Featuring colorist Ronda Francis
When we are young almost everything we experience is touched with a bit of magic.
The first-ness of our moments adds wonder and beauty to the most simple things. Glimpses of our day, like a butterfly gliding through our wisteria, feel as if they are visited by a Disney fairy godmother when we are little.
A walk through grandpa's garden is Narnia to the preschool set, and more rich and poignant than any CGI filled movie you could pay for.
But the lives of our little ones are chock-full of busy-ness. From homework in kindergarten to pee wee sports practice, our kid's lives are hectic.
Reading and art allow children to slow down, to do something calming and centering. Unbeknownst to them, while they are munching along with Eric Carle's Very Hungry Caterpillar or roaring with the terrible beasts in Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, they are expanding their imaginations and increasing their literacy skills.
If they can't read yet themselves, they sit with a loved one, experiencing closeness and developing an ability for meaningful discussions.
When given a paint brush and a blank canvas, children are allowed to expand their consciousness and develop creative and open-minded thinking. It awakens their senses and helps with problem solving skills. You do not have to tell them art is timeless, they delve into the moment and are somehow connected with the self-expression that has been part of humanity since the dawn of time.
Appreciation of art and literature starts young, and happily they have no idea they are learning. Children have the special ability to have nothing attached to what they are doing--they are creating art or reading simply because they love it. There is no agenda attached to their creativity. They go with the flow, a gift that Picasso spoke about when he said "All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist as we grow up." The magic in their completely un-self-conscious creativity allows them to be wholly in the moment, something we as adults can have a hard time with.
Our kids grow up so fast. Our days are filled with bills, cleaning, cooking, and a whole lot of reality. We are focused on test-taking in school and a very one sided IQ score that is probably decent at grading one's general knowledge base.
But what about creativity? What about those kids who are notoriously considered square pegs simply because the current system disallows for square holes?
The magic of childhood is lovely, and it would be nice to stretch at least some of that Abracadabra into our adult lives.
Reading and art are two examples of wizardry that seamlessly moves with us as we grow. Along with the obvious advantages of reading to kids when they are young and allowing them to create unguided art, these bewitching gifts stick--they are endless presents of love that happily never have to end.
I'd love to know of any books or forms of art you loved as a child, and what made them special to you.
xo Dea
Most of us think our children are wonderful, and most of them are. When we become parents for the first time we are transported and transformed--a new dimension is added to our lives and we will never be the same.
But some of us go off the deep end.
We get postpartum depression, anxiety, and we are simply tired from an endless lack of sleep.
Sometimes these states lead us to worry for our kids, too. Are they cold, hot, hungry, tired, sick, or scared? Not all of our worries are excessive, but some are.
Some parents want to protect their children from TOO much--they don't want them to experience sadness or fear because they are afraid that it will be too much for their delicate son or daughter. They are not allowed to play outside because they might get hurt, they can't sign up for swimming because chlorine is bad for them, and no cooking classes because they might cut off a finger.
Sure, you can hover around them and make sure they don't hit their heads when they are young, or not let them go outside when it is raining so they don't catch a cold, but at what cost?
Kids are ferocious--they can be mean and savvy and are born with instincts just like any other wild animal. Of course we teach them to be polite and to have manners, but I think we may also "nice" a lot of their natural urges away. We teach them to share to a point where they give up their own wants and needs because some other kid wants the same thing they do. They are not bad little people because they have opinions and desires, but for some reason our society has made it seem so.
Books like Where the Wild Things Are speak to that in a child. They are told they are allowed to be fierce and to speak out, and someone will still love them if they do.
Maurice Sendak "refuses to lie to children", and says he will not "cater to the bullshit of innocence". He feels we all, to some extent, lead desperate lives, and no one escapes completely unscathed.
More and more is expected from our children and at increasingly younger ages. Hiding them from what the real world is and what it will expect from them does not do them any good.
I am not saying we need to inform them of the atrocities of war or include them in our money woes, but allowing them to experience a full rainbow of feelings, and letting them know that all these feelings are valid, expected, and OK can only help them.
Here is a list of books that lets kids be fierce, sad, angry, curious, and bad, and show them they are not alone.
