Post #5 – Whose Story Is It? Rethinking Authorship and Audience in Children’s Books

Posted on By amanda83

This week, I shared my illustrated story with my 5 year old daughter to see how a young reader might interpret it. This was a meaningful stage in my process, as I wanted to test whether the emotional and visual storytelling I developed so far would resonate with a child. As we spoke, I found myself reflecting not just on how the story looked, but whose perspective it truly represented. My daughter’s feedback reminded me that, as adults, we often design stories for children instead of with them. We make choices based on what we think children will find meaningful or beautiful, rather than listening closely to what they actually notice, question, or feel.

Learning Goals / Questions for This Week:

• How can I create revisions that reflect the child’s perspective rather than adult assumptions?
• What can I learn about authorship and audience by observing a child’s authentic response to my story?
• How do children interpret emotional tone and meaning in wordless storytelling?

What I Did / Evidence of Learning:

This week, I shared the book with my daughter recorded her thoughts on the Voice Memos app:

  • She understood the story sequence and could mostly explain what was happening on each page.
  • She recognized the emotional changes in colour and animal expression, describing them as “sad” or “happy.”
  • She seemed unsure about what was happening on pages 4 and 5, I think I might add the man carrying the wood directly outside his house to make the connection that the wood had travelled there for a purpose.
  • Her feedback helped me notice where pacing and focus could improve. I will move the moment when the animals flee to page 2 so that the sense of loss occurs earlier in the story, creating a smoother emotional transition.
  • I also realized the animals and people needed to look more consistent throughout the book, both in design and proportion, to make them feel like familiar companions across the pages.
  • On the final page, she seemed uncertain about its purpose. There was too much going on, which made me see that I had overcrowded the scene. I will reduce the number of animals and simplified the composition so the ending felt calmer and more peaceful.
Below is a shortened version of the full eight minute interview with my daughter.

Research and Practical Supports:

Listening to children’s voices: Children as participants in research.

Published in International Journal of Early Childhood, this study emphasizes the importance of actively involving children in research to better understand their perspectives and experiences. It challenges the conventional approach where adults design stories for children without considering their input.

  • McTavish, M., Streelasky, J., & Coles, L. (2012). Listening to children’s voices: Children as participants in research. International Journal of Early Childhood, 44(3), 249–267. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-012-0068-8

Reflection:

Sharing my story with my daughter has been one of the most rewarding parts of this project so far. Yet throughout this experience, I found myself reflecting on a deeper question: Am I telling her what to like? As adults, we often filter children’s experiences through our own expectations, shaping stories around what we think they should feel or learn. In doing so, we risk overlooking their authentic voices and perspectives. Rather than refining the book solely through my adult lens of design and symbolism, I want to honour her perspective as a reader, valuing her intuitive sense of emotion, balance, and connection to the animals.

The voice memo app was essential in capturing her authentic feedback. Being able to replay our discussion helped me listen differently, not for confirmation of my intent but for traces of her own meaning, echoing McTavish et al.’s (2012) insight that adults must learn to hear what children are saying, not what they expect to hear. She helped me see that even small visual shifts, such as where the animals flee or how much activity fills a page, can completely change the emotional rhythm of a story. By allowing her voice to guide some of the revisions, I learned that authorship can be shared.

The best children’s stories aren’t made for them; 
they’re made with them.

Next Steps:

In Post #6, I will carefully incorporate my daughter’s feedback to adjust the story pages, refining both the sequence and visual details. I hope this process will ensure the narrative and illustrations better reflect how children notice, interpret, and engage with the story.

Leave a Reply