Serious Question about "teaching lessons" in children's books.

Stories have themes, which can be lessons learned in the sense of character arcs. You're free to include any moral shading you want in a story. If it's too heavy-handed and not integrated into the story though, kids will not want to read it. In fact, they'll run very fast away from it.

Yeah, most good kids books (though, probably not all) have a moral or lesson. It shouldn't be obvious enough for a kid to detect it, though! Any whiff of preaching or moral instruction is very off-putting for readers of all ages.

As to worrying about sticking your beliefs in your stories--what are our stories if not a reflection of our beliefs? Think of your favorite authors: if they didn't believe certain things very strongly, their stories would be soulless and uninteresting. You don't have to try to persuade every reader of everything you believe, but you do have to put a lot of yourself into your writing. Books about ambiguous morality can be compelling, but not for kids as much because they don't yet have the same solid grasp on good vs. evil and right vs. wrong that an adult has.

We had a thread a couple years ago that might be worth reading: 'Teaching' in children's fiction

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When growing up I avoided books that taught a lesson. I had plenty of that in school.

However, I learned to be kind to animals from Black Beauty and Beautiful Joe.

I learned to believe in myself from A Wrinkle In Time.

I learned that grownups aren't perfect from Miracles on Maple Hill.

That change isn't always bad, but it can be tough from The Witch of Blackbird Pond.

And all about solving mysteries from Nancy Drew.

The heroes in those stories gave me examples of behavior to strive toward, but if one had gotten in my face with a lesson, I'd have run a mile.

I read for entertainment and enrichment, but never a lesson. I still do today. So do others.

I recall a "lesson" story in a school book, where the lesson was to "be generous," that it was a good thing to share your most favorite things with friends.

So I loaned a few of my prized books (I did not have many) to the neighbor kids--who gave them back marked up with crayons and torn pages. They lacked respect for the printed word.

So the lesson I took away from that stupid school book was to never trust a "lesson" story.

After that I stuck to Nancy Drew and never loaned another book to those Philistines.

Most good fiction for grownups also has a lesson or two. The best fiction is really just philosophy in disguise.

As long as the lesson is well-ensconced in a solid plot with engaging, believable characters, go for it.

It depends on how you go about and what the lesson is. There was always a lesson in the children's books I had read years ago and even today in children's movies there are lessons. There's a different in subtle examples of right and wrong and then shoving it down the readers throat.

A caveat - some religious presses will look for the christian, etc. message. Even they often won't take the outright didactic, however.

That's why books are so wonderful... they offer a window into another person's thoughts, or world view, or way of processing experiences. Kids are more sophisticated than people give them credit for. They aren't just little sponges, taking everything they read as gospel truth. Like adults, they will weigh and evaluate the ideas expressed in the stories they read. Some "messages" will resonate, and may reinforce or become part of their value system. Some ideas will not resonate, and will be rejected or forgotten.

Don't think of it as "intruding on young minds". Think of it as sharing or communicating what you hold most dear. Isn't that what writing and reading are all about? When I choose a book, I don't choose something that I'm positive I will agree with in every way. I choose something that will surprise me, challenge me, make me think.

And, as other have said, heavyhanded morals disguised as stories--definitely NOT the way to go.

I think I'd simplify my response by asking, "Are there any Dr Seuss books that did *not* have a lesson in them?

robjvargas said:

I think I'd simplify my response by asking, "Are there any Dr Seuss books that did *not* have a lesson in them?

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Hop on Pop?

One of the main purposes of story and literature is to instruct. It always has been. Whenever we create a character, we make them in the image of what we believe people are or ought to be. So if I want you to like my main character and think of her as the Hero of her story, I'm going to have her do things that I consider "good." For me that means she will be generous, considerate, thoughtful of others in some way. Smart. Brave. Those are the qualities I value.

You don't have to try very hard to focus on your "message." All you have to do is find honest ways for your characters to struggle with doing the right thing. And that struggle will give the readers a vicarious way to examine all sides of a situation and make their own choices about what they would do, if they were faced with a similar choice.

Where it becomes didactic and off-putting, I think, is when the struggle isn't honest. If you make your characters behave in unnatural ways, just so they can prove your point, then it becomes a morality play instead of a story. Also, if the good characters are perfect, especially the grown-ups, then children are more likely to gag than to take your message seriously.

My favorite picture book as a child was about a girl cleaning up her messy room.

I didn't get the memo about cleaning up my messy room. I just thought the pictures were cool.

But Tamora Pierce taught me that being mean is wrong, and you should stand up for those who can't stand up for themselves.

It's all in how you do it.

Kitty Pryde said:

Hop on Pop?

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Stop! Do not hop on Pop!

I think there can be, and maybe should be, lessons within a book, but your role as writer is not to teach, but to tell the story. Children are quick to know that they are being preached at. You want them to be absorbed in the story, not feel like they are being lectured by an adult.

I find that when I am totally absorbed in my writing, I become unaware of the messages in my stories. It is only when I read them later that I realize that there are often 'lessons' within the story. The trick is to be authentic and tell a story that is engaging and believable.

little_e said:

Stop! Do not hop on Pop!

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Ha! If anything, that book vastly increased the numbers of children who hop on their pop.

Which brings up a good point:

The best children's literature is subversive. Maurice Sendak, Dr. Seuss, Beverly Cleary: Their characters are not good, or quiet, or obedient. They are willful and messy and obstinate and outrageous. That's why we love them!

If you're going to teach a lesson, make sure it's one that challenges the status quo.

Every good children's book has not a lesson per se, but an emotional journey. The character at the beginning of the book is not the same person at the end. They have grown emotionally in some way.

Therefore the "lesson" is organic to the character's development--not a wallop over the head. If your lesson is "be a good friend", for instance, it's important not to use those exact words, but rather show an example of good friendship.