Children's Books and Literature

When I was a child, my favorite book was Goodnight Moon. My brother and I would race to point out the little mouse as my dad turned each page. I love the primary colors, the largeness, but coziness of the room and the rhythm of the words as my parent's read them to us. Now, as an adult, I still love children's books and children's literature. I think the illustrations in Runaway Bunny are beautiful. I love the juxtaposition of the black and white sketches with the full color illustrations of the fantastical scenes. And, I love the conclusion of the tale. It is reassuring and encouraging. 

There are a lot of children's books that I love, but in thinking about what I like about children's literature when compared to adult literature, I really relate to these thoughts by Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project. She writes: "The difference between novels for adults and novels for children isn't merely a matter of cover design, bookstore placement, and the age of the protagonist. It's a certain quality of atmosphere. Children's literature often deals openly with the most transcendent themes, such as the battle between good and evil and the supreme power of love. These books don't gloss over the horror and fascination of evil, but in the end, in even the most realistic novels, good triumphs."

This sums up how I feel about children't literature really well. I want to see good triumph over evil, wrongdoing punished and virtue triumph. Some of my favorites include C. S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the Harry Potter series (of course), Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Burnett's The Secret Garden and Enright's Gone-away Lake. 

What's your favorite children's book? What books did you read growing up? Did your parent's read to you as a child? Do you read children's literature now as an adult? If so, what books or series do you enjoy?