GENRE 101 – Children’s Books

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

A. A. Milne, The Adventures of Winnie The Pooh

Many writers and writing experts put children’s books and juvenile literature into the same category, arguing that the only difference between the genres is the recommended age. I respectfully disagree with this view. In my opinion, there are some significant differences between the genres and the age recommendations are simply the result of that. For that reason I will handle these two genres separately as far as possible.

We are still far from telling stories when we buy the first book for a child. These books are likely to have only very few pages and are made from a thick cardboard or plastic material to be enable tiny hands to comfortably flip through them. They are filled with a lot of pictures and very little text if any.

Pure picture books aside, literature meant for children up to the age of 6 is conceptualised to be looked at jointly with a parent or guardian. The words in combination with the pictures help children with the identification of new objects and the broadening of their vocabulary, they are learning how to speak before they can write or read. For the writer of early children’s books that means they will either need some skill in illustrating or team up with an artist. The pictures are indispensable for the purpose.

When children start perfecting their reading skills in elementary school the recommended word count quickly rises. When they enter an age that is deemed appropriate for Juvenile Literature at the age of 10, they do not need any depictions anymore and can handle more complex storylines.

Children’s stories do not exclusively aim at teaching children how to read. It is only the first phase of preparing them for life. We have to remember that the early years are the most vulnerable age for any human being. It is not surprising that the first skills that need to be taught are all about how to survive, to stay healthy and how to make friends. The messages vary throughout history and culture but also the method of teaching.

One of the most popular German children’s books was written in 1844 by Heinrich Herrmann. The illustrated stories in Struwwelpeter depict situations in which children spite their parents instructions or behave in other ways foolishly. The consequences for their misbehaviour are severe, some are unfortunate, some even fatal. As a doctor in the 19th century, Herrmann certainly had to see the results of all sorts of terrible accidents involving children. When asked about the inception of the book, he complaint that most children’s books were filled with empty rhetoric about goodness and obedience, and that he was looking for more practical advice to teach his children. Nowadays the book has great historical value, but has been rejected by many families as being too cruel and authoritarian. They are looking to teach their children the same skills and values, preferably without scaring them. Writing children’s books has therefore become much harder. It is not enough anymore to make them look engaging and whip the message into the young brains by any means necessary, they have to teach skill and the consequences of misbehaviour in a way that lets the children sleep peacefully at night.

The problem Herrmann was facing is easily explained. It seemed that there was a shortage of literature for children who were ready for the development of healthy habits but not quite ready for the contemplation of virtues in a complex storyline. What he was looking for was a Stage II-book in a society with an abundance of Stage III-literature. So he had to write one himself.

There are roughly three levels of educational content in children’s books or stages of development. They determine what kind of book you may want to write if you want to become a children’s book author.

Stage I:

Practical skills enable children to identify and describe objects and beings and to communicate the new information to other people. Among the most popular books are very basic picture books of specific themes like animals, vehicles, plants and functional items. These themed books can even take on dimensions of Hidden Picture Games or have fold-out parts, which provide coordination exercise. Often they will teach colours and numbers. To make the most of the lesson’s potential children will need the assistance of an adult naming the objects.

Stage II:

Habits are also a big part of the educational purpose of children’s books. They teach children how to stay healthy and strong by promoting certain habits like a healthy diet and proper hygiene, a regular sleep routine and the benefits of physical exercises. Herrmann’s Struwwelpeter focused mostly on raw disincentives regarding habits, while modern books try to use positive reinforcement. There are books about using the potty and the tooth brush, appetizing pictures promoting fruit and vegetables and countless books about a good night sleep. These books can visually explain that fascinating thing called music and lay the foundation to a basic understanding of mathematics.

Stage III:

Social skills may be taught by embedding messages of friendship and courage in anecdotal form. They often promote essential group skills like diplomacy, willingness to share, compromise and cooperate by describing situations of family life. Some promote curiosity and others obedience to more experienced entities. The vast majority of children’s books that aim to teach social skills focus on a positive storyline and rewarding decision making, but there are also a couple of books that deal with topics like poverty, divorce and death. These heavy lessons need to be handled with care in order to help children make the best of a sad situation. The main goal of a children’s book after all is to prepare them for life, not discourage or depress them from the start. Hence, the recurring life cycle theme in stories like Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White is crucial to alleviate the pains of a would-be sad story.

There are stories that can be sorted additionally into other genres, Adventure, Science-Fiction and Fantasy to name only a few. Many children’s books defy any attempt to sort them however, because they are very focused on particular events in a realistic universe. They see the real world as the place of great adventure that has to be explored. For the child the world is still all new and full of surprises. In Brave Irene by William Steig a girl outdares the weather to responsibly take over her sick mother’s task and is rewarded for her courage and persistence. In a book by Gene Zion a kitchen aid is rewarded for creating the eponymous Sugar Mouse Cake but will not forget his tiniest friend over the attention he gains. These messages are universal and would even work in a Fantasy or Science Fiction setting.

Fables and Fairy Tales

Two subgenres of children’s books are especially important. They are the oldest and the most popular kind of educational literature for children: the Fairy Tale and the Fable. Both are subgenres of Folklore, tales that are traditionally important in a culture. While I will go more into detail on Folklore later, let us have a quick look into these two subgenres in connection with the educational content of children’s books.

Fables are stories in which animals and sometimes objects represent human qualities and behaviour. The characters are often recurring stereotypes, e.g. the smart fox, the bad wolf, the wise owl. Their function is to be the actors in short moral tales. They are especially popular in children’s books because children tend to view animals as particularly engaging and fascinating. But that is not the only reason. Feelings of guilt and shame can be bypassed if the lesson is learned by observing members of a different species perform the action. The wolf who is behaving wickedly towards the sheep is not only the entity that children must beware of, he also represents every behaviour they shall not adopt, they can not identify with the bad character. Children may not realize that they have treated others similarly in the past, but they may remember the lesson in the future. The owl, which is old and wise, encourages children to follow the advice of their parents and grandparents. She will be sad for the failing hero rather than judgmental. Fables build connections between behaviours and consequences without scolding.

Fairy Tales are stories that can contain all elements of Folklore but are not connected to any specific place, time or historical figure, which makes their message universally applicable. Stereotypical, unidimensional characters like noble kings, evil stepmothers, smart heroes and beautiful princesses offer a set of actors that can build the moral tale. They are often accompanied or opposed by talking animals, mages and witches, trolls, dwarves, giants and fairies and use magic and magical artefacts. There are some cultural variations of the same themes throughout history, but fairy tales and its elements can be found in all places all over the world.

There are a couple of modern children’s stories that only at first glance seem like fairy tales, fables or both:

The Wonderful Adventures of Nils by Selma Lagerlöf tells the story of a mean and reckless boy who is transformed into a gnome and ends up travelling with a group of wild geese. It is very specific in mentioning the locations as the author has intended the book not only as a lecture in kindness towards all beings but also a literary journey through Sweden.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is the story of a girl’s journey through a world that features many creatures that would feel at home in a fairy tale. However, the story does not have a moral message or very dubious ones at best, which makes many readers ask whether it is even appropriate for a child to read. It is often sorted into the category of Literary Nonsense Fantasy.

With the promotion of social skills in children’s books we have reached the most advanced form of this genre. These books usually have very clear messages: Treating others in a nice way is more rewarding than treating them meanly, being brave is preferable to behaving cowardly and cooperating with each other is more efficient than fighting over everything. The beginnings of philosophical questioning, when the essence of right and wrong is explored, point to a transition to Juvenile Literature. Children are still expected to observe what their elders consider to be good.

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