Reading Children’s Books . . . as an Adult

Engage, Inform, Inspire

Children’s books. They mean different things to each of us. For many of us, especially the bookworms among us, there is often a lot of nostalgia wrapped up in our memories of children’s books and thoughts of a simpler time when we maybe had more time to read than we do today. 

But when did you stop reading children’s books? As a child? As a teenager? Or maybe you still read them as an adult? But if you do still read children’s books as an adult, is that because you have to – maybe because you have children in your life, or because you have a job that involves reading children’s books, such as being a teacher? Or do you read children’s books simply because you enjoy reading them?

Aside from sensations such as the Harry Potter series, no one seems to really talk about reading children’s books as an adult purely for the sheer enjoyment of it. But when there are so many amazing children’s books out there, why shouldn’t adults get to enjoy them too? And not just because they have to. 

Let’s be honest here, children’s books are amazing. The storytelling is often top-notch (because if it wasn’t children wouldn’t read them), they are full of possibilities, hope and wonder – even children’s books that deal with trickier subject matters are often optimistic – and they can also teach us adults a thing or two! Reading children’s books are a brilliant way to learn about the world, seeing it through the eyes of children can open our own eyes a bit more, reading contemporary children’s fiction is also a way to learn about modern society, and reading classic children’s fiction can take us back to who we were as children ourselves, sometimes the less complicated version of who we are now. 

For those of us who love reading, children’s books were often where we first fell in love with books and reading. That love of reading can sometimes wane a little (or a lot!) as an adult, for various reasons, often to do with life taking over and our list of priorities getting longer with reading ending up further and further down that list. However, turning to children’s books again can start to reignite that love of reading and remind us just how much reading can benefit us, not least our mental health, and how important it is to try and make time for it.

So, if you haven’t read a children’s book since you were a child, why not have a browse of the children’s section in your local bookshop or library next time you visit? Trust me, you won’t be disappointed. 

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