As a babysitter, and especially as a babysitter for parents who value reading, most of my job revolves around the library. This has given me the opportunity to explore a sea of children's literature even as I breach adulthood.
On one of our trips, among the well-worn “Where the Wild Things Are” and “Stellaluna,” I noticed “My Princess Boy.” The picture book describes the happy, but challenging, life of a boy who loves dress up.
“If you see a Princess Boy … will you laugh at him,” the story says. “Will you call him a name? Will you play with him? Will you like him for who he is?”
When I tried to slip the copy into my kid’s book tote, he began to shake his head.
“We already have that one at home,” he said.
This book breaks down concepts around gender and clothing and turns it into something accessible and considerate for readers. I think that as we age, we should continue to read this kind of literature. But to understand why adults should read them, we first need to understand how these books encourage growth in kids.
What happens when a child is exposed to a vast spread of literature? According to a 2019 research study published by the NIH, reading can help teach children cognitive skills, including expressive and receptive language, problem solving and communication. The study also finds that children's books help kids engage in “perspective-taking.”
Perspective-taking is the ability to consider how others perceive the world and apply this knowledge to adjust one’s own world view. This skill not only involves consideration of others, but it also requires empathy and personal growth.
Children's books encourage this exact behavior in kids. Not only do they expose children to a full range of emotions, they also push them to engage in the difficult work of questioning their assumptions and challenging the early seedlings of bias (think of the very popular “Wonder” or “Percy Jackson”).
So what do they do to grown-ups? According to author Katherine Rundell, reading simple literature can be seen as a regression for adults. Many people might see reading like a video game. They played through the easier levels already, so why would they go back?
This question is valid, and as we grow as readers, we should continue to challenge ourselves with the books that we select. But what I find so exceptional about children's literature is the encouragement of imagination.
These stories don’t need to be grounded in reality, they can be completely mad. They don’t need to recognize a world order or a class system, they can be thoughtful and empathetic and, oh, the main character happens to be an egg with big round Edna Mode glasses.
Kids books are also just fun. They don’t take themselves too seriously (let’s not forget the story of Madeline, whose classmates are so enamored with her appendicitis scar that they beg for one too.)
Like children, children’s literature is thoughtful and silly and a little bit impossible. They uphold values of resilience, curiosity and compassion and encourage us to find our own way — while also reminding us to take life a little less seriously.
I think we deserve to dose ourselves with that energy every so often.
Nandita Kumar is a reporter for The Beacon. She can be reached at kumarn27@up.edu.
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