My six year old daughter is a reader (yay!). She reads in the morning before she gets out of bed when she’s not yet ready to face the world. She reads on the couch when she has free time. She reads in the car on long trips.

She inhales books.

My daughter also loves to think and talk about books. She remembers the plot particulars of every one of the first nineteen books in the Boxcar Children series. She’ll also tell you, at great length, about the characters, what she likes and doesn’t like, and what confuses her.

In short, she is a children’s book writer’s dream come true: she has an opinion and she’s not afraid to share it. Added bonus: she lives with me.

The other day, she came up to my desk and interrupted me. I wanted to be mad because I was right in the middle of putting together a package for an agent, but then I saw the book in her hand. She says, “Mom, can I show you this beautiful sentence?” I tell you, my English teacher/writer’s heart just about burst with joy.

Of course, beautiful girl, you can show me the beautiful sentence that your beautiful mind discovered. You have my undivided attention.

“Sure!” I say.

She opens up her current Boxcar Children book (#25, if you’re curious), points to a line, and starts to read aloud.

“I went along with the plan for the money. But when I saw the children at the top of the Ferris wheel, I changed my mind.” He glanced shamefaced at Benny. “When it comes to hurting little kids, I draw the line.”

“Isn’t this a beautiful sentence, Mom? ‘When it comes to hurting little kids, I draw the line.’ Because kids are special and they should never be hurt by adults. That’s true, isn’t it.”

I’m not sure what I was expecting–maybe some flowery turn of phrase or a description using colors–but it wasn’t the sentence she read me. Hers was deeper, and it touched on an important truth in her six year old mind. It was then that I felt the advice given by so many editors and experienced children’s book writers: do not write down to your readers.

Kids of all ages take in themes, internalize ideas, and find resonance with books more readily than most adults realize. The best authors (I’m thinking Kate DiCamillo, Katherine Applegate, Alison McGhee, Mo Willems, E.B. White) embrace this idea and carefully craft their stories accordingly. That’s what makes their works classics.

I am amazed at my daughter’s insight, and I am beyond grateful that she loves to share her thoughts about pretty much everything. She lives life wide open, a way of being I hope to someday capture in a book of my own.

I certainly have a beautiful model right in front of me.