Writing for Young Readers: Why Children’s Books Matter More Than Ever

Here's an Honest truth...

For a long time, I found children difficult to connect with. If I’m being really honest, they sometimes terrified me. Looking back, I think it had a lot to do with my own childhood. It wasn’t awful by any means, but it left enough of a mark that I’d often come home from school, drop my bag, and escape into my room to read, and to sometime write.

Other kids didn’t always make things easy. I found them unpredictable and sometimes unkind, and that stuck with me longer than I realised. For a while, I carried that unease with me. I still do, actually. But now, in my thirties (32 isn’t ancient, I promise!), I’ve started to make peace with those early chapters. And instead of hiding from them, I’ve found myself wanting to reach back, and to offer something to the younger version of me: A reason not to feel so alone. A story that might have made things feel a little lighter.

The First Time a Story Found Me

We all have that book. The one that lodged itself quietly into our childhood and never really left. For me, it was Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver. I grew up with Torak, Wolf, and Renn beside me. Their story stayed with me for nearly twenty years. That kind of loyalty (to a fictional world) says something about the power of children’s books.

At some point, I wrote to Michelle to congratulate her on the series' success and to share that I, too, hoped to be a writer one day. She responded with kindness and encouragement. I still have her letter laminated somewhere. But what struck me most was the way she signed off: “From one writer to another.”

That single phrase, “fellow writer” lit something in me. I wanted to write books. I wanted to create the kind of stories that stay with someone for decades. But like many of us chasing a creative path, I didn’t know how to get there. For a while, I wrote whatever I liked, and honestly, that freedom was its own kind of training. If you’re doing the same now, keep going. Every story you write is a stepping stone.

It’s only now, with a little more time and perspective (and perhaps a few more creaks in the knees), that I’ve discovered where my heart belongs: in writing for children.

Yes, The World is Changing

Here’s another honest truth: I worry for kids these days. Maybe it’s selfish. After all, the young will age eventually, and when I’m truly creaky, they’ll be the ones caring for the world we leave behind. But as each year passes, I see a growing sense of disconnection. A more insular, more reactive society. And yes, I worry where that leads. Now, I’m a millennial. Some of us remember the pre-internet years. We remember paper cuts, dial-up, and walking to the library because that’s just what you did. Now we live in an AI-powered world, and while I’m no stranger to using it (credit to the blog image above. Not bad for a machine, though it’ll never replace a real artist), I try not to let it dull my ability to act, to feel, or to wonder.

I read a LinkedIn post recently urging people to stop saying “please” and “thank you” to AI in order to save on server energy. And while I understand the environmental logic, something about it unsettled me. If we start removing those small gestures of civility, where does it end? Evolution is good. But not if we trade away the pieces that make us human. That’s why I think reading matters more than ever.

What Children Can Learn from Reading

There was an article in The Bookseller recently reporting a staggering decline in children’s reading. And that scares me. Because stories teach empathy. They teach emotional nuance. They offer windows into other lives, other cultures, other truths. A good story can help a child make sense of fear, or recognise kindness, or learn that different isn’t wrong... just different.

Books are bridges. And in a world increasingly shaped by algorithms and echo chambers, we need more bridges, not fewer. If you’re looking for a story that does just that: one that builds empathy, shows bravery in quiet ways, and opens a window into a part of history too often overlooked, I highly recommend Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan.

It’s a powerful book. Rooted in resistance, told with compassion, and filled with moments that make you pause and absorb. It's the kind of story that teaches without preaching. That feels urgent, but timeless.

And that’s the kind of book I hope we keep putting in young readers’ hands.

Why Now Feels Like the Right Time to Write

It’s taken me a while to find and trust my voice. For years, I wrote in the background, scribbling in notebooks and clogging up my iPhone, half-finishing projects, waiting for the right moment, and self-publishing works I'm only 90% proud of. But here’s what I’ve learned: the “right” time doesn’t come with fanfare. It arrives quietly, when you realise that writing isn’t something you do after you’ve figured everything out, but something you do because you’re still figuring things out.

And right now, the world feels uncertain, and fast, and fractured. But that’s exactly why stories matter. Especially stories for children. Because children are still open. They’re still forming their understanding of the world, and of themselves. What we write today can help shape how they see tomorrow. That’s not a small thing.

What about you?

If you write, or want to, I’d love to know what’s calling you to the page right now. What stories do you feel drawn to? What questions are you still carrying? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments, or just let the question sit with you as you return to your notebook. Your voice matters. And maybe, now is your time too.