Why Adults Should Read More Children's Literature

In this past May and June I was taking a Children's Literature English Class. Because of this, of course, I was reading a variety of kid's books and middle grade books. (If you don't know, middle grade is made for the age range after children's books but before young adult, basically around 8-12 years old). I've always continued reading middle grade, even as I've grown more and more out of the target audience for it, mainly by rereading books that I really enjoyed when I was younger. For the past few years I've read one of my all time favourite books, Zorgamazoo by Robert Paul Weston, over and over because it's just that great. But when I was taking this English class in the spring I read children's books that were new to me and books that are younger than I would usually go back to read, and I think it sparked something in me and made me realize: "Why don't more adults read children's literature and middle grade?"

"The importance of reading literature, in general, is to learn from the stories being told, whether they are fictitious and about giants or anthropomorphic trees, or are non-fiction. The specific lessons that are written into children’s literature are never something that need to stop being taught because all of the sudden you are an adult. "

Reading Children's Literature For Yourself

The above quote is from an essay I wrote for this Children's Literature class about The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein and 'The Selfish Giant' by Oscar Wilde. It was my first time reading both of these stories. I do realize that there are probably adults that read these stories, or similar ones, when they have their own children to read to. And I think that's great, I think you will learn something from a book no matter what age you are, and especially if you are going back to a story you were read when you were a child to then be the adult reading it to a child gives you a different perspective. But as someone in their twenties, I think it was important for me to engage with these stories and think about critically, as I did.

In particaular, my experience reading The Giving Tree was very enlightening, perhaps because it was my first time reading. It is not new to speculate that the story of The Giving Tree is about a parent/child relationship, and how children can, in a way, take advantage of that relationship. Like I said, I'm in my twenties, I go to school and live away from home, so when I read The Giving Tree it opened my eyes to the fact that I should be more grateful for my parents and engage more of my time to see them and spend time with them. Because I don't want to be like the boy and the tree at the end of the story, coming back to my caregivers only when I need something, until they don't have anything left to give me.

Reading Middle Grade For Yourself

I mentioned recently that I try to reread at least one book a year. Early this year, in January and February, I had a craving to reread The Night Parade by Kathryn Tanqueray (I can't remember why exactly, it had something to do with a show or movie I watched, I think). The Night Parade is a great book (I still love it) about a 12 or 13 year old girl, Suki, who goes to her grandmothers for the summer, and of course because she's like 12 she's not really happy about it and gets in some trouble. The story deals with family, tradition, death, and plays with ideas of the afterlife.

Unfortuately, this book hit closer to home this year because just as I started reading it my own grandmother passed away. I put rereading the book on hold for a little bit after that. But when I came back to it I found my self engaging with the story in a way I probably couldn't have before. Every passage was an oppourtunity to reflect on what was happening in my own life. The story gave me a way to look at grief and family but not necessarily in a sad/depressing way. I think in the end the book is fairly positive and was able to give me a positive outlet at the time.

In conclusion, the ability that Children's Literature has to continuously teach us new things about ourselves and the world around us throughout our life, through every age, is something that I think should be explored more. Because who knows if when we come back to the story what will have happened. Maybe we come back to an old favourite as a respite? Maybe we rediscover a story we forgot about? Or maybe we come back with a new perspective that changes the way we think about a story we had once loved?