Can you recall your favorite childhood book that was so fun to read that you had it memorized? (Mine was Stellaluna by Janell Cannon.)

In the writing world, we are told to that in order to have a successful children’s book, there needs to be a strong narrative arc or a character that grows/changes through the story. I want to know what happened to having books that were just fun to read. One of my daughters first favorites was Perfect Piggies by Sandra Boynton. We read this book so many times that it didn’t take long for her to memorize it or yell at me if I didn’t read the opening page!

We all want to be successful and in the world today we push our kids to be successful too. We teach them to count and sing their ABC’s before they learn to walk. Parent’s push young kids to do tasks on their own and learn to be self-sufficient.

When children read books that feature characters that overcome obstacles on their own we are just adding more pressure for our children to figure the world out on their own.

I want to beg the children’s book editors/agents to be more open to books that are just plain fun to read! I want to beg the parents out there to allow their kids to be kids and don’t forget to check out Sandra Boynton’s books.