Firstly, I think I love this group already.

Secondly, I read children's books for fun. And I'm not ashamed of it.
I am only a teenager, admittedly, but I am willing to read anything and everything. However, I always find myself going back to the Ages 6-12 section of bookstores.
Why? Well...
They're happy books. Usually, anyway.

I enjoy reading sad stuff as much as the next person. I'll willingly flick through writings on any subject from acral necrosis to the Holocaust; from rape and pillage to famine and flood. But at the same time, I yearn for happy endings, which means that I am sometimes shunned by "serious" readers.
Children's books are full of happy things; more so than most romance novels, I find. They may or may not be about serious matters, although sad kids' books are generally in the 'Young Adult' section, even if the main characters are children. Even so, they generally have happy endings and plenty of humour, even if the jokes are sometimes limited to the scatological.
I also think that some children's books are better written than many adult's books. Perhaps editors are more worried about kids reading Something They Oughtn't, so the manuscripts are looked over more carefully. I wouldn't know. But I do know that there are far less clumsy similes and painfully overdone descriptions in children's books than in at least some of the 'adult' books I've read.

Plenty of people my age read 'grown-up', solemn books - or pretend to - and insist on showing off about them. Why should I be disregarded for preferring to read things that make me happy, even if they're considered "too young" for me?

I wonder if anybody else understands this.

I too prefer happy endings, which is why I've still got the fantasy novels I used to read in middle school. I haven't had anyone comment on the age range specifically, probably because they don't know it, but I get a lot of comments about reading fantasy at all (I'm 24).

Of course, the comments don't bother me too much because I know I've probably read more "serious" books than the person making the comment. Some of the people I've talked to read about one book a year--I can't even imagine that!

I can't say I've noticed differences in the editing quality, but I tend to get into the stories too much to pay attention to the actual words. It's one of the problems I've been facing while editing my own novels.

I totally know what you mean. I'm a teenager too, and considered very smart for my age. So it's weird that I take such an interest in childrens' books as a teenager, when as a kid I only read them for nighttime reasons to stay up an extra twenty minutes. I've read a lot of serious books, and I seem to treat them the same. Maybe because I've just really started 'developing' mentally in these past four years that I can still read childrens' books from a mature and childlike point of view.

What are your favourites? I like Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz (and I'm planning on reading the sequel), and a big collection of short stories, poetry and plays intended for children.

I suppose the reason I like them so much is because most fairy tales and childrens books have main characters who are usually teenaged or preteens. I can relate to these characters a lot better than the over-dramatic, boy obsessed girls in 'young adult' literature. Most heroines in childrens' books are either damsels in distress or charming little ladies. I am pretty driven by characters when I read, and I have to be interested, relate to, or understand (or want to understand!) the characters.
Another reason is that childrens books (especially older ones) are very witty with lots of fun rythmes, riddles and puzzles that make me laugh or smile. I really like riddles, even if I'm not all that good at them, and most childrens books have tons of these to entertain me. Dr.Seuss is another great author if you like rhythms.

I think you're right about kids and young adults books being more closely written. Kids are not forgiving of mistakes and sloppiness, and it doesn't take many kids telling their friends, "Oh, it sucked," before there's an author who's not selling books.

A lot of people complain about the writing of the Twilight books--I saw the movie but haven't read the books, so I can't say--but there must be something worth reading in them, if just a really compelling story.

I like The Princess Diaries. The idea of being a princess in the modrn world intrigues me.