All reading is reading! I also wish well-meaning parents like this would realise that just because their child is a technically *good* reader doesn’t mean they need to be pushed upwards into adult fiction. Go to a bookstore and ask for *children’s* books in the genre they enjoy. https://twitter.com/nedhartley/status/1391358895340326912

I think people my generation and above forget that we read adult books at a fairly young age only because the children’s book range on offer wasn’t as comprehensive as it is today! Kids in 2021 are so lucky in comparison - there’s no genre that isn’t covered for their age group.

You want plant-based sci fi? Polly Ho Yen’s Boy in the Tower is brilliant. School-based mystery? Even if my books don’t hit there’s Elly Griffiths’ young fiction and the Scarlet and Ivy series, plus for slightly older readers Karen McManus and Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé.

Please let reading stay fun for kids, for goodness’ sake. Let them read manga if they want. Let them read Wimpy Kid one million times in a row. Reading isn’t some grim game of oneupmanship, it’s one of many equally valid forms of entertainment. Let it just be that for kids too.