Pre-Ramble:  While snooping around in the mall yesterday, I happened to wander into the children’s section of the bookstore. I really had no business being in there, my kids have been “grown-up” for years, but I still find myself drawn to the simple, playful, goofy children’s book forum … big pictures, few words, often rhyming, … fun stuff.

At the heart of this colorful collection are the “children’s classics” … must-read fare. Filled with pictures and pithy messages, these books have become a kind of rite-of-passage for generations of young readers … 

You’ve got your basic A, B, C books; … Golden Books, like the darkly punitive ”Pokey Puppy“; … cute, but annoying, Curious George; … quirky and surprisingly gritty, Winnie the Pooh; … the extensive and beyond silly, Dr. Seuss series; … the finger-wagging Berenstein Bears; … newcomer and earnest do-gooder, Arthur; … the multi-generationally appealing Peanuts dynasty; … grammatically compromised, Junie B. Jones; … the painterly concept books of  Eric Carle (like “The Very Hungry Caterpillar“); … Alexandra Day’s beautifully and wordlessly illustrated, “Karl the dog” series; … Ludwig Bemelmans’ madcap “Madeline” series; … all of the children’s books that have been made into movies, like “Where the Wild Things Are,” “Stewart Little,” … “Polar Express,” etc.; … and of course, my personal seasonal favorite, “Twas the Night Before Christmas” (which we read aloud as a family every Christmas Eve, even though the kids are in their teens and twenties).

Read it again, mom – Renown children’s literature historian Leonard Marcus suggests that, like television and the Internet, children’s books are a part of our culture. They reflect the values of each generation, provide literal and aesthetic records of who we are as a people, and play an important role in forming children’s minds and imaginations at the most impressionable times in their lives. I often wonder what impression and impact the books that I have read (over and over) to my kids over the years has had or will have on their lives. What are the real messages there?  What is the value? 

For me, the personal and historically cultural value that lies in the pages of a children’s book is more than the sum of its parts. More than the lessons spelled out in the story or the feeling expressed in the style of illustration, the relative value of a children’s book is also influenced by the physical and psychological environment in which it is experienced — the big cozy story-reading chair; the modulating tones and emotion conveyed through the voice reading aloud; the patient gift of time and attention spent sharing an activity of exploration and discovery with a child. The total children’s book experience and value is a mixture of many things, some tangible, some not.

Moon Schmoon - Well, then there’s the whole question of whether a kid even LIKES a book?  Reviewer/historian Marcus, encountered an unexpected reaction while attempting to share the joys of the quintessential-classic ”Goodnight Moon” with his own young son. Much to senior Marcus’ dismay, junior was totally unimpressed. Marcus came away with the realization that not every “classic” is for every child …

“Children should feel free to dislike ‘classics’ … Why should they be burdened with an obligation of liking a book that doesn’t appeal to them? … Adults see our goal as getting to the end of the book and it’s a hard lesson to learn that this is not necessarily true for children … their goal is often to look at the most interesting and enjoyable thing.”

The Take-Away:  Here’s to being free to “dislike the classics“ … (Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol ” is a creepy downer). This holiday season, amidst all the movie releases and “specials” and hype, take a page out of the “total children’s book experience” … take a minute to consider your choices and make sure that you’re leaving time and energy to look at the most interesting and enjoyable things.

Post-Note:  I’m totally with the kid on “Goodnight Moon” … a real sleeper.