How to Reach Kid Lit Readers: Hone in on Power & Control by Angela Ackerman #ChaBooCha

Most kids know one thing: structure. There’s school to attend, homework to do, music lessons and sports practices, mealtimes, bedtimes and a host of other things. Parents place limits on their sugar intake, TV watching, social play and assign chores. Teachers shape their school hours and friends have their own set of expectations. With so many people laying down rules, it’s no wonder the desire to experience power or control is so strong in kids. So using these themes is a great way to draw readers into our books and keep them interested.

Above all else, we want young readers to identify with the hero of the story. This means creating a character who is both extraordinary yet just like them. These two things seem like they pull in different directions, but that isn’t the case at all. Delivering a protagonist who faces the same life challenges as the reader while gaining power or control is best done in one of two ways:

The Ordinary Kid Who Becomes Extraordinary

Ordinary kid heroes are mirrors for readers. They have rules to live by, friendship and school issues, goals, desires and dreams. They have quirks and talents and skills, but they also make mistakes, fail and need help from time to time. Kids relate to this type of protagonist, because the hero faces the same day-to-day struggles and challenges they themselves do.

This “everyday” hero becomes something more through a twist in the plot. Often something extraordinary happens (aliens crash land in his backyard, or zombie rats escape a nearby mad scientist’s lab) and the hero is the one to step up and save the day. Or an opportunity arises for the hero to shine (a school wide baking contest, or finally making the baseball team because another player is injured.) To make these scenarios feel realistic, the key to becoming extraordinary should be rooted in a talent or skill that seems ordinary, or a personality trait that the hero believes is more a hindrance, than a help.  Maybe the character loves baking cupcakes even though he’s a boy and gets teased for it, or the heroine wants to play baseball more than anything else, but believes her tendency to think everything through is what makes her a bad player.

When the author twists the character’s thinking about themselves so that they see they are special just by embracing their own ordinary skills, talents and passions, readers cheer because deep down, they want to believe they are just as capable of being extraordinary too.

The Extraordinary Kid Who Becomes Ordinary

There’s something exciting about a hero or heroine that is amazing right from page one. Maybe they are the town’s kid-sized superhero, saving the world each and every day. Or, they’re a child movie star or the most popular kid in school and a terror on the basketball court. These type of heroes are what kids want to be themselves, because they have power and control right off the bat.

But, being all-powerful and perfect will not sustain readers for the scope of the book. Eventually the rush of living their life will wear off and readers will start to view the character as unrealistic because while they admire this type of character, they can’t relate to them. So this is where introducing “ordinary” into the Extraordinary Hero must come in. As I mentioned before, a child’s real world is all about structure, and there are limits on what they can do and say. Showing a fantastic hero struggle with “real life” brings the protagonist into a young reader’s own experience.  Having the protagonist struggle with friends, need to obey rules, or simply making them bad at something (like being skilled at archery yet always tripping because he can’t tie his shoelaces properly, or saving the world by day yet having to wash supper dishes like any other kid at night, etc.) helps readers feel like they can identify with the hero, because in some ways, he’s just like them.

YOUR TURN: Does your character gain power and control in some way? Do they have a  skill that makes them special, or a personality trait that acts as a “hidden talent”? Let me know in the comments how you’re making sure your readers will identify with your character by making him ordinary and extraordinary and fulfilling the desire for power and control.

TIP:  Need to brainstorm a special talent or skill? Try our new Talents & Skill Thesaurus entries. Or if you need to find the perfect personality trait, there’s the Character Trait Thesaurus sample entries.

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Angela Ackerman is the author of the bestselling writing guide, The Emotion Thesaurus, and most recently, The Positive Trait and Negative Trait Thesaurus books. Centering on the light and dark side of a character's personality, these new resource books help writers create layered, compelling characters that readers relate to and care for. Visit Angela's website, Writers Helping Writers for friendly support, description help, free writing tools and more!

Comment on this post by March 7th, to be entered into the drawing for a paperback copy of "The Positive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Attributes" by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. Winner will be chosen by a random number generator on March 20th at noon GMT. You must be signed up for the challenge to qualify. 

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Time to announce the winner of George Ivanoff's "Gamer's Quest."  The winner is:

Robyn Campbell 

Congratulations, Robyn! E-mail me your mailing address so I can get your copy mailed to you.