Sometimes we adults complicate things so much and that includes the area of book criticism. Just once in a while we would do well to turn back to children to remember what it’s all about.
If you got a moment, try clicking on CNN’s selection of children’s book reviews. They ask three children of employees (a 5-year-old, a 6-year-old, and an 8-year-old) to each talk about a book they like. These kids really get it right.
Eight-year-old Andrew seems very self-assured as he evaluates the potential appeal of his selection. It’s a bit silly, he admits, but he gives it a thumbs-up nonetheless. It’s got lots of action, he points out, will make anyone over the age of 6 laugh, and is the right length to get you through a road trip.
But 5-year-old Kaya has boiled the review down to an even simpler format. Her book, she tells us, is a good book because it has “weird stuff and fun stuff and bad stuff.”
What more do you need to know? As I said, we could all learn from the kids.
