Through the Looking Glass: Why “Kid’s Lit” is for Adults

I discovered Through the Looking Glass Book Reviews when I first founded my author imprint and was poking around online, looking for the top children’s book blogs. It seemed that Marya Jansen-Gruber’s blog showed up on every list. It also invariably showed up on lists of blogs that bloggers follow.There’s a reason for this. Marya brings nuance, depth, and a poetic sensibility to her posts and reviews — delivered with a satisfying, personal touch. I contacted Marya only to discover she lives in the same, beautiful Oregon town where my husband and I own a B&B — Ashland, Oregon, home of the Shakespeare Festival, and for you Neil Gaiman geeks (our ranks are legion), also the setting for the movie version of Coraline. We live four hours north of Ashland, but on a recent trip down to visit our innkeeper, I was able to get together with Marya over coffee and found that she is as interesting in person as on paper. We share a passion for children’s and YA literature and an equally robust conviction that these books offer unique qualities for readers of all ages. She decided to speak on this topic for our interview — why books for children and teens stand on their own as literature, and why adults can enjoy and benefit from them. Enjoy!

1,  Hi Marya! You’ve been reviewing children’s literature for over twenty years. What drew you to children’s literature as opposed to other books?

I was walking to work one day when the idea for a story popped into my head. It was clear that the story would have to be a novel for young readers as the main character was a little girl and her sidekick was going to be a stone lion. I started writing, and then realized that I really needed to do some ‘research,’ and so I read dozens and dozens of children’s novels. I discovered, as an adult, how magical books for young readers are. They have a quality that is rarely found in books that are written for adults, a quality that I fell in love with.

2.  On your blog, you state, “I firmly believe that some of the best writing in the world can be found on the pages of books that were written for young people.” What is it about children’s literature that’s special?

I am lucky enough to know many authors who write for children and have discussed this question with them, and with people who read a lot of children’s literature. I think what makes books like these special is that the writers are special. They write because the need to write is there, within them, but they also write because they want to share their love of the written word with youngsters. They also know that their words could have a significant impact on the lives of their readers. Their writing has the power to change how their readers think about the world and they take this responsibility very seriously.

3.  Going further on that note, what is unique about the value of children’s books for adult readers? Is there something distinct about what they can offer adults, as opposed to what they offer children?

The adult world is not for the faint of heart. We have so many responsibilities, worries, and concerns. All this weight on our shoulders can have a heavy toll, and often we become jaded, pessimistic, hard, and tired. We forget how to look at the world through eyes that wonder and marvel. We forget how to explore our emotions without the filters that adulthood forces on us. Books for young readers help adults to relearn how to be open, adventurous, and emotionally true. Such books introduce us to carefully crafted language that touches that part of ourselves that adulthood can quash. For us adults books for younger readers mostly create an environment where we can rediscover old truths, though we can also learn new ones as well. For children they offer ideas and concepts that are completely new to them.

4.  What are some of your favorite examples of excellence in children’s literature and what did you love about those books?

Thus far I have reviewed over nine thousand books, plus there are the countless books that I read when I was a child and a teenager; I have always been a bibliophile. It is hard to choose favorites, so here are the ones that come to mind at this particular moment.

The Winnie the Pooh books – There is something timeless about these books. The sweetness, innocence, and humor found in the stories is a panacea for all that ails you.

The Wind in the Willows – The language in this book is so incredibly rich and beguiling. I love how Mole makes friends and goes on adventures. I love seeing how the animal characters (with the exception of Toad) are connected to the natural world with a bond that is deep and strong.

Wishtree – When I first read this book I was truly mesmerized. I read it once, and then started all over again. The narrator is a tree, and the tree’s sense of humor, wisdom, kindness, and perspicacity is quite marvelous.

Eloise – I love Eloise. She is so full of life, so deliciously naughty, and so inventive. I love her so much that we once stayed in the Plaza Hotel in New York City so I could absorb the milieu of her world.

James and the Giant Peach – As in most of Roald Dahl’s books there are wicked adults in this story that get their just desserts, which is very satisfying of course. However, what I think is truly special about this book is the interaction between the main characters.

Journey – This is a wordless picture book and it is quite extraordinary. It is very hard to pin down why this book is so magical, but somehow the illustrator manages to pull us into the world he has created, and we get to go on an adventure like no other.

5.  The range of children’s literature spans the picture books of early childhood all the way up to the YA Lit of young adulthood. What are some of the things that make a picture book really special, in your opinion, and what can they offer the adult reader?

In their very nature picture books are spare with words, which means that every word has to count, has to have a purpose. Picture book writers will work on these words for countless hours, trying to find the perfect fit.

In addition, a great deal of care is taken to present these words in way that they have an impact on the reader. Text layout is an art form, and when it is done well it adds power to the text.

Then there is the art, which not only helps tell the story, but it adds nuances to the overall narrative that words alone cannot capture. So, you have three layers of storytelling in a picture book, and when they are combined with skill the result can be a tour de force.

In the adult world we tend to rush through life. Indeed, being ‘efficient’ with our time, and ‘multitasking’ is encouraged. When we read we often skip words without even realizing that we are doing it. We don’t take the time to ‘see’ the imagery in a sentence or to marvel at the way in which an author presents a character, place, or circumstance. Picture books cannot really be hurried. You are forced to slow down as you take in the words and the artwork, and thus you are forced to take in the story, perhaps the message, that the book’s creators worked so hard to produce.

If an adult is given the right picture book, it can have a profound effect on how they see the world.

6.  Do you have favorite “niches” in books written for older children or young adults?

Tween books are a very interesting genre, and some of my most treasured books belong in this category. Books for readers in the nine to twelve age range are shorter than those written for young adults and so, once again, I think the authors go to great lengths to eke out as much as they can out of every paragraph. Books that have a whiff (or more than a whiff) of magic are typically my favorites in this genre, but I have read some contemporary tween books that have delighted me as well

In young adult books I am partial to fantasy tales in which the author has built a whole world for their story. It is important for me that these stories bring together the light and the dark side of human nature in a way that is credible and thought provoking.

7.  You’ve expressed an interest in promoting the value of children’s literature for adult readers. Why is that important to you, and why do you think it should be important to others?

Naturally, I think that children’s literature is wonderful, and since it has enriched my life so much I want to share the love that I have for these books with others

It is my belief that adults need children’s literature. Our world is so full of ‘noise’ that drowns out the simple and good things that make life truly worth living. More than ever we adults are being assailed by dark things; the pandemic, violence and war, and an uncertain future for all of us. This is a frightening time, and I think we need to give ourselves the gift of stories that will remind us that we can still love dragons, that we can still see the beauty in our world, that we can still offer unconditional kindness to others, that we can still delight in the impossible, and that we can still recognize what is dark and defend what is light.

Many thanks to Marya for taking the time to speak with me about Why Books Matter!