The real horror story is not loving books

The style might be horrible, but children's books have a serious side of engaging minds so they learn about the world around them.

Many young children are fascinated by spooky subjects and have a natural inclination to read stories featuring vampires, ogres and other kinds of monsters. Such books, whether works of fiction or non-fiction, can capture their imagination and, more importantly, get children excited about reading.

Some parents, however, are concerned about exposing their children to such material. As The National reports today, a few have complained about what they claim are "violent" and "repulsive images" in the Horrible Science non-fiction illustrated book series, which had been put on display as part of a book fair at a private school in Sharjah. The school's principal told this newspaper that the book's content had been approved by the Ministry of Education before the event and the school's teachers had examined the content of these popular books and found it to be suitable for young readers.

Naturally, parents do not want to expose their children to books or materials that are not age appropriate. In the case of the Horrible Science series, however, it would be hard to brand them as unsuitable. Rather their pages play to the naturally inquisitive minds of the young and aim to stimulate enquiry and thought through fun experiments, bite-sized chunks of information and accessible language.

Nick Arnold, the author of the award-winning Horrible Science series has stated that he aims to educate and enthuse children about science by highlighting gory details. One mother of two, Sneh Sharma, told The National how her children became hooked on these books and not only enjoy them but learn plenty along the way.

It is a shame that some parents react adversely to such content and fail to see the benefits of engaging children’s imaginations and encouraging them to read challenging books.

Series like Horrible Science and the companion Horrible Histories have inspired many children to read more and learn lots – and that fact ought to be celebrated.