Recently three hours in a car that seats six, but not
comfortably, was made fun rather than unpleasant because, at my grandson’s
request we listened to The True Meaning of Smekday. As I listened to my grandson giggle in all the
right places from the back seat and my husband joining in beside me, with
moments of laugh out loud enjoyment, I marveled at the universality of
“children’s” literature. Walter de la
Mare, in Bells of Grass, says so eloquently: “I know well that only the rarest
kind of best in anything can be good enough for the young.” I would not change the children’s claim to
“the rarest kind of best” in literature, but one thing I would change is the
tendency of adults and young adults to think that they have grown beyond books
labeled “children’s” literature.
National Children’s Book Week is May 13 – 19th. Take the time to celebrate by treating
yourself to a children’s book. Better
yet enjoy it with a child. There is no
more satisfying magic than that moment when you meet in a book and understand
each other and life at a new level. Some
of my favorite titles that have been springboards to just such moments are:
The Fortune-Tellers by Lloyd Alexander
Anansi and the Talking Melon by Eric Kimmel
14 Cows for America by Carman Agra Deedy
Midnight Fox by Betsy Byars
Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary
Wonder by R J Palacio
One Hen - How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference by Katie Smith Milway
Charlotte's Rose by A E Cannon
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
“Reading is one of
the true pleasures of life. . .it is mind-easing and mind-inspiring to sit down
privately with a congenial book...” Thomas S Monson
Give in, take
pleasure in life, READ!
Anita is the Children's Book buyer for the BYU Bookstore and has worked at the BYU Bookstore for over ten years! Anita spreads her love of reading within our Children’s Books department and with many local book events such as Books for Young Readers, Education Week and the Annual Christmas Booktalk.
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