Book Review: Why You Should Read Children’s Books
As an avid reader of children’s books (and actually dream to write one someday), I must say this book really celebrates all my quirks and deep-rooted hatred toward adults who don’t read children’s books simply because it’s nothing but shallow non-sense. I even had a list of people in my brain who I thought should really read this essay to prove my arguments on children’s books. I mean, c’mon, do you prefer to have Kierkegaard-esque existentialist thoughts rather than the otherworldly imagination of Charlie’s chocolate factory to cheer your deathbed? Geez.
I couldn’t stress enough the importance of reading children’s books and its effect on the imagination, something today’s adult seems to be lacking. We live in a world that appreciates a pose of exhausted knowingness, that we must know everything. Little did we know that children’s books allow us to feel unknowingness in facing what’s ahead, be it a fire-breathing monster or inevitable cruel stepmother. It’s like celebrating the unsophisticated awe of not knowing anything, which is very normal for humans.
This essay doesn’t only highlight the importance of reading children’s books for people of all ages, it also discusses its development in its most ancient form; fairytales, legends and myths. I grew up in a community with a strong tradition to inherit fairytales as a way to preserve and trace culture. They live, breathe and change as they’ve been told over the generations. They work in mysterious ways to remind us that there are certain values to be kept as the basic foundation of life. Justice, generosity, love and passion are among the values.
As I reached the end of this essay in two commuting trips, I came to think of a question; Do you still remember the excitement you felt when you read your first book when you were a kid? It’s crystal clear in my mind that the first book I read with joy was Doraemon adventure comic, something I still read to this day. I remember how deeply immersed I was that warmth grew in my heart (and eyes, tbh). I want you to feel the same, to awake the inner child inside you and feel alive once again. Quoted from the book, children’s books can reteach you how to read with an open heart. They do, indeed.
