Young adult author Patricia McCormick took issue in this recent article with groups who label her novel “Sold” as pornographic because the child character describes her feelings about being sexually assaulted.
We do need to be cautious. Just because children of all ages suffer violence doesn’t mean it’s helpful for other children to experience that vicariously. Developmental psychologists can help us understand when depictions may be traumatic for children of various ages.
But children also benefit. They often tell McCormick they finally realized they weren’t alone when they read their experiences in print.
She observes that our society talks at children and tries to control what they read, but “What we don’t do is listen to them”.
We should indeed listen to children thoughtfully. What they tell us is almost always truthful, frequently insightful, and occasionally life-saving to find out.
Listen to our interview with Pulitzer Prize nominee Chris Serres, who talks about investigative journalism and his story of Derric Fulks Jr.