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak--http://www.amazon.com/Where-Wild-Things-Maurice-Sendak/dp/0064431789/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling--http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Sorcerers-Stone-Book-ebook/dp/B00728DYRO/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425751626&sr=1-1&keywords=harry+potter+and+the+sorcerer%27s+stone
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney--http://www.amazon.com/Diary-Wimpy-Kid-Book-ebook/dp/B005CRQ4OW/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425751772&sr=1-2&keywords=diary+of+a+wimpy+kid
Coraline by Neil Gaiman--http://www.amazon.com/Coraline-Neil-Gaiman/dp/0380977788/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=
If you ask any kid in the world what he wants for his or her birthday there is probably a 90% chance they will say A PUPPY!
Or a kitten, bird, fish, hamster, gerbil, ferret, mouse, or pot bellied pig.
Even if there are pets in the house--they will want more pets. Especially the young version of any animal they may choose. It seems kids just know they are on the same level. (CLICK HERE to see a few pix that drive that point home just a bit ;) ).
Kids and puppies just go together. If you have one or the other you are already stuck feeding them and keeping them clean--so why not just get the other?
They also like being around each other. They both have endless energy to play and can help with your already greatly diminished energy level.
I think this is also the reason kids love books with animals. They have a natural love for the outdoors and nature, and animals in books, whether anthropomorphic or real capture their attention. Even the Cat in the Hat, who bears only the most faint resemblance to a feline, (I think he kind of looks like Jack Benny), grabs their attention.
It's a mutual admiration society, kids love animals and animals love kids.
They truly love animals, and love the books they are in. From Clifford the Big Red Puppy to Peter Rabbit, kids feel warm, safe, and familiar when they read about animals.
Even my favorite book as a child, Where the Wild Things Are, has animals in it--kind of...
Some scientists warn that kids could get confused if reading about animals that have human traits. I think
(I'm not a doctor) that we do not give kids enough credit. I do not think Winnie the Pooh, Dory the fish, or Snoopy did me or any other kid any harm.
Has it been done already? Yep. But kids love it, and it will be done again. I'll do it in my next book in fact. And I'm pretty certain all the kids will be fine even after they see the main character in the book is a mouse, and he wears a vest.
I think they will be just fine. :)
When I was in grammar school I loved Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. Middle school had me interested in a book called The Active Enzyme, Lemon-Freshened, Junior High School Witch, and high school found me sleeping at the foot of my parent's bed after reading The Exorcist and The Amityville Horror.
My son had a fascination with the Bone series, and my friend's daughter insisted on reading more Neil Gaiman even after Coraline rendered her an insomniac for months.
What is it in horror and the paranormal that intrigues us, even as children?
I am not implying that everyone loves to be scared, but there is surely an attraction.
Another friend's son, at six, filled up her queue at Blockbuster Video with enough Frankenstein and Dracula films to keep them viewing for months. This kid couldn't figure out how to unlock the front door, but he could figure out the computer AND the DVR when he wanted to watch a scary film.
My son read Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark when he was in middle school. He told me it was silly, until he read The Wendigo, then it was nightlights on for a few weeks.
We were terrified reading shivery, scary stuff as kids, and our kids want those same delightful chills now.
Of course they will read the same things we did like The Witches by Roald Dahl, all the Goosebumps books, The House With a Clock in its Walls, and Bunnicula, but I've also heard of a few new thrillers.
For there youngest set there is The Monster at the End of this Book, featuring a Sesame Street favorite, Grover. There is nothing there that will really scare even the smallest of kids, but the idea is exciting to them.
Middle-grade kids will like The Last Apprentice, a creepy tale of ghost and witch hunting. Monstrumologist, a Gothic, Dickens-like book about a scientist and his apprentice who find and identify, (and kill if necessary) a variety of monsters, will appeal to the slightly older horror reading aficionados. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is also very popular with high school kids. In fact that book was popular with everyone last year.
We know kids love horror, and I think I might know why. Kids are relatively powerless. They are told what to do and when to do it, and are afraid of many things--the dark, their closets, mean kids, and even school.
When they read a horror book they meet monsters, crazy teachers, witches, ghosts, and goblins. They get involved in tales about getting lost, eaten, and haunted. Sure they get scared--but they all survive. Every time a kid finishes a scary book they come out the other end, maybe a bit frazzled and scared, but basically unscathed. AND they have slayed a dragon, faced the monster in the closet, and come face to face with their fears, and WON.
Of course we want to protect our kids and keep them safe, but these dark books help our kids meet their own personal monsters--and be the victor!
So turn down the lights, open your books, and get ready for a night of shivery and spooky fun. There is more to horror than meets the eye!
Quick How To lesson for the kids who love Where the Wild Things Are!
