Part 6 - "What Makes A Good Children's Book - The Plot, The Pace and A Message by Suzy Davies.

The Plot and Pace.

The plot of a book should stimulate young kids, so they are fully engaged.

The pace of the story is important to encourage children, who have a lower attention span than adults, to read on, and find out what happens.

The read should be exciting and exhilarating, especially at the end of the chapter, so that they are rewarded, and want to turn the page onto the next one.

Some intricacy in the plot will teach concentration and help to develop abstract reasoning. Children learn deferred gratification, when their favorite character triumphs in the end.

A Message.

If a book has a deeper meaning, so much the better.

A message that transports the imaginations of children, from the particular, to the universal, will resonate with them, stay with them, and, maybe even, continue to entertain them, into adulthood.

These kinds of life-changing messages are found in Children's Classics, which reward even the adult reader, with deeper nuances and insights - each time he/she reads the book again.

Sometimes, a well-crafted children's story, with a message, may be a good way to manage children's introduction to "taboo" or "difficult" subjects: discrimination, bullying, sex education, global issues, and the natural life-cycle, for example.

When we "teach our children well" we have the opportunity to make a difference to this generation, and generations to come. To be a children's writer is a great responsibility, and privilege.

Copyright Suzy Davies 09/22/2016. All Rights Reserved. No Copying.