Why Through the Eyes of a Child?
Very few parents and grandparents have not shared stories of the wisdom spouted by young children. In our family, a five year old commenting that adults seem to get angry over nothing was a bit of wisdom passed around anytime someone began to get red-in-the-face upset. In literary terms, for years young adult literature was thought to be “elementary” or simple, so it was often ignored by adult readers. However, an article by Caroline Kitchener titled “Why So Many Adults Love Young-Adult Literature” appeared in the 2017 issue of The Atlantic suggested that while young-adult literature is marketed to youth, more than 55% of YA readers are adults.
The Atlantic article is worth a read. It articulates a number of reasons more adults are reading YA literature. The first of these refers to the idea of “coming of age.” It could be said that we continue to come of age throughout our lives. The article includes an explanation of the term itself as originating in the 17th century in Germany with the writings of Goethe and his contemporaries. Perhaps “coming of age” is one of those eternal elements of life. We recognize it. We see ourselves in the stories about youth navigating it.
You may want to read the entire article cited below, but my experience parallels that of the authors in acknowledging the fact that the quality of writing as well as the stories they are is superb, so good in many cases, that YA books are winning prizes, are making prestigious lists of notable lists. Simply put, “a good story is a good story.”
Malcom X once said “children have a lesson adults should learn, to not be ashamed of failing, but to get up and try again. Most of us adults are so afraid, so cautious, so 'safe,' and therefore so shrinking and rigid and afraid that it is why so many humans fail. Most middle-aged adults have resigned themselves to failure.”
So, we give you the 2024 Fall Read – Through the Eyes of a Child and through it, we’ll walk alongside the children in the books as we explore the messages and ideas, the issues and concerns, the dreams and the hopes inherent in these stories.
The 2024 Fall Read – Through the Eyes of a Child
Alice in Wonderland: The Original 1865 Edition by Lewis Carroll, Sir John Tenniel (illus), 2021 (classic)
Everything Sad Is Untrue: (a true story) by Daniel Nayeri, 2020 (memoir)
The Blue Book of Nebo by Manon Steffan Ros, 2021 (Dystopian)
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, 2017 (verse)
Radio Reader BookBytes will air each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during All Things Considered and Morning Edition. And don’t forget to mark your calendar for the season’s finale scheduled for Sunday, November 17, 2024, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
REFERENCE
Kitchener, Caroline. ”Why So Many Adults Love Young-Adult Literature,” The Atlantic. December 2017 https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/12/why-so-many-adults-are-love-young-adult-literature/547334
