Roblog

Tom Whyman looks at the glut of big-name celebrities writing childrens’ books:

“There is an increasingly obvious problem in the children’s books industry, whereby celebrity authors are able to attract big advances, and outsized promotional pushes, for books which are often simply no good at all.”

…

“Children deserve better than this. What they really deserve is artists: writers and illustrators who will provoke them to think differently about the world they are – yes – just beginning to learn about, and who will thus help them to understand it in a better, deeper way.”

He goes on to recommend a particularly interesting example, one that might make a better choice for a “half-known niece or nephew” than the latest big name.