N.C. Shore on writing How to Be Good

Where the book began

How to Be Good didn't start with a plot. It started with a question I kept asking myself as a parent: at what age do children stop assuming they're good and start worrying that they're not? I think it's earlier than we think. And I think books are one of the few places where that question can be explored safely — where a child can try on an idea without it costing them anything.

Writing for the reader who might be struggling

I was conscious, writing this, of the child who picks it up while going through something difficult. Not every reader of a children's book is having an easy time. I wanted to write something that would land differently depending on where you were when you read it — light if you're light, and something sturdier if you need it.

On the Inspirable experience

What struck me about working with Inspirable was the conversation that happens after the book. The reading guides, the questions — they're not trying to extract the right answer from a child. They're trying to make the conversation possible. That's a different ambition, and a better one.