Parenting: Books before movies, every single time

2012-11-13 18:09:07

Once again, I found myself lost in the poetic verse of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are as the young student I was working with read it out loud, her voice slightly cautious as she pronounced some of the words on her own for the very first time.

"And the wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws."

She had been reading for several minutes when she stopped mid-sentence and looked up, her brows furrowed in deep thought.

Suddenly she had a revelation. "Mrs. Ashline! I know this story! I saw this movie with my parents! I knew it sounded familiar!"

"You mean, you’ve never read the book before today, Jackie?"

"No! But I’ve seen the movie! It was great! Wow, the wild things in the book look exactly like they did in the movie. The author must have seen the movie too!"

My heart sank as I heard her recount the details of the film version of one of the most beloved and classic children's books of our time. It was as if she'd been robbed of an opportunity to exercise a vital part of childhood: using her imagination to fill in the nooks and crannies of a story and truly make it her own.

For the record, and for the most part, I have nothing against film versions of books. While some adaptations leave little to be desired or struggle to stay true to the original story, others bring to life timeless characters and priceless life lessons. Plus, there's something magical about seeing your favorite book on the big screen.

But movies based on books have their place on the food chain and should never be introduced to a child before they've had the opportunity to read the book (or have it read to them).

There is a moment in every story when the imagination of the author collides with the imagination of the reader, and in that precious space is an intimate and one-of-a-kind experience that no two other people will experience in the same way.

I've had a classroom full of students who each presented their own twist, their own unique version of the same story we had all read together as a group. It's what makes a book so special; you aren't just a passive observer of someone else's story, you're an active participant, engaged, invested, affected.

You can't replicate that kind of intimacy from a movie, no matter how amazing it is, because the movie does all the work for you. And though you may walk away moved, changed and even inspired, your imagination was put on pause while the director and characters and camera angles acted on its behalf.

Instant gratification is great; it's why the film industry is so successful. Who doesn't love the opportunity to be transported away from the details of their own lives and live vicariously through someone else's? Children are no exception.

But there's a time and a place for everything, and in the world of literature, the book - especially a classic children's story - should always come before the movie.

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Jo Ashline is a freelance writer, former kindergarten teacher, and mother of two. She writes regularly for OC Moms, the Orange County Register's parenting section.

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