Or at least he begged to be read to every night and was willing to do his part. He and his friends became insatiable consumers of manga, the graphic novels from Japan, and he stopped reading what you might call chapter books. Over the years, Teddy has absorbed the idea that books mean work, and work keeps me from being with him. It’s fine to leave your favourite books around for them to discover (please like The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy!) Perhaps my son never stopped being a reader; I just didn’t recognise graphic books as novels.

Source: The Times January 11, 2026 15:33 UTC