Global Village Voice

by Pam Allyn

When the sun goes down, fears come up. The blessing of a transcendent story for any age is that it helps us to escape, to relate, to connect and to understand the perils and magic of our mortal universe.

Great children’s literature assures us that frail looking boys with scars on their foreheads can become heroes, spiders can write words to save lives and bunnies can go to bed fearlessly. Great children’s literature inspires us to want to live backwards: to live as openly and tenderly as a child. Great children’s literature for adults encourages us to live every day with intention to make the world harmonious for children, just as Fern’s father did in Charlotte’s Web when he lowered the ax on that fateful day and spared Wilbur.

Here, below, are my top recommendations for bedtime reading for all ages for the year 2010. In the midst of the swirling clouds of conversations on recession, terrorism threats and environmental anxieties, our great authors, honoring the mysterious yet profound world of childhood, steer us toward peace and community, and the promise of hope in the morning.

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Posted under Culture, Education, Personal Growth

by Pam Allyn

All of life is a journey, a journey away from home and a journey back. All of great literature too is about journeys: characters set off on expeditions and adventures, only to find that supper’s still hot when they return, whether it’s Homer’s Odyssey or Where the Wild Things Are. Here is the longing inside all of us: that we are fearless enough to embark upon those adventures, but that as we go we are inspired and propelled by a sense of home waiting for us at the other end. In great children’s literature, we see countless examples of children on their own. From Harold, who brandishes the purple crayon in his pjs and creates new worlds with it (Harold and the Purple Crayon), to Eloise who rides up and down the elevator in the Plaza (Eloise) to Madeline all alone in the hospital (Madeline) to Harry and Hermione and Ron conquering the Death Eaters (Harry Potter), there is something truly poignant, heartbreaking and profoundly courageous about these characters. They resemble the children we know, or the children we were or the children we hope to be.

The bunny in Goodnight, Moon recounts the objects around him to stave off that darkness. The badger Frances in Bedtime for Frances pads into her father’s bedroom to be sure he’s still there. Children seek the strategies that will carry them into the alone times with fortitude.

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Posted under Current Events, Education