Children’s author Greg Soros has spent more than 16 years writing stories designed to do more than entertain. His guiding belief is straightforward: books for young readers should work on two levels at once, functioning as mirrors that reflect a child’s own experience and as windows that open onto lives and circumstances they have never known.
“Children’s books should serve as both mirrors and windows,” Soros says, “helping young readers see themselves reflected in stories while also opening their minds to different perspectives and experiences.” That dual purpose, he argues, is not incidental to good children’s writing. It is the foundation of it.
The Case for Reflection
The mirror side of Greg Soros’s philosophy centers on what happens when a child picks up a book and finds something recognizable inside it. “When a child picks up a book and thinks, ‘That’s just like me,’ it creates an immediate connection that makes reading personal and meaningful,” he explains. That connection, in his view, goes well past surface-level representation. Authentic mirrors in children’s literature must capture the full range of childhood emotions, from confidence and joy to fear and loneliness, rather than offering only cheerful or tidy portraits of childhood.
To get those reflections right, Soros conducts extensive research. His process includes visits to schools, consultations with child development experts, and work with sensitivity readers, all aimed at ensuring the emotional truth of his stories holds up for the children reading them.
Opening Windows to Other Lives
The window function is equally central to Soros’s work. “When a child reads about someone from a different culture, someone with different abilities, or someone facing challenges they’ve never encountered, it expands their understanding of what it means to be human,” he says. That expansion, in his framework, lays the groundwork for empathy long before children encounter those differences in person.
The real skill, Soros notes, lies in writing stories that work as both at once. A single book might serve as a mirror for one child while functioning as a window for a classmate reading the same page. Greg Soros, author of multiple books for young readers, continues to champion this dual purpose through community work and ongoing writing projects, believing children deserve stories that both celebrate who they are and expand who they might become. Visit this page for more information.
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