#but seriously I can't bring myself to buy any of the newly published books

[thatsleepymermaid]

I don't think there's nearly enough serious new children's literature.

When I was little and learning how to read, I was not interested in books like Junie B. Jones or Dr. Seuss. Honestly, my mom was worried I'd never ever have interest in learning to read beyond the basics (imagine that).

She actually started reading Harry Potter to me. Then moved onto reading large print classics to me in all their glory. My mom would point to every other word and ask me what it said. I have fond memories of her teaching me to read with Little Women, Black Beauty, Pride and Prejudice, and The Secret Garden.

Once I figured that out, I moved onto books I could read myself. My favorites were the older American Girl Books (especially Kirsten, Addy, Kaya, Samantha and Felicity's books), warrior cats, Tamora Pierce's Immortals Quartet and Song of the Lioness.

These books didn't hold back on the darker topics. Characters died, there was a fair amount of gore, and the American Girl novels had historically accurate topics like slavery, disease, immigration, sexism, classism, war, espionage and murder.

I tried finding new books aimed at nine year olds for my little cousin. I couldn't find any newly published books that didn't heavily censor darker topics.

Maybe I wasn't looking hard enough, but it is vitally important to include dark and scary topics taken seriously in children's literature. Not just so a child can critically read and learn empathy, but also for the children going through these horrific events to have something to relate to. Everyone talks about "protecting children" from learning about dark topics in books fearing "loss of innocence ", but what about those children that are living it everyday? What about those children's friends who might be able to help via trusted adult? Don't they deserve stories they can relate to as well?