Why Young People Are the Best Readers

They're the smartest, the most alert, and the most honest

My Dinotopia books are intended for all ages, but my favorite readers are between ages 8 and 18. That’s the age where their brains are almost fully wired but they’re not yet locked into routines or mortgage payments. 

At St Columba’s School in Ballarat, Australia, 1993

Young people are intensely alert and alive when they read, while their parents tend to be half asleep.  

M.T. Anderson said it well: "They haven't learned to resist stories yet. They haven't closed themselves off to worlds that might be different from their own."

They’re willing to suspend disbelief, but they’re also intensely demanding about logic and coherence. Teenagers are just as intelligent as their parents or grandparents, perhaps more so; they just don’t have as much experience.

I used to get a lot of letters from young people back when people wrote letters and put stamps on envelopes. I still have boxes of them in the attic, and I tried to write back to all of them with at least a postcard. 

The letters are full of honesty and unintentional humor.

Actual Quotes from Fan Letters

“I like the way you put in a few problems and some sudden solutions.”   --Kyle 

“My opinion of the book is that it was totally radical. Never in my life would I have thought there could be a book that actually taught me something and I liked it.”  --Zachary 

“I thought the book was pretty good, but there were some words I didn’t understand, and a few words I didn’t get at all.” --Ciarra 

“I thought at first that I wasn’t going to like reading your book, but I guess I was wrong.” --Blaize 

“I like your book for two reasons. One is when you read it you can pretend you’re inside it. The other is that it’s a pretty good story, so you can read it for twenty minutes or so.” --Joel 

“When I die, I think I’ll go to Waterfall City. “  --Cindy