How Greg Soros Thinks About the Reader on the Other Side of the Page
Not every children’s author thinks systematically about the reader waiting at home. Greg Soros does. His approach to writing for young people is grounded in a clear theory of what children’s books should accomplish a theory he has refined over more than 16 years of writing and community engagement.
At the center of that theory is a dual function: children’s books should serve as mirrors that reflect young readers back to themselves, and as windows that pull them toward lives and experiences they have not yet imagined. Soros has articulated this directly, saying books should help “young readers see themselves reflected in stories while also opening their minds to different perspectives and experiences.”
The Mirror and What It Must Show
For Soros, the mirror is only useful if it reflects something true. He does not believe surface representation is sufficient. Children need to see their inner lives on the page the complicated feelings that adults sometimes minimize, the tensions within families, the social pressures of childhood that are easy to forget once you have grown past them.
“When a child picks up a book and thinks, ‘That’s just like me,’ it creates an immediate connection that makes reading personal and meaningful,” he has explained. The research that goes into achieving that connection is extensive: school visits, expert consultations, sensitivity readers, and ongoing attention to how children actually experience their own lives. In a recent profile in Walker Magazine, Greg Soros set out a clear vision for the role of children’s literature in shaping young minds.
The Window and Where It Leads
Greg Soros, author, is equally committed to the window side of the equation. He holds that children’s literature should function as an early teacher of empathy a place where young readers encounter situations and people outside their direct experience and come away with a larger sense of the world. “Every children’s book carries the responsibility to contribute positively to a young person’s emotional and social development,” he has said. That is the standard his own work is built around. See related link for more information.
Follow Greg Soros page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheStartupMag/posts/award-winning-childrens-author-greg-soros-finds-magic-in-everyday-emotions-child/1370570991744219/
