An Episode for Kids’ Ears: How Reading Powers Everything, from Minecraft to Marvel

In today's episode, I am asking parents to take a backseat and let the kids control the speakers. I am talking directly to kids about why books are not competing with screens but powering the worlds they love. We unpack the brain science of reading, the courage in choosing your own stories, and the reason books get banned when ideas scare people in positions of power. We dig deep into: 

• how books seed games, films and shows we love
• how reading lights up the brain and builds focus
• how stories help us to feel seen and heard, and 
• the truth about bans and why ideas frighten power

I end with a gentle challenge to try one story this week and invite children to  ask their parents to drop me a message, tell me what type of story they hope to find, tell me what they like, what they don’t like, and I will find it them. 

Find us on Instagram @teatalesandtomes and don't forget to join us next time for more bookish wonder.

Podcast music by Lundstroem (Episode 1 onwards) and Audionautix (TTAT Trailer). Podcast edited by Timothy Wiggill.

Transcript

Why Screens Feel Fast And Books Feel Slow

Books As The Blueprint Behind Games And Shows

Reading As A Brain Superpower

Feeling Seen: Stories Say “Me Too”

Is Reading Cool Or Powerful

Why Books Get Banned And Feared

SPEAKER_00 0:12

Hello Bookish Friends. This is Natasha, and you're listening to Teetales and Tomes, where we are living our favorite lives, talking books and drinking hot. Hold up, hold up, hold up. Bookish friends, today's episode is a little different. Usually here at Tea Tales and Tomes, we kind of direct our content to adult readers, parents, and primary caregivers hoping to raise readers. But this episode is for those cooler people that we share this world with. The children. This one is for kids' ears, kids' hearts, and kids' imaginations. So, adults, parents, if you'd like, press play, grab your cup of tea, step back a little and let the children take the front seat. If you're listening to this and you're between 5 and 18 years old, this episode is for you. Not for your parents, not for your teachers, not for anyone who's ever told you that you should read or what you should read. Just you. You don't need to love reading to listen. You don't even need to like books. You just need to be curious enough to stay with me, your host, for a little while. Come along. Let's be honest for a moment. Gaming is fun, watching videos is fun, scrolling is fun. Heck, you'll often find me scrolling through Instagram, watching videos, I really do love cat videos, and my favorite PlayStation game is Ratchet and Clank. Screens feel fast and exciting and shared, like that's where everyone is. That's where new slang is born, where jokes spread, where things feel alive. And sometimes, just sometimes, books and reading can feel slow, or quiet, or a little different, or even a little isolating. And that feeling, it's real, and I get it. So this isn't an episode about giving up games or ditching screens, not at all. It's about something way more interesting than that. It's about how books quietly built the world. Actually, the worlds that you love. And no, I'm not sneakily trying to make you read anything. No tricks, no lectures, just a little rambling. I think you're gonna find really interesting knowing how curious you are. Because today we're digging into why books are the originals, the OGs, the GOATs. If they're adults listening, that means greatest of all times. Books are straight fire. No cap. Ready to listen? Let me ask you something. Do you like Fortnite, Minecraft, Stranger Things, Marvel and DC movies, exploring space, building things, imagining new worlds, using Google Earth, playing Roblox? None of these things came out of nowhere. In fact, did you know that the creator of Minecraft, Marcus Persson, often called Notch, what a cool name, has spoken about how imagination, problem solving, and learning systems all came from years of reading, experimenting, and most of all curiosity. Would you believe that as a child, he was actually less interested in playing games as much as reading computer programming books and manuals? That's just so fascinating to me. And this is the person that went on to create this remarkably unique game called Minecraft and made huge amounts of money with this creation. It all started with reading. And the Duffer brothers, who created Stranger Things, were huge readers growing up. Their series, Stranger Things, is filled with ideas borrowed from books, science fiction, fantasy, adventure stories, all mixed together in new and fabulous ways. If you have read Madeleine Le Engel, Stephen King, or even Jurassic Park, you will immediately see similarities between this awesome show and these books. And Stan Lee, who helped create Marvel, was a reader way before he was a writer. He learned how stories work by reading them first, how heroes struggle, fail, get back up, and evolve. The people who design games like Fortnite and Roblox, they don't just code. They read scripts, they read lore, they read history and mythology, they read stories to understand how to create virtual worlds that feel alive to us. Books don't compete with games and movies. I'm gonna say that again. Books don't compete