I always feel a hint of embarrassment when I stroll into the library’s Youth Services Department, a.k.a. the kids section. You feel like a bit of a creep being surrounded by kids less than half your age and half your height, rereading books you read a decade ago.

Still, I will never stop touting the benefits of reading books for younger audiences. While I always enjoy a good YA or adult novel, books made for children and middle schoolers offer a sense of comfort, nostalgia and simplicity that’s difficult to find elsewhere.

Yes, there is lots to be said about the cultural significance of fairy tales or the moral lessons of some picture books, but I speak more for the generally unpretentious nature of children’s literature more than anything else.

Children’s books are inherently approachable, obviously designed to be picked up by kids who gravitate toward things without having to reason or justify their choices. The fantasy books don’t need to have the deepest, darkest lore. The young romances don’t have to go beyond a schoolgirl crush. The mystery doesn’t have to be impossible to solve.

I, like many of my peers, was a library fiend growing up, dragging a basket of books behind me after every visit. But also like many childhood book worms, reading has become more of a chore than a hobby in the last few years.

According to Statistica, 83% of 18 to 29 year-olds have read a book in the last year when surveyed in 2021, meaning 17% of the respondents didn’t read any literature at all in a year. The number continues dropping with older age demographics.

A Department of Data/The Washington Post study found that if you finished even one book annually, you would be in the 46th percentile of American adults. That number jumps to the 67th percentile if you read five books.

Books have become more than simple pleasures or entertainment. They’re meant to be educational, thought-provoking, inspiring, confusing, tear-jerking, etc., but there’s something to be said about the simple act of turning off your brain and picking up a juvenile, but good, book.

Reading middle grade novels is what got me past my reading slump as a high schooler. Picking up some of my favorite childhood series has reminded me of what made me fall in love with reading to begin with. I don’t read them as someone of the target audience anymore; I see the plot holes, the world-building short falls and the lackluster vocabulary, but I also feel the comfort of the characters and plots I know by heart.

Reading does not have to be a high minded hobby. According to WordsRated, 250.76 million children’s books were sold in 2022. The market is there for a reason. Kids books are where a love for reading is born, and they can be what resurrects it years later.

Next time you see the new Baby Sitters Club graphic novel, or a classic Magic Tree House book, remind yourself of the value that can come from a thin paperback. The best part is, you can probably read it all in under an hour.

The views in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the HiLite staff. Reach Grace Guo at [email protected].