Children deserve better books

Why we should challenge young readers – and trust them to rise to it.

Towards the end of Mrs Doubtfire, Daniel Hillard (Robin Williams) makes his pitch for a new children’s show to television producer Mr Lundy. ‘Don’t patronise kids, you know. They’re little people. You’ve got to personalise it. Make it fun and entertaining. If it’s something you’d enjoy, they’d enjoy’.

In my former life as a schoolteacher, I was often fru…