with games and movies. There is actually no competition there. Books and stories are where those worlds begin. Books are the originals, the foundations, the real McCoy. Books are the ultimate sigma, the ultimate fighter, the OG, straight fire. And in the lingo of some of the kids of today, books eat and leave no crumbs. Now here's something even more interesting. Let's talk for a moment about the genuine magic that happens when we do read. When you read, your brain doesn't just look at words. Reading is a kind of superpower and not in a cape and lasers kind of way. It's a superpower in a brain upgrading itself way. I'm gonna repeat that. When you read, your brain doesn't just look at words. It lights up like a city at night. Your brain builds a world, just like those creators I was telling you about. Scientists have even discovered that reading connects parts of your brain that don't usually talk to one another. The parts that handle imagination, memory, emotions, sound, and even movement all switch on. Your brain is basically running a full-on simulation. How cool is that? So if you read about a character running, the same brain areas activate as when you actually run. If a character feels scared or excited, shy or nervous, your brain practices those feelings too. That means that reading is training your brain to understand people better, understand yourself better without you even noticing. Scientists have found that reading builds stronger brain connections and it helps your brain practice focusing. Something that's actually harder now than it's ever been. With the invention of TV and all the way up to now with smartphones, all humans are struggling with the ability to stay focused for long periods. Little kids, teenagers, and yes, even the adults in your life are struggling with the ability to focus for long periods. But reading retrains your brain into being able to focus again. When you read, you are canceling out the negative effects of screens. Reading strengthens your memory, it stretches your imagination. So yeah, reading isn't homework. It's brain XP. It's a superpower you level up every time you turn a page. So think about that the next time you open a book and enjoy a story. And here's the real kicker. The more you read, the stronger those connections become, even when you're not holding a book. Here's the thing most people don't tell you. It's almost like they're trying to keep this amazing knowledge from you so that they're leveling up while you're not. But I'm not a gatekeeper and I want you all to level up. Reading also gives you power over yourself. It helps you explain what's going on inside your head. It gives you words for feelings you didn't know had names. It helps you notice patterns, how people act, why choices matter, how stories unfold. Almost like you are Sherlock Holmes, one of the greatest detectives of all time. And that's Elementary Watson. Reading makes you better at imagining different futures, different versions of yourself, different ways the world could be, and that's powerful. You are powerful when you read. And now I want to tell you something I hope you never ever forget. There are more than seven billion people on this planet. And sometimes, especially when you're young, it can feel like no one thinks the way you think, or feels the way you feel, or struggles with the things that you struggle with. Books exist to remind us that we are not alone. Somewhere, someone has felt what you're feeling. Started school and feeling anxious and overwhelmed with everything? This is such a normal and common emotion that there are so many books with characters that are going through the exact same thing. And just some examples that I can think of off the top of my head. New Kid by Jerry Croft, Focused by Alison Gerber, and The Extremely Embarrassing Life of Lottie Brooks by Katie Kirby. All these characters, and so many others, are going through the exact thing that you are experiencing right now. Parents arguing all the time or going through a separation or a divorce and you feel stuck or caught in the middle of these big feelings? There's Flora and Ulysses by Kate DeCamillo, One Last Shot by John David Anderson, and Eggs Over Evie by JC Peterson. You are not alone. Or what about having your body change as you go through puberty and your emotions are feeling all out of whack? You are not alone. So when you feel different and when you feel like you're not fitting in anywhere, trust me, you are not alone. Someone somewhere is going through exactly what you are going through. They've been overwhelmed, scared, excited, confused, left out, brave when they didn't feel brave at all. And they wrote it down, and when you read, you're not just reading a story. You're meeting another human being across time and distance who is quietly saying me too. And that's one of the bravest and most magical things about books. They are our friends too. But is reading really cool? So let's talk about the one thing that no one likes to say out loud. Sometimes reading doesn't feel very cool, but here's the truth. The people who change the world are almost always readers first. Scientists, inventors, explorers, artists, game designers, filmmakers. They read to understand how things work. They read to imagine what doesn't exist yet. They read because