Like many people at Asbury, I grew up on “The Chronicles of Narnia.” My parents read them aloud to my brother and me when we were little, and I read them again in elementary school when I was old enough to read them on my own. I’ve watched the movies too many times to count and could probably recite portions of them if pressed. I hadn’t read the books in a long time though, and in a way, I’d moved on.
Last spring, I read several of them again in Dr. Devin Brown’s Lewis and Tolkien class. To say I got more out of it than I initially expected would be an understatement. I was excited about the class and thought I would enjoy it, but I was surprised by the level of depth I found in books intended for eight-year-olds.
I didn’t think much of it at the time; I just enjoyed the experience of rereading a beloved childhood book series and gaining new insights I didn’t have the capacity for as a kid. This semester, however, I’m in another Dr. Brown class that is solely focused on reading and writing literature intended for children.
As an English major, I read often and would like to think I read broadly. But I’ve come to realize that I don’t often read “down” as far as children’s literature.
Why? I suppose to some extent I’ve felt better than that in some way, too mature and sophisticated to bother reading books for elementary schoolers. I’ve been reading Shakespeare, Faulkner, Milton, Derrida and Woolf. Surely this means I’ve progressed past the need to read (or reread) children’s books, right?
I don’t think so. I think really maturing is realizing that we’re never too old for a well-written story, no matter the target audience. As W.H. Auden wrote, “There are good books which are only for adults, because their comprehension presupposes adult experiences, but there are no good books which are only for children.”
Despite what many of us were taught in school, reading is not a linear progression. It’s not a one-way road on which you can never turn back, as though passing the landmark of “adult fiction” disqualifies you from reading anything that came before. Going back to the basics is not giving up or losing ground. It’s not less mature. As author Katherine Rundell wrote in a BBC article titled “Why adults should read children’s books,” there are times in life when reading children’s books “might be the only thing that will do.”
For some, the excuse to read children’s books comes from having children of their own. I don’t think we need to wait for that, however, or limit ourselves to using our own kids as the only reason to read children’s literature. Many well-known and beloved children’s authors never had kids of their own, including Margaret Wise Brown, Beatrix Potter, Maurice Sendak, Dr. Seuss, Louisa May Alcott, C.S. Lewis and J.M. Barrie. But the thing that they all have in common that enabled them to write for children is something that we also share which allows us to read and enjoy children’s books. We have all been and remember being children. We love what children love. And sometimes, a return to the innocence and wonder of a child through story is exactly what we need to remember the simple joys and gentle pleasures of life.
In an article titled “The Importance of Imagination for C.S. Lewis and for Us,” author Art Lindsley notes that Lewis “questioned the division between children’s and adult literature, realizing that when we lose childlikeness, we lose something of our humanity (Mark 10:15). A good story is good for both child and adult.” He goes on to quote Lewis directly in the thought that “juvenile taste is simply human taste.”
Of course, there are some children’s books that lean into the childishness and immaturity of their target audience. They rely on bathroom humor and dumb jokes that are likely not nearly as funny to adults. Perhaps those are not the children’s books you should reach for. Instead, reach for the books that treat children, both the characters and readers, as human. Those are the books I think we can learn from, even as adults.
So if you’re looking for your next read, consider going back to your favorite childhood book. Finally read that series that all your friends read in middle school but you never got around to. Maybe even ask your parents or grandparents what they read as a child. Don’t stop reading for fun simply because you’re in college or working full time or have kids of your own, and don’t limit your reading to purely what’s in your “age level.” Because if you let them, children’s books may be able to remind you of hope, bravery, imagination, wonder, love. These things matter, and children’s literature won’t let you forget.
Photo courtesy of Vicki Lewis.
The value of reading children’s literature as an adult
Like many people at Asbury, I grew up on “The Chronicles of Narnia.” My parents read them aloud to my brother and me when we were little, and I read them again in elementary school when I was old enough to read them on my own. I’ve watched the movies too many times to count and could probably recite portions of them if pressed. I hadn’t read the books in a long time though, and in a way, I’d moved on.
Last spring, I read several of them again in Dr. Devin Brown’s Lewis and Tolkien class. To say I got more out of it than I initially expected would be an understatement. I was excited about the class and thought I would enjoy it, but I was surprised by the level of depth I found in books intended for eight-year-olds.
I didn’t think much of it at the time; I just enjoyed the experience of rereading a beloved childhood book series and gaining new insights I didn’t have the capacity for as a kid. This semester, however, I’m in another Dr. Brown class that is solely focused on reading and writing literature intended for children.
As an English major, I read often and would like to think I read broadly. But I’ve come to realize that I don’t often read “down” as far as children’s literature.
Why? I suppose to some extent I’ve felt better than that in some way, too mature and sophisticated to bother reading books for elementary schoolers. I’ve been reading Shakespeare, Faulkner, Milton, Derrida and Woolf. Surely this means I’ve progressed past the need to read (or reread) children’s books, right?
I don’t think so. I think really maturing is realizing that we’re never too old for a well-written story, no matter the target audience. As W.H. Auden wrote, “There are good books which are only for adults, because their comprehension presupposes adult experiences, but there are no good books which are only for children.”
Despite what many of us were taught in school, reading is not a linear progression. It’s not a one-way road on which you can never turn back, as though passing the landmark of “adult fiction” disqualifies you from reading anything that came before. Going back to the basics is not giving up or losing ground. It’s not less mature. As author Katherine Rundell wrote in a BBC article titled “Why adults should read children’s books,” there are times in life when reading children’s books “might be the only thing that will do.”
For some, the excuse to read children’s books comes from having children of their own. I don’t think we need to wait for that, however, or limit ourselves to using our own kids as the only reason to read children’s literature. Many well-known and beloved children’s authors never had kids of their own, including Margaret Wise Brown, Beatrix Potter, Maurice Sendak, Dr. Seuss, Louisa May Alcott, C.S. Lewis and J.M. Barrie. But the thing that they all have in common that enabled them to write for children is something that we also share which allows us to read and enjoy children’s books. We have all been and remember being children. We love what children love. And sometimes, a return to the innocence and wonder of a child through story is exactly what we need to remember the simple joys and gentle pleasures of life.
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In an article titled “The Importance of Imagination for C.S. Lewis and for Us,” author Art Lindsley notes that Lewis “questioned the division between children’s and adult literature, realizing that when we lose childlikeness, we lose something of our humanity (Mark 10:15). A good story is good for both child and adult.” He goes on to quote Lewis directly in the thought that “juvenile taste is simply human taste.”
Of course, there are some children’s books that lean into the childishness and immaturity of their target audience. They rely on bathroom humor and dumb jokes that are likely not nearly as funny to adults. Perhaps those are not the children’s books you should reach for. Instead, reach for the books that treat children, both the characters and readers, as human. Those are the books I think we can learn from, even as adults.
So if you’re looking for your next read, consider going back to your favorite childhood book. Finally read that series that all your friends read in middle school but you never got around to. Maybe even ask your parents or grandparents what they read as a child. Don’t stop reading for fun simply because you’re in college or working full time or have kids of your own, and don’t limit your reading to purely what’s in your “age level.” Because if you let them, children’s books may be able to remind you of hope, bravery, imagination, wonder, love. These things matter, and children’s literature won’t let you forget.
Photo courtesy of Vicki Lewis.