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My Bio

August 11, 2015

Don't you ever get tired of reading children's books?

Okay, simple answer, NO. (and the blog is done, YAY!) Wait, no it's not because it's not the question but the thought/values/perceptions behind the question that I want to address.

"Don't you ever get tired of reading children's books?"  What is the questioner implying?  Children's books are boring, simple, unengaging, a chore to read, something someone would want a break from.

I'll address all of those in a minute, but let's first consider that this is never, NEVER said about any books written for an adult audience.  If someone only reads mysteries or romances or non-fiction they are not asked if they 'get tired of it' or 'need a break' (always accompanied by the nose wrinkle that implies a lack of respect for the genre or age group).  Their intelligence is not judged by their reading material.  Well, that's not true (someone reading Danielle Steele vs. reading Richard Feynmann, oh yeah, there's judgement going on), but it's never said out loud. I guess people think they're complimenting me when they judge me 'capable' of reading books outside the children's literature arena.

So, let's look at some of those 'lesser than' books written for (apparently) a 'lesser than' audience and see if they fit the perception. 

Boring, unengaging, etc.  oh yeah, that's what comes to mind when reading The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams, a story about a girl in a religious cult who is going to be forced into marriage with one of the church leaders.

Oooh, how about Unwind by Neal Shusterman  A book in which the ProChoice and AntiAbortion sides come up with a compromise, abortion is gone, but if between the ages of 12 and 18 you STILL don't want that kid (come on parents of teens, when are they at their least lovable?  Come on, admit it) you can have them 'unwound'.  Every molecule will be used in another human being somewhere. So, the person isn't gone, just 'disseminated'. Unwind follows three characters:  a boy who is his family's tenth child, so he's the 'tithe', an orphan girl who doesn't play piano quite well enough to be of use to the state, and a boy whose parents are just DONE with him.  It's an amazing book and very useful as a parenting tool as well (I have threatened my daughters with 'unwinding'.  Parenting through YA lit, I recommend it highly).

Ah, but these are YA you say, what about the boring stuff written for younger children? Only engaging to an immature mind (yes, which I know does not exclude me).  Oh, yeah, boring like Battle Bunny by Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett and illustrated by Matthew Myers (and yes, I think Mr. Scieszka and Mr. Barnett are right around where I am maturity-wise). A treacly sweet, well intentioned Birthday Bunny given to Alexander by his Gram Gram is changed (for the better) thanks to Alex's black crayon and lively imagination.  I know librarians who are now taking the culled books from their shelves and handing them to students with a crayon or pen and saying "Make it your own."

Or Katherine Otoshi's STUNNING book One which has a lesson to make those adults who think ALL children's books should teach, inspire, etc. etc. (yuck!) but is not pedantic, so it makes people like me (story first, lesson later or never) very happy.

Also, Exclamation Point by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Tom  Lichtenheld  Lively, fun and fits same category as Ms. Otoshi's book.

How about Quest, written and illustrated by Aaron Becker This magical book won't be on any AR lists because it's wordless and therefore unworthy of being considered (do NOT get me started on AR or Lexiles, feel free to look at previous post on that)

I could keep going on and on and on and.................. there are many ABSOLUTELY AMAZING books written for children and young adults (and I'd love for y'all to add your own suggestions in the comments). Too many to read them all, let alone list them.  Too many for me to ever get 'tired of' reading (no nose wrinkle) children's literature.

Of course there are books in children's literature that fit one, some or all of these negative descriptions, but that is true in every category of literature. I think the devaluing is part of the bigger picture of all things having to do with children being less valued (monetarily, no matter how much lip service we give to things) i.e. teaching, child care provider, etc.

So, NO! I do not ever, EVER get tired of reading children's books! If I do ever get tired of reading children's books, that means there's something wrong with me and you all need to stage an intervention, STAT!!