I do not have a preference for or against morals, overt or not, in children's books. I enjoy stories with and without them. In my Picture Book Writing Cheat Sheet, I address three questions to ask before including a moral:
- Is there a solid story to back up the message?
- Does the story talk up to children (not down?)
- Do you need to share a moral?
Yet, even if the answer to all these questions is yes, I feel you must consider your audience first and foremost.
Knowing your audience will help you determine the tone of the text and images, the book's format, the humor, and the complexity of language.
The real problem plaguing books with morals is a mismatch between the intended audience and the book's content.
I will point out a trendy book that fits this problematic category.
Anti-Racist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi and Ashley Lukashevsky
There is nothing wrong with the message itself, but this book does not know to whom it speaks.
The format aims at young children, as do the art and text— it rhymes. Yet, the language and concepts aim at adults.
Anti-Racist Baby begins, "Anti-racist baby is bred, not born. Anti-racist baby is raised to make society transform."
Pay attention to the word choice here: "Anti-racist," "bred," and "society" are words that young children will not understand.
Some might argue that they make good talking points for parents with children. But that is not true. Children are not concerned about innate vs. environmental development.
