Surge in 'junk' children's fiction concerns author

Kathy Lee, author of many Christian fiction books for children and young people, has expressed concern about the quality and content of some recently released children's fiction.

Lee is author of the No trilogy, Tales of Rome, and the Phoebe books published by Scripture Union.

In an interview in the Winter 2008 edition of Scripture Union's supporter magazine The Life, she said: "I think there is good and bad children's writing. There are books that are just churned out because it is the latest thing."

Children's fiction has seen a resurgence in recent years, thanks in part to the popularity of books like Harry Potter. However many parents feel that this has caused a flood of low quality children's fiction to go on sale to feed on the revival.

One parent, when asked about modern children's books, said: "There are so many 'junk' books out there and, bar reading them myself which I don't really have time for, it is hard to find the quality ones."

This echoes the concerns of Judith Woods, a freelance writer and parent, who in an article in The Telegraph in 2005 spoke of her unease in relation to 'junk fiction' for young children.

Kathy Lee also expressed unease at the content of some recent children's books.

"Some book titles that are around now really make me cringe. If I had daughters I wouldn't really want them to read a book that implied that snogging is all a girl's life is about. But books weren't so much like that when I was young. They were not implying that a girl had to be beautiful and get a boyfriend in order to validate her life," she said.

Lee's opinions led her to write some of her own books: "I thought I would like to write some books that put across a different view point; life is a bit deeper, there are other things to think about. And to put across a Christian message wrapped up in a good story, not in a preachy kind of way."

Terry Clutterham, Scripture Union's Director of Ministry Delivery and an author with a strong publishing background, echoes Lee's concerns: "It is a shame that the good stories get lost among the ones jumping on the bandwagon.

"Scripture Union is a not-for-profit movement so money is not the primary reason for us to publish books.

"We see it as a means of supporting parents in introducing their children to wholesome reading material that encourages an interest in the Bible. Also, for us to publish, it has to be a great story."