Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin. Those are words imprinted on the memory of a generation that snuggled down by the radio for Listen With Mother. But perhaps they are more familiar to the previous generation: the parents who made sure their children were indeed sitting comfortably and not fidgeting, and then got hooked themselves by the narrative and were transported into the world of make-believe.
They will nod with familiarity and pleasure at news that children's books are enjoying unprecedented sales among adults. Inevitably the prime example is the Harry Potter series, given the scale and power of marketing as well as JK Rowling's talent. But the young wizard is far from alone. It is a rare parent who is not beguiled by the wealth of ideas, as well as the excitement of Lyra and Will's grand quest in Philip Pullman's trilogy, His Dark Materials. There is Mark Haddon's brilliant evocation of an autistic boy, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and many more.
The reason for this phenomenon is as simple and pleasing as many children's stories (although it is as well to remember, just now, that the best have a rich cast of baddies as well, or whatever the contemporary version may have been.) Anyone who has read aloud to a sleep-resisting child knows the absolute necessity of pace and plot. Description, philosophy and a rich vocabulary are added marvels in skilled hands; who has not had to pause in The Flopsy Bunnies to explain the meaning of "soporific"? But they are the coachwork, not the motor.
Quite a large assembly of writers for adults need reminding of this, especially when they complain that their hours of effort are rewarded by meagre sales. They are getting just that reminder. A lecture in a leader column may not persuade them, but the success of the Rowlings and Pullmans apparently is doing so. A term, crossover fiction, has even been launched to cope with the number of new such hybrid books aimed at young and old. Look out for the first bookshop to give the genre its own set of shelves: they will always be busy.
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