Parents should unplug their iPad-addicted children and replace their increasing dependence on technology with the original imaginative gadget – the adventure book, writes the journalist and acclaimed children’s author, M.C.D. Etheridge.
Matt Etheridge writes for Female First
A battle is raging. Two worlds are at war. In the fight for your child's attention, the simple book is under siege like never before. The alliance of film, TV and video games, with their superior command of modern technology, are at the gates and storming the ramparts. Defending the realm of books has never been harder. But we should try.
Put simply, it's too important not to. We can't escape the fact that learning to read is one of the most important skills our kids will ever learn. The reality is, it's even better if they enjoy it. But recent studies show boys, in particular, are falling further behind when it comes to reading and many children admit they don't like reading at all. It's proving harder than ever for books to cut through.
There are a number of reasons for this, and whilst the immersive spectacle of visual arts is certainly an advantage to the screentimers, it’s by no means an excuse for us humble page-turners. After all, books are an immersive experience too. But ask a reluctant reader to pick up a book and I guarantee you, one of the first objections you’ll hear back is that reading is ‘boring’. As an author, it’s like a knife through the heart and as a parent, I’m not sure it’s much better. So why do some kids, and boys especially, find books boring?
Maybe it has something to do with what’s on offer to them. Maybe the existing formula they are expected to enjoy, isn’t what they want? Maybe they need more action?
The accepted wisdom in contemporary children’s fiction is that books aimed at children aged 8-12 should have a child as the main character and protagonist. It’s taken as gospel that children want to read about people like them ie kids. As a result, almost every single modern children’s book you can think of begins with the author valiantly trying to conjure an original scenario where the main character (a child) escapes adult control and supervision by accident or design and no longer needs permission to have an adventure. Arguably, this just slows down the action, rather than making it more accessible.
Also, kids don’t necessarily think of themselves as children either. They see themselves as young people. Young people make great protagonists. Children, I would argue, do not. As a writer, you are limited by what children can and can’t do. The more interesting children’s stories do not label their young characters with a precise age and leave it to their readers to decide. For example, it’s notable that Jim Hawkins in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island is never given a discernable age.
Indeed, many of the films, TV shows and video games kids experience forgo the requirement for the main characters to be children at all. As a result, there’s no preamble and instead, the entertainment launches straight to the action. Think of the Marvel superheroes or Batman. When you’re not hamstrung by the limitations of having to have your principal character as a child, it’s much easier to get the pace of the story going.
I get it, I’ve lived it. Back in the Eighties, when I was eight or nine, I was far more interested in the adult adventures of Indiana Jones, James Bond or Han Solo, than I ever was in the gentler tales of the Famous Five or Secret Seven. Yes, maybe my imagination was stimulated by a visual introduction, but the adult world made me want to read more. It was a problem for my parents because Fleming’s James Bond novels were not age-appropriate and the Star Wars books at the time were just comics. The answer was in older stories like The Three Musketeers (albeit abridged) and the Adventures of Robin Hood. I needed action. Craved it.
Disney, the juggernaut of children’s entertainment, gets it too when it comes to storytelling. Yes, some Disney films feature children as the main characters, but by no means all. Arguably the most memorable stories for girls are coming-of-age fairy tales … Frozen, Beauty and the Beast, the Little Mermaid, Snow White, Cinderella - almost all of them are classic children’s fairy tales that appeal to children aged 8-12 and yet none of them have a child under the age of 12 as the main character.
Walt Disney famously said, “there’s more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island”, and he was right too. Books have provided the source material for so many of his classic films. Maybe there is a reason why Disney, as a film company, continues to delve into the past to find stories it wants to bring to life in animation. I’d argue, they look first for a great story, and then try and make it kid-friendly.
This is the approach I’ve taken in writing Whitebeard. Santa’s origin story begins with the adventures of a white-whiskered pirate captain as the central character, supported by a diverse ensemble crew playing key roles. The book is jam-packed with swashbuckling action and adventure and delivers what I’m certain is a story that will engage reluctant readers. In penning this story, I’ve borrowed from some of the great myths and legends that surround Saint Nicholas to create a modern take on an old favourite. In the battle between screentime superheroes and page-turning protagonists, I’m confident Whitebeard will help fly the flag for books and win over some reluctant readers. After all, who doesn’t want to know how Santa got his magic?
M.C.D. Etheridge is a journalist and TV producer for SKY News, ITN, ITV, Channel 5, and Australia’s Channel 9. His new children’s book, Whitebeard, is described as a “rollicking Christmas adventure story” and is ideal for children aged between 8 and 12. It is out now on Amazon UK, priced £7.99 in paperback and £1.99 in eBook. Visit www.whitebeardbook.com.