I read kids books
I read a lot. I read books on theology and personality, strategy and design, memoir and biography. I’ve normally got several books going at once, which is an indication of how easily I get bored, not my ability to consume content. Recently, I came across this new category of books. I think they call it ‘fiction.’ It’s really neat. They’re stories about people and places and things that may not have actually happened and there may not be ‘discussion questions’ or ‘steps to success.’
Clearly I’m being facetious, but this category of books has opened me up to a new world. I’ve heard that CS Lewis noted ‘fiction bypasses the brain and goes straight to the heart’. Whoever said it is right. Stories and characters open up parts of the brain that lists and frameworks do not. And there’s something freeing about not having to ‘know’ something.
As my kids have grown up, they’ve graduated from books about trucks and dolls and balls into books about superheroes and adventures. It’s great until they try to reenact Lord of the Flies in my living room. My wife and I have read a number of books in order to feed their curiosity and grow with them. My wife is a literature teacher, so I’m the one late to the game here, but in her grace, she just keeps adding recommendations to my nightstand. These young adult fiction books have a unique ability to bypass the head and go to the heart through simpler vocabulary and innocent, relatable characters.
Reading the right children’s books has done several things for me:
Reminded me of my own childhood, so that I can be more present with my kids in their childhood.
Reminded me of the hopes and fears and dreams of children so that I can have discussions with my children about their hopes and fears and dreams.
Reminded me of the hopes and fears and dreams that I had as a child so that I can revisit them and heal any hurt or loss as an adult.
Reminded me what it’s like to enter fantasy worlds without having to figure out the eschatological implications.
Reminded me what it feels like to believe in the unbelievable.
Reminded me that adventure happens when climbing Mount Everest and when building blanket forts in the living room.
Created empathy for my parents because I am the age now they were when I read these books.
There are a number of really good books out there. Find them. Ask your local independent book seller for help. Sit with the child within you.