Why Adults Should Read Children’s Stories Again
Reopening the picture book or simple fable is not a step backwards. It is an invitation to clarity, courage and wonder. Here are the reasons every adult should return to children’s stories—and how to reclaim them for your life and work.
A quiet night, a small book, a large return: the pleasures of stories written simply.
We grow up believing complexity proves maturity. Yet many of our clearest truths come in the plainest language. Children’s stories are distilled lessons, sharp metaphors, and safe spaces for imagination. For adults, they offer repairs: to broken attention, frayed courage, and tired creativity.
Five reasons to return to children’s stories
- They sharpen moral imagination: Fables and parables reduce moral dilemmas to clear choices and help adults rehearse braver responses.
- They restore clarity of language: Concrete images and rhythm in children’s stories train adults to communicate more clearly.
- They repair attention and reduce anxiety: Short stories calm the nervous system and give mental rest.
- They unlock creativity with constraint: Studying children’s writing shows how limits expand imaginative reach.
- They teach radical empathy: Seeing the world through a child’s eyes reminds adults of perspective, listening, and care.
“Children’s stories are compact laboratories of feeling; they test courage in three pages and teach kindness in a single sentence.”
How adults can use children’s stories today
- As daily micro-practices: Read a short picture book after dinner to reset your mood.
- For creative work: Study the economy of language to sharpen fiction, essays or scripts.
- In leadership: Use a folktale to introduce values in meetings.
- To reconnect across generations: Share a retelling with a younger family member.
Books and folktales to start with
Explore classic folktales, modern picture books by African authors, and short moral tales collected in anthologies.
Picture books
Award-winning picture books with layered themes. Read aloud and notice metaphors and rhythm.
Folktales and fables
African folktale collections and retellings. Short, wise, and culturally resonant for Nigerian readers.
