The trees are budding as I look out the window, a sign that summer and kids at home are not far away. Do kids still look forward to finding a quiet place with a good book to enjoy? Sometimes I wonder if modern children's books try too hard to make a point, instead of just telling a good story. Is it possible that kids are reading less because books by great storytellers are being ignored? Maurice Sendak takes kids into an adventure with "Where the Wild Things Are," with the gnashing of their terrible teeth and terrible roars and terrible eyes, and terrible claws, and The Wild Things make him King. Yet even better than being King is his own room to come home to, with supper awaiting him. That book was awarded the 1964 Caldecott winner of Most Distinguished Picture Book of the Year, and kids still love it. Like many fables and fairy tales, scary things are great...as long as someone is there at the end of the story, and nobody tries to lecture them about what the story means.
Christopher Robin never has to be alone, because if Winnie-the-Pooh is busy, Rabit, or Piglet, or Eeyore, or Owl oo Tiger or Kanga or some other friend will be there to play. Written in 1926, Pooh and his friends still make great companions for youngsters who need some friends to help them grow up.
Even a bit of loneliness is manageable for "The Little Prince," on his solitary planet. Published first in America in 2018, it is still a special book.
While those books may appeal most to boys, youngsters are often indifferent to whether characters are boys or girls, if the characters seem like a nice friend to get to know. Familiar classics for girls like Alice in Wonderland, The Secret Garden, Little Women, and Anne of Green Gables are wonderful classics. Another one that should not be overlooked is Charlotte's Web, the story of Fern, a young farm girl who saves a piglet she named Wilber, who was about to be killed simply because he was a runt! His next good luck was in finding a friend named Charlotte, a spider. This book by E.B. White, with wonderful pictures by Garth Williams, was published 1952, and should not be overlooked.
Another classic, more recent but a wonderful series to fill a summer, is the Harry Potter series. First issued in England in 1997, Americans lined up eagerly in long lines when books were unavailable in America until 1998. I had bought all of the books by the time Covid hit, but I had not read them. I used the opportunity to read them, one right after the other, and the same might be done as a summer reading adventure. Perhaps there might be a surprise on the family bookcase if some parents were Harry Potter fans!
My parents encouraged my reading by taking me to the library, which was important, but there is something wonderful about having a book of you own. I began collecting children's books, especially classics, in about 1988. I believe you can never be too old to read great classics, and the best way to encourage children to become readers is for children to see parents reading. Peter Pan and Huckleberry Finn are great examples of books that never grow old.
Rarely do current books appear on favorite children's book lists over time, while older classics remain in those lists for generations. The best books do not lecture. They tell stories. I believe that lecturing, rather than telling a good story (that just happens to share an important lesson) is part of the problem of why kids do not love to read.
Believe it or not, young people are entering college unable to read. Yes, they can manage their laptop far better than I can, and they are growing up in a time that newspapers are disappearing. But learning to read for oneself is still essential to the skill of reasoning and perceiving nonsense in fools and tricksters. A good book is more than just understanding the plot. Reading puts you into the story, helping you understand people and situations in a way that broadens your awareness beyond your personal experiences. A good book that brings characters to life makes them seem real and helps the reader understand what others experience.
The best way to encourage children to read is to read to them when they are young and eager to learn to read too. Summer is coming, and it may be the busiest time of the year, but it is also the best time to read to your young children. Libraries are open, even when schools aren't. If your library does not have the classic books I mentioned, ask them why not? Even better, they can still be found online to begin your own library, and used books are cheaper in a time when spare cash may be limited. Turning off the TV and reading can make a difference for everyone...something that using the internet cannot match.
P.S. If you don't have children, you might consider finding those books you loved so much, or those books you always meant to read but never got around to and enjoying them for yourself.
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