Why You Should Read…

Why You Should Read Children’s Books, Even Though You Are So Old And Wise by Katherine Rundell

This is basically an essay, but, wow, what a good one! It’s 63 pages in big type in a short, small book, but you do get value for money. Katherine Rundell is a well-known children’s author, who here makes a declaration in favour of children’s writing and the continued reading into adulthood of children’s books.

It’s really all about finding and re-finding what children’s writing offers: access in distilled form to the fundamentals of our lives, which, in too many cases, we forget or ignore as adults. Fear, joy, awe, hope (especially hope) are all condensed in the best children’s writing. As Philip Pullman put it: there are some themes so important, so large, they can only be dealt with in a children’s book.

This lovely little book reminds me of Karen Armstrong’s A Short History Of Myth, which in similar style condensed a life’s wisdom into one slim volume. Is this one worth £6.99? If you have it – yes! Don’t hesitate.