Getting out of your comfort zone and getting into a book
I love books, I’ve always loved books. I practically lived in my local library as a child. These days I sigh in despair when I browse through what constitutes children’s literature. Tabloid books by ‘celebrity authors’ covering topics that would never have been considered acceptable or appropriate when I was a child. Take my advice (if you wish) never buy a children’s book unless you have carefully examined the content. It is not advisable to just read the blurb on the back cover as many books for youngsters have material you may not be comfortable with.
That said, here’s the positive side. I have just finished reading two children’s books, one a contemporary book and the other was a re-read from my childhood days. ‘The Wolf Wilder’ (2015) by Katherine Rundell and ‘Watership Down’ (1972) by Richard Adams. I couldn’t wait to pick them up each day and couldn’t put them down once I started.
In ‘The Wolf Wilder’ we have a good old fashioned adventure story with a likeable central character, not forgetting the wolves of course and no they are not ‘big bad ones’! Feo's mother is a wolf wilder, and Feo is a wolf wilder in training: a person who teaches tamed animals to be wild again, to fend for themselves, and to fight and to run. The writing is full of imagery and allows the mind to picture the action well;
‘Feo put down the skis she was oiling and listened. It was early, and she was still wearing her nightdress. She pulled on the jumper her mother had knitted, which came down to the scar on her knee, and ran to the front door…’
Like any adventure story there are elements of good versus bad and many hidden surprises along the way. As readers, we learn that there are times when we must rise above our fears and face our challenges. By doing so, we learn things about ourselves, things that we would otherwise never have known. We find qualities in others where perhaps we wouldn’t have before.
‘Watership Down’ follows the intrepid tale of some very brave rabbits as they escape the destruction of their warren and seek a place to establish a new home; encountering perils and temptations along the way. This beautifully written book shrinks you down to rabbit size and places you into the British countryside. Here we encounter a real closeness to nature albeit through the eyes, ears and smells of a rabbit.
‘The May sunset was red in the clouds, and there was still half an hour to twilight. The dry slope was dotted with rabbits nibbling at the thin grass near their holes; others were pushing farther down to look for dandelions or perhaps a cowslip that the rest had missed.’
The carefully noted details of our beautiful countryside is wonderful;
‘The sun sank below Ladle Hill and the autumn stars began to shine in the darkening east…The wind freshened, and soon myriads of dry beech leaves were filling the ditches and hollows…’
Both books are outstanding examples of children’s literature and upon reading an extract of Watership Down to one of my students, he was in his local library the next day to loan the book! His mum was delighted and emailed “I’m pleased he has started reading it because he usually only reads football story books!”
So, read the title of this article again. Pick up a book and EXPLORE!
