In keeping with the RWU Lounge motto (No Rules, Just Fun), I'd like to talk about childhood favorites today, not just for children.
Recently, I relistened to Charlotte's Web, narrated by E. B. White himself. If you've never heard it, it's a treasure. His quiet, unhurried voice feels exactly right for the story, gentle, warm, and completely without fuss. I'd forgotten how much emotion he can convey with the simplest sentences.
Then Kat mentioned reading The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, which reminded me how much I've always loved Kate DiCamillo. Before long, I was looking up some old favorites, Because of Winn-Dixie and The Tale of Despereaux, along with several I'd somehow never gotten around to reading: The Magician's Elephant, The Tiger Rising, The Puppets of Spelhorst, and Lost Evangeline.
As I read interviews with DiCamillo, trying to better understand what it was about her writing that I (and so many others ) are drawn to, I came across a quote that stopped me in my tracks. Speaking to the Orlando Sentinel, she explained that she always tries to leave room for the reader to read between the lines. She said she has tried to emulate E. B. White:
"He's using the same words we're all using. It must be that stripped-away quality, his heart is resting more on each word, and that's what I'm always trying to do."
The moment I read those words, something clicked.
I've often wondered why E. B. White and Kate DiCamillo feel so similar to me, even though they're writing decades apart. This quote explained it perfectly. Neither writer relies on elaborate language or flashy storytelling. Instead, they trust ordinary words to carry extraordinary feelings. They leave space for the reader. They never tell us exactly what to think or feel; they invite us there instead.
Maybe that's one reason so many children's books become lifelong companions. The best ones appeal to both children and adults. They're for anyone willing to approach them with an open heart. They ask big questions about love, loss, friendship, courage, loneliness, hope, and what it means to be kind. We simply hear different answers at different ages. The best children's books explore universal themes with remarkable clarity and without unnecessary cynicism. Rereading them as adults often reveals layers of wisdom and craftsmanship that we were too young to appreciate the first time. That's why I'm rereading some of them now.
So today I'm curious:
- Have you revisited a favorite from childhood recently? Did it hold up? Did it surprise you? Did it horrify you (like I just felt when I reread The Tale of Desperaux)?
- Have you discovered a children's or young adult novel as an adult and wondered where it had been all your life?
- Or maybe you've found that children's literature is best read by children. I'd love to know what your experience has been.
Though I haven't read any children's books recently, I loved revisiting some favorites from my childhood when I read them with Molly when she was younger. Some were just as good; others (Little House series, I'm looking at you) did not age well. But I firmly believe that children's literature can and should be read and enjoyed by people of all ages. My favorite class in my grad school program was one on children's literature, largely because the professor was such a wonderful champion of the genre.
ReplyDeleteI am an avid believer in the power of children's literature! I especially love the children's writer who knows that an adult is reading this book to a child and provides something for both of them! I, like you, love E.B. White stories. I think they are classics for a reason... because they never get old! But... the little house books did not "age well" for me. I have tried rereading them and they did not hold up the same way. And though I very much disagree with the author of the Harry Potter series on many things... her books provided such magic for my children as they grew from childhood to adolescence. We read them aloud together and had fantastically rousing discussions around them!
ReplyDeleteNaturally I'm reading a ton of children's books with Iris. Many are ones that were Colin's when he was little and many are new. She has the copies of Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little that were mine when I was a kid!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I've gotta say that Kate DiCamillo's quote about E.B. White's writing is just SO spot on -- about his writing, about her writing, and - actually - about every author I love's writing: spare and stripped-down language always wins the day for me. I love authors who provide the space for me, as a reader. (Thanks so much for sharing that most excellent quote, Bonny.)
ReplyDeleteI had so many favorite books when I was a young reader . . . but I've gotta say that when I read them again as an adult, I'm almost always a little disappointed. The magic I felt as a child just doesn't come back for me now that I'm an adult. I tend NOT to read my childhood favorites anymore, and instead choose to remember them with fondness and nostalgia, preserving all my magical memories.
My stepson left a huge box of children's books here when he moved out. He is an extraordinarily light traveler in this world, and he doesn't keep many things. I went through them and found some real treasures. I kept a lot of of them, and I donated a lot of them to my local library. One that I remember keeping was The Velveteen Rabbit. I was charmed by that book. Charlotte's Web is waiting for me at the library.
ReplyDeleteEvery summer I read YA books. I"m currently reading Swiss Family Robinson and just finished the Phantom Tollbooth. A great way to spend the summer. I can recommend The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, the Westing Game and a Wrinkle in Time
ReplyDeleteThose are some great books, and I don't think I've read them since I was a kid. I'm not sure I ever read The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles or The Westing Game so I think it's time for a library visit. Thanks!
DeleteThank you for sharing that quote about EB White - he and Kate DiCamillo are favorites of mine - and in the case of White, I appreciate him much more as an adult. I love children's literature for all the reasons folks have shared. Though as a kid, my tastes ran to Nancy Drew and other "mystery books" (always my professed favorites). Those books are amusing to read now, but really are piffle. But I firmly believe a really good children's book is worth reading for anyone.
ReplyDeleteI wholeheartedly agree! I read lots of Nancy Drew but I've never even considered re-reading them as an adult. I really appreciate White as an adult an have plans to re-read his essays in the near future. I'm excited!
DeleteWhen I was a first grade teacher, the books that my class would beg me to read over and over were the Sideways School books by Louis Sachar. I could write a lesson plan for every subject around those crazy characters. On the very last day of school I would raffle off our battered copies and you'd have thought I was giving away a million dollars.
ReplyDeleteI had completely forgotten about the Sideways Stories! They are perfect for first graders (and probably many adults, too).
DeleteI reread Charlotte's Web and Little House on the Prairie when I did the summer book bingos as I needed a children's book. I have to find them and give them to my great nieces who are now 6 and 8.
ReplyDeleteIf you're sure you don't want to reread them again yourself! :-)
DeleteI've re-read several childhood favorites such as Bambi, Little Women, The Secret Garden, Charlotte's Web, Heidi, & Black Beauty. I wept over Bambi & Black Beauty as a child and again as an adult. Some stories that I don't think would hold up were all the Nancy Drew, Dana Girls, & Happy Hollister mysteries. At one point I wanted to be Nancy Drew!
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten about Bambi, and I think you were the one that put it on my radar originally. I need to go up to my bookshelf and get it out for a re-read. It was wonderful, so I know I kept the book!
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