I read the following article in The Guardian today: Should Children's Books Have Happy Endings?. I think that all books should have happy endings! Otherwise I feel cheated.
The article has the sub-heading 'Should fiction protect children from a messy, troubled world – or prepare them for it?' I think it is neither. A good book [for me] is one that is absorbing. You care about the characters and you care about the outcome (which is why I feel cheated if it isn't a happy one). Books are not there to teach children about the world - unless it is a world atlas! The world will teach children about the world, and parents will hopefully give children the skills to engage with the world and cope with the difficulties the world throws at them. Books present different worldviews and are a good tool to spark conversations about how characters behave, but I don't think books necessarily prepare children for the world, surely that's a parent's job and books can be a tool.
What do you think?
