Welcome to day 38 of 40 craft lessons.
Why don’t some books emotionally hook readers?
In recent years, especially after the pandemic, many picture books with social-emotional learning themes have been published, in which child characters speak about mindfulness, stress management, and similar ideas. While these books often feature eye-catching covers, fabulous illustrations, and playful fantasy fonts, they sometimes struggle to create a deep emotional connection with readers. You may notice this struggle in picture book biographies as well.
Why?
One possible reason is that their characters are perfect, as if they already know all the solutions.
As humans, we all recognize our vulnerability, flaws, and imperfections. We may wear a mask of calm and wisdom during the day, but in the quiet moments—when we open a book or watch a movie—we are maskless. We know we are imperfect, and we want to see characters like ourselves—imperfect and flawed.
Vulnerability is often the quiet spark that makes a story resonate. When a character shares a fear, a longing, or a tender truth, readers feel invited into a deeper emotional space.
The characters of The Invisible String (2018, Patrice Karst, Joanne Lew-Vriethoff) are afraid and worried, far from being perfect. Who would be better able to resonate with such characters than young readers? In the story, their mother introduces the idea of an “invisible string” connecting them to everyone they love.
One reason this picture book became a bestseller is that its starting point is vulnerability—the fear of separation, a fear that all children recognize in themselves. From there, the book opens a door to healing.
To emotionally connect with the reader, let your characters admit something fragile!
Hope reading this blog post has given you new ideas. See you tomorrow for Day 39.
Very helpful. We sometimes focus too much on other elements and forget that, true connection that invites readers to a deeper emotional space. Thank you.