On my way to my topic, I meandered through a variety of ideas. I thought that I would like to explore unreached readers in Whatcom County. I wanted to be a world changer of sorts. I wanted to put on a cape and fly around town delivering books to impoverished, neglected children (most likely while wearing a tiara and carrying a wand). My ambitions were not entirely selfish, though, as I did, and still do, have a heart for kids who are not introduced to the magic of reading at a young age. I began researching the topic, emailing experts, and brainstorming about the most stylish way I could wear my reading fairy cape.
What I discovered was that my hero complex was not going to be needed. Well established and respected programs of the sort I wanted to conjure up already exist in Bellingham. Loyal volunteers have been doing for years what I wanted to rush in and begin in a period of weeks. I started my report, but began to feel uneasy about what I was going to say. I felt as if I would merely be listing off organizations and their functions. Though this may be helpful in certain environments, I began to doubt its benefit to the class and my own learning. I felt as if I had lost my personal connection with the material.
In the background of all of this, I had been witness to an amazing transformation in my mom. I had never seen her read for pleasure in all of my growing up years. She read, yes, but her book pile consisted of parenting books and religious texts. Despite being born into a family that preferred camping and America's Funniest Home Videos to Jane Eyre and L. Frank Baum, I have been a reader since the skill became possible for me. I have long tried to convince my mom to be the same way. I have handed her hundreds of books over the years in an attempt to tempt her into the world of reading I hold so dear. Nothing seemed to stick with her. Being a busy homeschooling mother of three (and rotating foster children), reading never stayed on the top of her to do list. This all changed when I introduced her to Kirby Larson as I explained in my report.
My conversation with Sherri about this very thing provided the spark I needed to get excited about an explorations project and to change my topic. I spent that week reading everything I could about adult reluctant readers being hooked by children's literature. I knew that my mom could not be alone in her enjoyment of children's literature accompanied by a general disinterest in other books. I was right. As I pored through article after article, I seemed to find that children's literature seemed to have a magical affect on adults. Reluctant readers, busy readers, ESL readers, former readers—all were representative of people who stepped into the world of children's literature and found a solace and enjoyment there.
I discovered that the reasons for adults being drawn to children's literature vary as much as the individuals, but that many enjoy these books because they allow free expression of imagination. Children's literature is not tied down to a set of expectations and lofty intellectual premises in the same way that adult literature is. Rather, children's literature offers a playground for both the reader and writer alike, a place to explore new ideas and take exciting leaps.
Although I was unable to include the information in my explorations report, I took an informal survey of my Facbeook friends. I asked them if they read children's literature as adults, and if so, why. A dozen people responded, and the majority answered that they do read children's literature. Not surprising were the reasons my friends listed. All of them involved the break from life that children's literature provides, the nostalgia it offers, and the creativity and imagination it fosters. Indeed, children's literature does stand a sort of beautiful new world that one can enter.
I was delighted with the way I was able to interact with my classmates after my report. I was fascinated by the stories each shared about their similar experiences with reluctant readers and children's literature. I was heartened to learn that some were inspired by my report in not only content but format. Each individual who replied to my report offered new insights to me. Unlike last quarter in which I felt my report only shared things that were interesting to me, I felt as if this report allowed for and encouraged discussion with my classmates. In the forums I was able to experience the chatty conversation that followed the reports last quarter. That was one of my highlights of the class.
Now that the end of this quarter has arrived, I can see the immense benefit in what I studied and the lightbulb moments I had. I have found and seen what children's literature can do for adult reluctant readers. Reading one of these books can turn the page in someone's life from being a non-reader to a frequent library patron. The hook of imagination, excitement, adventure, creativity, a wide range of topics and genres, and the relatively short length of the books all make them idea candidates for those who may have never enjoyed reading.
I do not know what I will be doing five years from now. I do not know if I will be teaching, writing, mothering, or directing cruise lines off the coast of Florida. What I do know is that I have a full library of book suggestions for my fellow adults. No matter what I do in life, reading will always play an important role. I want to share that with everyone I meet in hopes that they too would be able to experience the joy of being pulled back into one's childhood through reading.
Today I found my mom finishing up another book from the children's section of our library. She told me that she is planning to read Hattie Big Sky next. She wants to have another adventure through the writing of Kirby Larson. Now that I think about it, perhaps I did get to wave a magic wand this quarter after all.
***
My explorations project can be viewed in three parts.
Part one
Part two
Part three
***
Works Cited:
Flesch, William. "The Way We Were - The Boston Globe." Boston.com. 6 Nov. 2005. Web. 14 May 2011.
"InfoZine - Why Adults Read Young Adult and Children's Literature - Kansas City, Missouri News." InfoZine - News for Greater Kansas City Metro & Beyond - Kansas City, Missouri News. 21 Sept. 2010. Web. 14 May 2011.
Maister, David. "I've Stopped Reading." Davidmaister.com. David Maister, 15 Nov. 2006. Web. 14 May 2011.
"One in Four Adults Don't Read Books At All." Readers Read-- Book Blog, Book Reviews and Book Resources. 21 Aug. 2007. Web. 14 May 2011.
0 comments:
Post a Comment