Using Child Narrators in Fiction

One of the main benefits of writing is that it gives a voice to the otherwise voiceless. Literature is filled with stories about outcasts, the oppressed, and the silenced. Writers tend to fall into one of these three categories themselves which makes them hyper aware of the different viewpoints from which a story can be told.

One of my favorite viewpoints in literature is the child narrator. From Scout Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird to young Jack in Room, these kids have a unique perspective on the events that unfold within their novels. Their specific vantage point and attention to detail makes up for their innocence and inexperience. They help the author to show instead of tell as readers fill in the blanks of the situations and dialogue that confuse them.

This results in a remarkably told story that helps readers relive their childhoods while still grasping the complexity of a story’s conflict and resolution. Here are the benefits of using child narrators in fiction.

Writing as a child

Children are a challenge to write because, like the story of Peter Pan demonstrates, when you grow up, you forget what it’s like to be a child. We all think we know how kids sound and act, especially if we are with them all the time. But it’s easy to fall into stereotypical portrayals of kids who mispronounce words, use stereotypical words and phrases for their age group (the bratty teenager, the enthusiastic grade schooler, etc.), and behave like a piece of furniture meant to heighten the stakes of a conflict or give adult protagonists someone to protect, save, or change themselves for a child’s benefit.

A good novelist has studied children and picked up on their habits, their wording, and their curiosity. There are plenty of good novels out there that don’t write children accurately. Where The Red Fern Grows is one of my favorite books of all time, but Billy Colman sounds like adult Wilson Rawls, not like a young boy. But when you can nail their voice, it helps the reader to further suspend their disbelief.

Incorporating distinct personalities into child narrators

Not all children are the same. Some are shy. Some are outgoing. They live in different parts of the world and are from different time periods. Characterization is a balancing act in any form, but children’s personalities tend to get pushed to the back burner in favor of the story itself.

The narration is the hardest part to tackle. It’s easy to be mindful whenever you’re writing dialogue. You don’t have to be as clear and as formal. You can use slang, jargon, and accents to give your characters a voice.

But when your protagonist is also telling the story, it’s hard to balance between being a good narrator and still being a kid. The Junie B. Jones books are probably the best example of being able to pull off a child’s voice as both the protagonist and narrator. Junie’s internal monologue is still hilarious and outgoing without being unclear or scaling back in order to sound more adult. It trusts that the audience is going to understand Junie’s limited yet descriptive storytelling style because she talks like them or like their friends at school. And she can be an unreliable narrator who comes to learn her lesson once she gets out of her own way and better understands what’s going on around her.

Children in intense situations

A child narrator can heighten the stakes of an intense situation. In Labor Day, Henry struggles to come to terms with the fact that he and his mother are harboring a fugitive. He’s old enough to know the moral dilemma but too young and passive to do anything about it.

The events of the book unearth all of his frustrations about his home life. His confusion over the takeover of this life by a fascinating yet potentially dangerous stranger is fascinating to watch unfold from his innocent and unique perspective.

An even more astute child protagonist is Luke Chandler in John Grisham’s A Painted House. Luke is hyper aware of the different groups of farmhands that come to work on his farm along with his own family dynamic as well as his conflicted feelings about his future dreams of becoming a ballplayer rather than a farmer.

Luke is placed into intense situations and is trusted to maneuver through them like an adult while still being babied by his mother or left out of secret conversations that will affect his family’s future. His perspective too may be limited, but what he does know, he’s able to convey clearly and accurately.

Coming of age

The coming-of-age angle can be worked into nearly any story that features a child narrator or protagonist. Whatever events are worth writing in a book are clearly life-changing moments for our child characters.

It’s what helps Scout and Jem Finch to see that the world is not in black and white at the end of their father’s trial. It’s what helps Francie to see that maybe her father is a deeply flawed man in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Children grow up during the events of the story, depending on their ages, their personality, and the situation.

Human beings are constantly learning, even at the end of their lives. The transition from child to adult is a very layered and gradual process that can rarely be pinpointed. But we all have those life changing events that officially put an end our innocence and, essentially, our childhoods.

It’s not usually a happy experience that ends our childhoods. Sometimes it’s hard, other times it’s humiliating, and in other instances, it’s tragic. We try to protect children from the inevitable, and it’s hard to watch them let go of that childhood viewpoint because you know it doesn’t come back. This is what makes for a compelling story and why it’s so interesting to hear it told from a child’s eyes.

What are your favorite books narrated by a child? Leave your answers in the comments below!

Buy it!

Buy a copy of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn here, and help support local bookstores! This is an affiliate link, and I will earn a commission on any sales.

Pin it!