curiosity needs fuel. Reading doesn't make you boring, it makes you dangerously interesting. Did I just say dangerously interesting? So let's talk about that a bit more. Do you know what the word ban means? The word ban B A N means to make something illegal, to forbid something. Have you noticed that people in power I'm not talking about your parents, I'm talking about governments and lawmakers. Have you noticed that these people almost never ban games? No matter how violent, crazy, whack, inappropriate a game is, no one bans it. These same people, they don't usually ban movies and series. There are some really awfully frightening movies out there, and these do not get banned. They don't ban screens, despite screens being proven time and time again to negatively affect us all. But books? Books get banned, forbidden, removed from shelves all the time, all over the world. Now ask yourself why? If books were boring and cool, if they didn't matter, if they weren't powerful, no one would bother banning them, right? So why are books banned so often? That's because books carry ideas, and ideas are powerful enough to scare people who want to stay in control, to control your thoughts. Throughout history, the so-called bad guys didn't just fight with weapons. They burned libraries, they destroyed books, and they silenced storytellers because they understood something important. Words change how people think. Stories make people question. Reading helps people imagine a different world and then shows them how they can build it. There's a very old saying, and you can ask your parents about this one. The saying goes, the pen is mightier than the sword. The pen is mightier than the sword. That doesn't mean that pens are sharp. It means that what you write and what you read can be more powerful than weapons. A sword can hurt one person, maybe three, maybe ten, but an idea can change millions of people. Books teach people to think for themselves, to notice when something isn't fair, to imagine freedom, kindness, courage, and change. And that's why books are banned. That's why libraries are attacked, and that's why stories matter. So when someone says reading isn't cool, remember this. Books are powerful enough to frighten people who don't want the world to change for the better. If you don't believe me, here's a few examples. It really happened. In 1933, the Nazi government decided that some books were dangerous. Books that questioned power, books written by Jewish authors, for example, books about freedom and fairness. So they burned them in massive public fires. The goal wasn't just to destroy stories, it was to control what people were allowed to think. Because when you control books, you control minds. Much more close to home in South Africa, during apartheid, many books were banned because they told the truth. Stories about inequality, books written by black authors, books that challenged the system. Libraries removed them, people hid them. Some books were passed hand to hand like secret treasure. Because even when books are banned, stories still find a way to survive. Another example, way back in the past, during times when kings and rulers wanted total control, did you know that ordinary people were not allowed to read at all? Only a small group of people were allowed access to books. Because once people learned to read, they learned to think. And once people learned to think, they started asking questions. And that was dangerous to anyone who wanted power without fairness. So books weren't burnt by accident. They were burnt on purpose because stories created thinkers and thinkers changed the world. When you are a reader, you are a leader. And that's why today, when you pick up a book, you're doing something brave even if it feels quiet. And for me, that makes reading one of the coolest, bravest things you can do. Now listen very carefully because this part really matters. You don't have to love reading. You don't have to read fast, you don't have to read big books, you don't even have to finish every single book that you start. Reading is not a test. Reading is an invitation. You're allowed to read comics, graphic novels, game guides, myths, space facts, audiobooks. You're allowed to read one page, five minutes, one chapter. Choosing your own stories is part of the magic. Somewhere out there is a story that feels like it was written just for you. It might make you laugh, or feel seen, or feel brave, or feel less alone. You don't have to find it today or this week or even this year. But when you do, something shifts. Because reading doesn't just help you understand the world, friends, it helps you understand your place in it and how you fit in this world with seven billion people. So here's my gentle challenge to you. This week, choose just one story, any kind, any format, just one. Read a little, listen a little, and see how it feels. No pressure, no rules, because books aren't here to take anything away from your life. They're here to quietly remind you of who you are and who you could become. And if you really don't know where to start, ask your parents to drop me a message, tell them what type of story you hope to find, tell them what you like, what you don't like, and I will find it for you. You can even just send me a voice recording if you want.