As an English major without much free time on my hands, I’ve spent the last few years reading mostly assigned literature; think your standard classics, with a few oddballs thrown in. And, don’t get me wrong, most are well deserving of their place on the shelves of history. However, I was starting to lose sight of the reason I was studying English in the first place, the reason I hope to teach it one day. I was starting to forget the magic.
So, during my two weeks of down time, I picked up a book I haven’t thought about in over ten years: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, book one. The Lightning Thief. When I was in elementary school, the five short novels in this series were everything to me, along with your standard Harry Potter’s and LOTR’s (the latter of which I liked to pretend I could understand at such a young age). But, as I aged, I found my memory of them had all but disappeared. So I set off on a brief journey, back into the world of Rick Riordan, and was amazed at what I found.
I spent the first few chapters in English major mode, picking apart errors in grammar, pacing, plot, etc. I forced myself to stop; these books were not written for me. They were written for a childhood version of myself, and he positively adored them. So I read on, becoming more and more engrossed in the story, simultaneously reliving moments of my youth that had attached themselves to specific passages or plot points.
Five novels later, I was in tears. As I closed The Last Olympian, I felt incredibly sad that the story had ended, that I would be forced to retreat from this magical world of gods and monsters. And I felt myself wishing, hoping beyond hope, that perhaps the story was real after all. We all know the feeling. I hadn’t felt that sense of wonder in many years.
My advice to you all: read children’s literature. It is the reason so many of us are passionate about reading in the first place, but it so often falls by the wayside as we age. The lessons within are invaluable. They teach us to view the world with empathy and wonder. They teach us to see the magic.
Next time you’re in the library, do yourself a favor. Head for the children’s section, and find a book that tugs at the back of your memory, an old love long forgotten and dulled by time. Pick it up, sit down, and start reading. You might just learn a thing or two.
by Lv71V