{
  "id": 17728899,
  "title": "Could creating stories be another way to get kids reading?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/02/could-creating-stories-be-another-way-to-get-kids-reading",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-11-02T02:00:48.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "e27",
    "slug": "e27",
    "url": "https://e27.co/could-creating-stories-be-another-way-to-get-kids-reading-20261028/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The recent Panel One competition, which invited children to write original stories and bring them to life as graphic novels using AI-assisted tools, yielded surprising results. Over 537 submissions from 325 schools across 10 countries and eight languages revealed that children were developing complex characters, weaving layered narratives and exploring difficult subjects such as grief, identity and discrimination. The stories demonstrated a depth of understanding and emotion that challenged the notion that younger audiences need simpler stories.\n\nOne of the main attractions of Panel One was the opportunity for students to see their written stories transformed into visual narratives. The AI-assisted tools helped students develop characters, visualize scenes and create graphic novels without taking away their creative control. Students described the experience as magical and surreal, with characters and worlds coming to life in their minds.\n\nHowever, the magic of the process went beyond the visuals. Mentorship played a crucial role in the creative journey, as students learned to think visually, consider pacing, and refine dialogue. The technology opened the door for students, but mentorship helped them move through it. This discovery suggests that while AI can make it easier to turn ideas into tangible outputs, the creative process still requires judgment, patience, revision and feedback.\n\nThe competition also revealed that children are curious about stories written by their peers. They wanted to discover the worlds, characters and ideas created by other kids, suggesting that peer storytelling might offer another route to engaging young readers. If a child finds a graphic story created by a classmate compelling, they might be more likely to explore other genres or even longer books.\n\nWhile the National Library Board's reading initiatives remain crucial, the Panel One experiment suggests that creating stories can be another entry point to nurturing a deeper engagement with reading. Graphic novels, manga and visual storytelling can offer different entry points into stories and complex topics, particularly for a generation accustomed to visual content. Moreover, the process of creating stories may itself encourage more thoughtful reading as children learn about suspense, character development and visual storytelling.",
  "summary": "We spend a lot of time worrying about why kids (or most people) aren’t reading. Screens compete for our attention. Books struggle against the instant gratification of digital content. And as a parent, and now someone building a company around storytelling, I’ve thought about this a great deal. But a recent experiment with young storytellers […] The post Could creating stories be another way to…",
  "key_points": [
    "Over 537 children from 325 schools in 10 countries submitted original stories.",
    "AI-assisted tools helped students develop complex characters and narratives.",
    "Peer storytelling revealed as potential new route to engage young readers."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}