> “...imagination is not an optional extra, which we can humour in our children but safely discard in adulthood. It is at the very heart of everything.” So says ## [Katherine Rundell](https://www.lrb.co.uk/contributors/katherine-rundell) in [“Why children’s books?” in the London Review](https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v47/n02/katherine-rundell/why-children-s-books). The essay made me rethink the art of writing for children, which got me thinking about how your intended audience can have such a great effect on how you choose words, themes, diction, structure, etc. There’s nothing childish about children’s books! To inform, delight, and entertain a child reader without pandering or insulting, now that is a challenge. For this assignment, experiment with this idea. Take some of your previous work that was *not* written with children in mind, and rewrite some or all of it as a children’s story. Illustrate it too if you wish! Reflect on the challenges, surprises, successes, and failures as you go through the process. Variations: do the same thing, but with any kind of audience you can imagine. Rewrite your favorite poem as a work email. Rewrite your AP Lit essay as a surrealist one-act play. Whatever! Or perhpas it would be freeing to “[Write as if everyone you know is dead](https://www.writerscollegeblog.com/best-writing-tip-write-as-if-everyone-you-know-is-dead/).”