What makes a story stand the test of time? What elements help certain books speak to children and adults for generations? Let’s look at four characteristics of children’s stories that make them timeless, beloved classics.

An Ending with Hope, but Not Happily Ever After

As authors, we want lovely endings for our characters. While happily ever after gives closure, it isn’t realistic, and even the youngest readers know it. When a story requires a perfect ending, it is relying too much on the plot for completion. 

What makes a story a classic is leading the reader on a journey with the protagonist as they grow and change as a result of the plot. Instead of the focus of the story being on what action happens, it rests securely in who the character is becoming. When the character journey is written well, there is no need for the story to end happily ever after. 

No matter what circumstances the character faces on the last page, the reader has hope that this character has gained the fortitude and confidence to face it and overcome it. All readers need is a shred of hope in who the main character has become, and that same lingering hope will allow readers to face their own challenges. Those are the endings that create classics.

Example: Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo

Repetitive Visuals

Children are visual learners, which is why illustrations play such an important role in children’s literature. But even books with minimal or no illustrations need to create strong visuals that linger in the minds of readers long after the last page is turned. These visuals act as a thread that pulls different story elements together and spans the different acts within a story. 

Visuals give the reader something familiar and grounding to orient them along the journey. Creating a scene using the five senses can help bring the visual to life. Whether it is a smell that brings back a memory, a physical item that brings comfort to a character, or a symbol that keeps popping up at critical moments, repetitive visuals can create a cohesive theme within a story or a series of books.

Example: the “keep out” sign in The Garden, the Curtain, and the Cross by Carl Laferton

Dynamic Characters Who Have a Desire and a Challenge

Character development is important in every story, but requires special skill for children’s authors. Every character needs to have a desire and a challenge to reaching that desire. Children’s authors have an added layer of skill necessary in creating these motivated characters because children struggle with the tension between what they can and cannot control. 

While an adult character has freedom to make choices and act on them, children are subject to their environment, family, and circumstances. Children as protagonists need to solve problems and overcome challenges on their own, but authors must be creative in how they make space for these solutions within their characters’ limited autonomy and resources. While it is difficult to balance each character’s need and challenge within their narrow scope of control, when an author attains the perfect balance, it creates characters that are instantly classic. 

Example: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Depth that Appeals to Adults as Well

Have you ever finished a book and felt the need to read it again immediately because there is no way you absorbed all of its nuggets of wisdom? That is a sure sign of a classic. Many stories written for children leave out complex nuance or simplify scenarios in order to be easily digestible, but not the classics. Classic children’s literature embraces the difficult circumstances in life. 

Instead of seeking to answer questions with a tidy bow, classic stories draw questions out of the reader, challenging the way they view the world. Children may not comprehend all the layers these stories present, but that only makes them a perfect choice for reading over and over again at different stages of life. 

These are the stories that we love as children and return to as adults only to fall in love with them again in a new way. Leaving questions unanswered, characters imperfect, and the plot complicated and raw allows authors to appeal to readers from generations young and old.

Example: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

As you craft your next story for children, ask if your work contains these four elements. If so, you may have a classic in the works!

Erin Greneaux is an award-winning author of five books and mom to three girls who make every day an adventure. She loves working in the garden, and finds her best inspiration while digging in the dirt. Erin has worked in children’s ministry, missions, education in at-risk communities, and curriculum development. Erin is passionate about exploring the practical application of faith in everyday life. She uses writing to take Biblical ideas and present them in a way that is clear, creative, and captivating. Her published works include fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and even a game!

Read her weekly devotion series, Sunday God Meets Monday Mom, at https://eringreneaux.substack.com/

Find her books and projects at https://www.greneauxgardens.com

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