In The Book Whisperer, Donnalynn Miller lists ten reasons why adults should read childrens' books. Here's one reason I really like:
It's often inspirational -- reading about heroes and bravery and loyalty makes you want to be a better person. And couldn't we all do with some of that?
Amen.
She also describes the sensation of remembering "the child you once were when you first read a book." I think she's on to something here. A sad truth of the human condition is that our innocence, somewhere along the way, was utterly and irretrievably lost. The Biblical account of the garden, serpent, apple ... it's in our DNA. We can, each of us, easily recall the time when the magical, iridescent trust that all is good and full of possibilities disappeared, just as it did for Adam and Eve. Into its place came that sensation that literary analysts call loss of innocence. It shows up in literature the world over. We cover up, we hide, we feel shame.
But reading a children's story evokes the sensation of hope and peace that we felt before that ugly realization that all is not well with the world. There are other ways to achieve the same sweetness -- blow bubbles with a baby, bike in a downpour, inhale deeply as a cake is coming out of the oven -- but reading a children's book just might be the best, most lasting way to return to the innocents we once were.
And couldn't we all do with some of that?
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