How to find books that particularly appeal to children

Published on: 28 Hydref 2024

Jeff Kinney shares how he loves to empower kids through reading.

At BookTrust we know how important it is that books are accessible to kids. This means not only can they access them at school or in a library, but that the books themselves look and feel appealing.

We talked to Jeff Kinney, author and illustrator of the immensely popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, about his thoughts on what makes a book attractive to a child.

Reflecting children's lives

Children love the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, not least because the books star a normal boy in his normal life. Jeff Kinney is expert at finding the funny in the everyday.

He says, "Teachers, bullies and parents and pets and homework – all this makes up the fabric of every child's life. There are some books that are windows into other people's lives, and some books that are mirrors [from the quote by Dr Sims Bishops]. My books are in the latter category. Kids love to project themselves onto the characters."

Books that, like Kinney's, centre events and situations that children recognise mean that children see themselves as worthy of having a story about them. His latest book, Hot Mess, is set on a family holiday, for instance. As Kinney says, "A lot of events [in my books] did happen, but a lot happened in spirit.

"The truth – even if it's not factual – is what children respond to."

A focus on friendship

All children enjoy reading about friendship dynamics, and the relationship between Greg and Rowley is the beating heart of Kinney's series. Books that explore the way friends relate to each other, have power struggles, or push each other into doing things (like Greg does to the innocent Rowley) show children how they might deal with similar situations in their own lives. Reading about characters in tricky scenarios gives them a chance to develop empathy, too.

Belly laughs galore

Books are a form of escapism, and children love funny books. Laughing over a book means a child may recommend it to a friend, or go on to read another. And it releases happy, stress-busting hormones, which improves mental health.

Funny books are a vital part of a book corner or school library. As humour is key to his series, Kinney prioritises it. He comes up with hundreds of jokes first, then he organises them into story segments, then he writes it up, and finally he illustrates. The illustrations are a crucial part of the humour too, of course.

Appealing illustrations

Books like the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series are full of illustrations, and this is often cited as one reason children enjoy them. They are a bridge between picture books and novels with no illustrations.

Kinney himself says that images have always helped him to read through something, like textbooks in college, so in his books he tries to create a rhythm of work (text), then reward (image). He wants kids to feel empowered to finish a book – and successful when they do. Building children's reading confidence in this way is important.

Kinney's own drawing style is very simple and non-specific so that lots of kids can relate to it. He tries to use as few lines as possible and feels that colour would be distracting. He receives a lot of fan art in his style, showing that children do enjoy it. He makes a point of telling kids they can be artists, too.

As he says, "The world needs lots of different people's stories. They should write their own story."

Choice

Finally, the most appealing thing for a child is getting to choose a book for themselves. As Kinney, who also owns a bookshop, says,

"Choice is so important as they don't get a lot of choice in their world. It is an empowering act. Getting to buy a book is a special privilege – not everyone has a book of their own."

Which is why libraries – with their wide range of books to choose from – can be vital in a child's life. As Kinney sums up, there is a "spark of magic" when a child picks up a book, a physical object that is designed "to be loved and treasured by kids".

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hot Mess by Jeff Kinney is available now.