What are the roles of humor, rhyme and poetry in childrens publishing?
Flip through any publishers’ catalogue, or any of our magazines, and you’ll see how important humor is in children’s publishing today. The attraction of humor for children is closely related to their natural exuberance and need to play. Beginning with the delights of “peek-a-boo,” humor accompanies children in their exploration of the world and their continuing play with assumptions and expectations. Humor encourages children’s natural flexibility of mind, their ability to play with the givens of experience, and to see things from a fresh point of view. There’s also at least a trace of subversiveness in children’s humor, enabling them to question and poke fun at the adult order—perhaps even inspiring them to improve upon it when they grow older. With respect to the Cricket magazines, our assumption is that kids read these voluntarily. This means that our content must engage their interest and motivate them to read. Humor is perhaps the most effective means of doing this, particularly w
