Fiction for Kids and Teens: Why Bother?
By Janet Wilson, founder of Dernier Publishing and Chair of MAI-Europe
As Christian parents, none of us ever think that our children are going to leave the church. It’s unimaginable!
But the reality is, around half of all children who are brought up in church, walk away from the faith of their parents. That hurts, doesn’t it?
As Christian parents we want our kids to be polite, well educated, happy and to live meaningful lives… but as Christian parents the one thing we want above all, is for our children to walk with God.
Most people nod and smile politely when they ask me what I do, and I tell them I’m a publisher of Christian fiction for young people, but when I applied for a visa to visit a certain country in SE Asia a few years ago, I had a totally different reaction.
The super-efficient interviewer at the visa application centre looked at me with emotionless eyes when he asked for my occupation.
With his neat black hair, impeccable suit and inscrutable expression, he trawled through my application papers with a fine tooth comb, followed by a good look at the Dernier Publishing website.
He disappeared for a while, before returning and handing me a pen and paper.
I had to sign and date a declaration in my own handwriting, stating that I would take no part in publishing or media activities whilst in the country. The interviewer also took my mobile phone number, no doubt for tracking purposes.
I was shocked, but I shouldn’t have been, because in this particular country, if I did what I do here in the UK, I would be breaking the law. I would probably be in prison, because Christian fiction for children is banned. Banned!
They are just stories, we might say.
And we’d be wrong. And they are right. There’s something very powerful about stories. We are story creatures. Stories seep into our very souls. It’s the way we learn about the world, about our place in it.
Animals of Eden Valley Books for 4-8 year olds.
Jesus himself told us stories for a reason – they touch us in our inner being. Humans are hard- wired to remember stories, to the point that psychologists have referred to stories as ‘psychologically privileged’ in the human mind.
Stories are hugely significant in our lives – we can hardly overestimate the effect they have on us.
Fortunately for us, here in the UK we are able to legally produce and distribute books for children that are written from a Christian perspective. At the moment, anyway! But do we make the most of this freedom?
Our children are going through a time of crisis of identity. They are hurting. They are anxious about today, fearful for tomorrow. One youth pastor told me, the devil has stolen their joy.
Of course Jesus will build his church, and the gates of hell will not be able to prevail against it, but we can’t just sit back and quote scripture (although that’s a good start!).
We need to fight back!
We need to fill our children’s minds with excellent, relevant material that will inspire them in their walk with God, now, while we can.
With a Christian book, readers can join the characters as they fly off to faraway places, solve crimes, find treasure, defeat evil, travel back in time, catch spies, save animals, escape to safety…
Readers can also learn that they have a Father in heaven who cares for them, that God answers prayer, that he has an awesome plan for their lives, that they are unique and beautiful, that their life has meaning that it’s great to be a believer in Jesus, not just for this life, but for eternity!
Stories shape our thinking, help us to see things we didn’t know, understand others, understand ourselves, give us a wider view of God, his church and his creation.
Stories allow us to think things over for ourselves and come to our own conclusions.
They also give us a safe space to allow us to express the deep emotions of our hearts...
And some even draw us closer to God.
We have had children write to us to say, this is the best book I’ve ever read. This, to me, shows that the Holy Spirit is at work. To give a child an exciting story with Christian themes, is like taking them to Jesus.
The country I applied for a visa for know this. They gave me my visa, and I think they followed me, to make sure I wasn’t spreading dangerous stories in their land.
I didn’t… but in this country I do.
Why don’t you join me in the fight?
Browse the books at Dernier Publishing for 8-16 year olds
God for Kids have partnered with Dernier Publishing so if you make a purchase after clicking on this affiliate link, a percentage of the profits will be donated to our charity, Ruach Resources, at no extra cost to you.
Additionally, if you subscribe to the Dernier Publishing newsletter, you’ll receive a £5 voucher for any book on their website. We highly recommended any and all of the books on this website, having read many of them to our own children over the years.
Janet is founder of Dernier Publishing, an award-winning company which produces Christian fiction for kids. She is passionate about reaching the new generation with the good news of Jesus through story. With this in mind, she also runs write-for-a-reason.com, to help new writers for kids write well, and get their stories out into the world.
She is the author of several Christian books for kids and teens: Year 0033, Revenge of the Flying Carpet, London’s Gone, Mystery in the Snow and The Treasure Hunt, under the pen name J. M. Evans.
Janet is also Chair of MAI-Europe, a charity which exists to support and encourage Christian writers and publishers all over Europe.