I love reading books to escape real life and fall into a fictional one. For me escaping means leaving the stress and problems of real life behind, if only for a while, and enjoying the successes, laughs, victories, and joys of the characters in a book. If the characters in the book are dealing with the same problems I am, then I'm not really escaping. I'm rehashing my day through the character's eyes.
Children's literature is the perfect place for children to find characters who are dealing with life situations similar to their own. This is great! And my life experiences in a small town don’t give me enough knowledge to relate to children in completely different situations, but I can begin to gain an understanding through books. Students are the same. They can see how someone else - who cares if he's fictional? - handles a problem and succeeds in the end.
I've taught Joey Pigza. Not really, of course, but to see my real Joey read all about the fictional Joey, and then hear him talk about and relate to the fictional Joey proves that there is immense worth in children's books about real life problems.
But that's not what this site is about. I'm looking for books with high escapability. Books that children fall into and forget that their parents are divorced, that they failed their math test, that Grandma is sick, or that they may have to move again. I'm looking for books that make kids laugh out loud or victoriously fight the world's evils or score the winning touchdown as time expires and then run up to the nearest person, child or adult, screaming breathlessly, "You gotta hear about what I just read!"
There are all kinds of children's books. Some are heavy. Some aren't. I'm not looking for clean-cut, mass produced, formula books where minimal conflicts are resolved in the literary equivalent of a 23-minute sitcom. I'm searching for and recommending quality books into which children can happily get lost for a while. These tend, in my opinion, to be books that are humorous, adventurous, high-action, and/or exciting.
Children's literature is the perfect place for children to find characters who are dealing with life situations similar to their own. This is great! And my life experiences in a small town don’t give me enough knowledge to relate to children in completely different situations, but I can begin to gain an understanding through books. Students are the same. They can see how someone else - who cares if he's fictional? - handles a problem and succeeds in the end.
I've taught Joey Pigza. Not really, of course, but to see my real Joey read all about the fictional Joey, and then hear him talk about and relate to the fictional Joey proves that there is immense worth in children's books about real life problems.
But that's not what this site is about. I'm looking for books with high escapability. Books that children fall into and forget that their parents are divorced, that they failed their math test, that Grandma is sick, or that they may have to move again. I'm looking for books that make kids laugh out loud or victoriously fight the world's evils or score the winning touchdown as time expires and then run up to the nearest person, child or adult, screaming breathlessly, "You gotta hear about what I just read!"
There are all kinds of children's books. Some are heavy. Some aren't. I'm not looking for clean-cut, mass produced, formula books where minimal conflicts are resolved in the literary equivalent of a 23-minute sitcom. I'm searching for and recommending quality books into which children can happily get lost for a while. These tend, in my opinion, to be books that are humorous, adventurous, high-action, and/or exciting.
Too many grown-ups say things like graphic novels are just overgrown comic books. They hold books like Captain Underpants at arms between their thumb and index finger like it’s a recently filled diaper. They believe reading doesn’t qualify as reading unless the book teaches a lesson.
Here’s a lesson more kids should be learning: “I LOVE TO READ!”
There are many books that will do just that, and Help Readers Love Reading will recommend them.
WHEW! I’d better step down from this soapbox, lower my blood pressure, and get my heart rate back to normal. Thanks for reading.
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