I love this idea, maybe because I always wanted to write a children’s book.
Kids just don’t care, do they? They don’t have a filter.
Kids could give a hoot if you like a book or not.
“This book was only given an average of three stars?”
They especially have no interest in what the critics say.
Children just don’t care what you think. And why should they?
A book either entertains, or it doesn’t.
Isaac Bashevis Singer, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature, wrote across many genres, including children’s books. In an essay called “Why I Write for Children,” he explained the appeal. “Children read books, not reviews,” he wrote. “They don’t give a hoot about the critics.” And: “When a book is boring, they yawn openly, without any shame or fear of authority.” Best of all—and to the relief of authors everywhere—children “don’t expect their beloved writer to redeem humanity.”
–Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, Think Like A Freak (Amazon)