Against the tide

Children's Lit. 101

Posted by: Rhonda Robinson

Monday, March 3, 2008 8:19 AM

As a young mother I would hear tales about how wonderful these things called books were for children. Like any good mother, I wanted some for my own children.

Not knowing him personally, but hearing that he came highly recommended, I bought several Dr. Seuss books. I put my new treasure trove on one side, and pulled my little boy up, and tucked him in under my arm and began to read, "One fish, two fish&"

In the blink of an eye he was gone. Sliding down, off the couch, he stripped off half his clothes and dressed himself; with a plastic pitcher firmly on his head, and covering one eye and began running in circles around the room.

Trying to administer reading to my first born was like trying to get him to eat peas; he simply had other ideas of what was good for him.

I was relieved. The mind numbing repetition was hard for me to take.

I did have a few kids that loved "Green Eggs and Ham" eventually, I could lay a child down for a nap, prop up a book close my eyes and recite, "I will not eat green eggs and ham, I do not like them, Sam I am&" thus, I developed the survival skills every mother needs; the ability to utter nonsense to her child while napping.

All I can say is thank heavens for Helen Oxenbury, Michael Rosen, and Bruce Degun. These authors gave me hope, not only for my children, but for myself as well.

Bruce Degun wrote "Jamberry" which became one of our family's first favorite books.

Repetitious?

Yes, but in a pleasant melodic way. It brought a smile to my children's face every time we read it. And I can still recite it in my sleep.

Helen Oxenbury and Michael Rosen wrote and illustrated, "Going on a Bear Hunt"

With a house full of budding artists, illustrations were as important as the content, if not more so. Helen Oxenbury's illustrations were heart warming. She opened the door that led us to find other books. And my children have a host of friends, and memories of adventures you can only have between the pages of a book.

So maybe I got the best of both worlds. As a child, television programming was sensitive to impressionable minds. I also had the pleasure of being exposed to real cartoons, violence and all, and survived. (And it never compelled to blow up anything with TNT, nor drop a piano on my little brother's head.)

Then, as an adult I stepped into the world of children's literature, and together with my children made lifetime friends.

Today, I have the double pleasure of introducing them to my grandchildren, and watching my own (grown) child's eyes light up, as they greet an old, long lost childhood friend.

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