I read a lot of books growing up. It was my replacement for a social life. Heck, I was even part of a four-member team of competitive book readers two years in a row (read twelve books, answer questions, see which team gets the most right. We were really good and should have won both years, but we got ripped off. Especially the first. I think we got one question out of ten wrong each year, and I think even the winning team one year admitted that they had easier questions and we had really hard ones. But I digress). The point is that I know a lot about children's literature. I read Animorphs, Goosebumps, the Clue books, the Little House on the Prairie Series, and basically every children's book that the library and the system overall wanted kids to read. You know the ones: put on display in the school library and probably marked with Newbery Medals. Maniac Magee, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Island of the Blue Dolphins, etc., etc., etc.
(Honestly, I just checked the Newbery list, and I was shocked to see how many book titles I recognized that I had just completely forgotten about. My childhood may have been lonely, but it was positively rich with literature)
Anyway, looking back on my life, there are a few books which really stand out as having profoundly shaped me. Though I know that in some way, all the books of my childhood helped me see the world in a more complete or thoughtful way, there are a few that I think every child should read because I know that they were invaluable in creating some of the best parts of me.
1) Harry Potter
Okay, let's get this out of the way. Yes, everyone should read the Harry Potter series. I'm a bit sad that the younger generations will read them all in one go, because it means that the books won't grow up with them as they did for me, but that's what rereading is for. Anyway, time to start preaching to the choir about why Harry Potter is the best thing ever.
First, I have talked to at least one person who owes her love of reading to Harry Potter. Before Harry Potter, she was below the expected literacy level for her age; afterwards, she skyrocketed. Harry Potter teaches kids to love reading.
Second, the general values and lessons of Harry Potter are incredibly important. They teach courage, self-sacrifice, the real meaning and value of friendship (without shouting "BY THE POWER OF REAL AND TRUE FRIENDSHIP" as some stories tend to do - I'm looking at you, Yu-Gi-Oh), that intelligence is admirable and that girls can be both smart and badass, and that growing up means learning how to apologize (Ron).
There are of course many other great lessons that it imparts, but I would like to focus on one in particular. I've always had a deep fondness for Chamber of Secrets, which few other people understand. I think I've figured it out, though. At the end of the book, after Harry has been terrified for months that he is actually a Slytherin and not a good person after all, Dumbledore points out to him that his choice to be in Gryffindor was the most important thing. I think it was this specific idea that planted itself in my mind and has since evolved into an important aspect of how I understand the world. I've written about this idea before: how I chose things based not on what I want now, but who I want to become. Whether it's choosing a college or choosing a job, I know that my environment will shape me, but I have to choose it first. The point of this is that Harry Potter has affected me in many ways; this is simply the most obvious one.
2) The Phantom Tollbooth
This is a book that you should hand to a child as soon as they are old enough to read. Actually, read it to them as soon as they learn to speak. It's all about learning and perspective and engaging with the world, packaged in a bizarre-but-interesting narrative. I know that I read and reread this book at least ten times growing up (probably more), and as I got older I understood more and more of it and got more and more out of it. In fact, this was a book I brought with me to college. But even when I was too young to understand all the wordplay and references, it shaped my thinking. I'll give you a few examples of the interesting ideas in the book.
One section dealt with a boy named Alec Bings, who sees through things. The first thing you should understand is that he comes from a group of people who grow downwards, that is, they float in the air with their head at their adult height and their feet grow down to the ground. Alec thinks that it's strange that Milo, the protagonist, should grow in such a way that his perceptive is always changing. The second thing you should know is that Alec literally sees through things. He's always running into trees right in front of him, because he can't see whatever is right in front of his nose.
Another section tells of the story of the cities of Illusions and Reality. Illusions is a beautiful city, but it's a mirage. Reality used to look like Illusions, but the residents decided to be as efficient as possible when walking and so always looked down. Reality slowly became invisible all around them and no one noticed.
There's no good way to describe this book in a way that conveys how profound it is in its own way. I really cannot recommend it highly enough. If you somehow didn't read it growing up, please do so now. You might not find it as illuminating as I did, but you'll discover a book that's completely different to anything else you've ever read and something that you'll want to pass on to the next generation.
Okay, that's it for tonight. I definitely did not think I would be writing mini-essays about each book when I started. I'll get back to this list as soon as I can, I promise! :)
