Editor's Note:

"Read ten thousand books, and your pen will be guided as if by the gods" is an ancient Chinese idiom that can be seen in students' textbooks. China's Ministry of Education has published an action plan to further promote reading among students across the nation. With new and diverse book recommendations, the reading scene is expected to be revived not only at schools, but also across society. To contribute to this endeavor, the Global Times launched "My Reading Life" essay contest for middle school students.

Please pick up a pen and share your stories with us at reading@globaltimes.com.cn. Participants will be rewarded once the article has been selected.

Photo: VCG

There are countless children's books in the world, each interesting in their own way. There are certainly outstanding ones like The War That Saved My Life, Swim Team and Dress Coded. However, there are also numerous unpleasant, typical, or predictable stories with unsatisfying endings. Today, I want to discuss these and offer some suggestions on how children's book should be more interesting to young readers.

Most of the unpleasant children's books I've read suffer from two words: typical and predictable. 

There are so many typical children's stories today that are honestly tiring to finish because they're all so predictable. Take this as an example: The moment the story introduces a young girl who is afraid to speak up in class is very timid and extremely lonely, I know that by the end of the story, after a long journey the girl will become less timid in class and make many friends. 

Here's another example: The minute I read about a boy going on an adventure of self-discovery while hitting the road and trying to find something, I know that the boy will make friends, realize many wishes, and find that object. Every time I can predict the outcome of a story, and the language of these predictable books isn't exactly outstanding, either. So what is the purpose of reading them?

Here's one more predictable story: Wolf Brother. Wolf Brother tells the story of a boy, Torak, who went on a journey with a girl and a wolf to save the world he lives in, where there were clans and bears. The moment he received a riddle telling him to retrieve three items, I knew that he would find them at unexpected moments and in the exact order the riddle listed them. Additionally, when Torak teamed up with the girl, and they initially showed signs of wariness toward each other, I knew they would become friends. 

I finished this story, and everything I predicted was correct. At least I could finish this story as the language was slightly captivating, and the story was well-constructed.

My suggestion for children's books is to stop becoming such clichés and formulas. It's becoming difficult to find books that truly capture my interest as they tend to be either overly predictable children's stories, or young adult books filled with excessive romance, or adult books that don't appeal to me at all.

I long for more plot twists at the end of the story, something that will at least surprise me a bit. This is why I've come to enjoy tragic or mystery tales. Tragic stories, of course, don't have happy endings, but they are far from typical - at least in my view.

Moonrise is an excellent example of sad stories. As for mystery books, it's basically a requirement for them to contain twists - and twists, if well thought out, usually aren't predictable at all. 

Moreover, I wish the authors of children's books would stop underestimating us as just kids! 

Yes, we're children, but our minds are much more capable than they give us credit for. And we can grasp more sophisticated language. Why must every story wrap up with a perfectly happy ending? 

We're ready for more complex conclusions. In fact, endings that are sad, unpreditable, or full of mystery often leave a much stronger impression on me than the cheerful ones.

Sometimes we need something with more complex language, imperfect endings, yet a captivating and impactful story. The book collection of Harry Potter is a good example. 

This book collection isn't typical or predictable. It contains realistic emotions. 

In conclusion, books can change people's minds and hearts. However, unduly sentimental stories aren't communicated well at all, and I firmly wish this would change.  

The author is a student at Beijing Keystone Academy