Friday 10 March 2017

Five Reasons Why Kids Love Fantasy by Victoria Boulton #ChaBooCha



Kids love fantasy. They do. We’ve all seen the queues at Harry Potter launch night, or the little girls dressed as Katniss, or the complete adoration kids have for Percy Jackson. From toddlers to teenagers, fantasy has an enduring appeal.

So what exactly is so great about fantasy? (“EVERYTHING!” I want to scream) Well, I’m no expert on child psychology, but I AM a fantasy & sci fi bookseller with several years experience in children’s publishing, so I’ll give it a go!

1. Fantasy is exciting.

Fantasy is almost always an adventure. Whether slaying dragons, raising dragons, or riding off on epic journeys of discovery, there’s lots of action and lots of things to see. Kids are full of imagination, and fantasy taps into that, giving them gorgeous new worlds to explore and funny new friends to explore it with.

2. Fantasy makes kids the heroes

In the real world, kids can’t go off on wild adventures or save the day from the evil overlord. They have school; they have their parents. And while they may love the lives they have, it’s nice for them to imagine someone like them as the most important person – the chosen one with magic, the one who falls into the secret world of unicorns. In these stories, people who look like them, who are only as old or tall or strong as they are, get to save the day. That’s a pretty set-up.

3. Fantasy is an escape

We like to think of kids’ lives as being happy and carefree, but even the most well-adjusted kid has their own problems to deal with, problems they sometimes can’t escape until they’re older. Bullies, teachers, older siblings – sometimes they just want to go somewhere where these things don’t exist anymore.

4. Fantasy is simple

And life often isn’t. Fantasy lets kids visit a world where the bad guys cackle and plot and the good guys make speeches and save the day. It’s all clear cut, white and black, good and evil. That can be really fun, and a real relief.
5. ...but Fantasy is also complex

It’s a safe place to explore complicated ideas. Maybe the bad guys are clearly bad and the good guys are clearly good, but there’s also difficult concepts like racism, sexism, and broken families – even if these take the form of elves, lady knights, and orphans.

Children's fantasy has a lot to offer. It can help kids grow in empathy and give them a safe space, and a more optimistic view of the world. And I for one know I wouldn't be the woman I am now if I hadn't grown up with Harry Potter, Lyra Belacqua, Bilbo Baggins or a myriad of other heroes. And I know that I will never stop loving those children's books, no matter how old I get.

*****

Victoria Boulton is the founder of Medusa Books (medusabooks.co.uk), a used Sci Fi & Fantasy online bookseller. She's also a writer and avid reader, when she can fight her cat out of her lap.

*****

Give-away


Today's prize is the book "How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy" by Orson Scott Card by Ray Bradbury. If you are a signed-up member of ChaBooCha, all you need to do to be entered into the drawing for this book is comment on this blog post. Winners will be selected from a random number generator on March 31st at noon (GMT).

21 comments:

  1. I agree, though I may be biased- I'm currently writing an animal fantasy. Thanks for your post.

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  2. Fantasy does indeed offer many benefits for children, and Chapter Books are an ideal outlet for fantastical stories. Many thanks indeed for sharing your wisdom!

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  3. I would love to explore this avenue some day because it sounds exciting and a lot of fun!! Thanks for sharing your insight and wonderful inspiration!!

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  4. Oh you are sooo right. I've always loved fantasy. My husband and I still pick out and read fantasy together. I'll grant, we are particularly nerdy. But my boys are drawn to it as well (4 & 7). The chapter book I'm working on is fantasy as well.

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  5. I love reading fantasy myself but haven't tried writing fantasy for children. Thanks for a very informative article.

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  6. I haven't written fantasy yet. Maybe I should give it a try!

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  7. Fantasy was my favorite genre as a kid. Thanks for the post!

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  8. Fantasy means everything is possible and we can create and engage in worlds with no limits!

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  9. I'm trying to write my first fantasy book this challenge. It's a completely new genre for me as I don't read much of it, but it's so much fun :)

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  10. Awesome to see so many fantasy readers and writers! I'm somewhat obsessed.

    Currently writing a madcap YA involving necromancers and LOVING IT!

    (PS ChaBooCha is awesome)

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  11. this is where my heart is too! i think we all need it! My dream is to get my hollow series published one day, im re-writing it again and think i have it much better this time.

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  12. I love fantasy books and my girls are starting to get into them now too. Lots of fun and definitely an area I need to explore. Thanks for the post

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  13. This is one of my favorite genres. I have a sci-fi fantasy MG first draft completed and waiting for revisions. And the chapter book I'm working on this month is a sci-fi fantasy!

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  14. Thank you for your insight, Victoria. Sci-Fi Fantasy is not one of my favorite genres in Adult Fiction. however I have read some children’s Sci-Fi Fantasy and enjoyed it very much. I have an outline for a Middle Grade that could be classified as Sci-Fi Fantasy that I hope to work on as soon as my historical MG is finished being revised

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  15. I see fantasy in so much of my kids' play. Lets keep bringing them new books and heroes for them to escape with! Liz Tipping

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  16. Thank you, I like to read fantasy, but find it difficult to write.

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  17. This is a great post, thank you. I am writing a fantasy book, like a child I like the escapism :)

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  18. This is a great post, thank you. I am writing a fantasy book, like a child I like the escapism :)

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  19. I, too, am writing fantasy. Thanks.

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  20. That will have to be my next challenge-writing a fantasy chapter book!

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  21. I don't write fantasy myself, but I do love to read it! Thanks for this article.

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