Creating children’s literature is the hardest job in the world

By- Shreya Banerjee

Edited by- Diksha Sharma

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It sure seems simple when you think of what a children’s fiction author or artist might have to do in their daily lives— creating talking animals who go on adventures together? Silly quests where they solve mysteries? Sounds effortless enough, don’t they? But beneath all the perceived cheer, here is what we might be missing:

Creating children’s literature is the hardest job in the world.

Because you must remember

The small, bright universe inside a child

And all that fits there:

Dinosaurs, questions about death and birth,

The first innocent licks of summer,

How it feels to be forgiven

In one boundless instant.

You must speak in words simple as pebbles,

But shaped to skip

All the way across the ocean of doubt.

You must sing so clearly

Even the tired, cornered adult reading

Hears wonder again.

You make monsters just scary enough,

Teach courage without sermon,

Tuck in moral without chokehold.

You must hold your own self,

All that is good and bad

Maybe, like a broken crayon in your palm,

So you can colour hope anyway.

You must lie, gently:

The world is kind.

And you must mean it,

Even as the wrecking winds

Howl outside the window.

You must remember

The weight of a small head on your shoulder,

While you invent universes, in theory,

Sturdy enough to carry them with care.

And this is why, I—

I will not be able to do it myself...

Because I cannot lie well enough,

Because I am still trying

To believe the story, too.