psychological level.
In the Introduction to his classic work, Bettelheim writes that for a story to hold a child’s attention it must do two things:
- entertain him
- arouse his curiosity
But to enrich his life as well, it must do several other things:
- stimulate his imagination
- develop his intellect
- clarify his emotions
- recognize his fears and desires
- suggest solutions to his problems without being condescending
- promote confidence in himself and in his future
I wonder: Could it be the archetypal characters and themes of traditional fairy tales that keep children fascinated by these stories generation after generation? Is it the archetypal characters and themes of classic picture books like Where the Wild Things Are and beloved children’s series like Harry Potter and The Hunger Games that draw readers to them? Is a deep understanding of human needs and human nature part of what makes a good book great?
Next Friday, tune in for Part 2 of this post, the result of an interview with a private practice children’s psychiatrist who uses bibliotherapy with her young clients. More good stuff!
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