Stories that Surpass Age
In my last post, I had mentioned how there are stories that are marketed to children, but, as an adult, I found them to be enjoyable. Since I work in youth services, I often find myself reading stories that are written for people much younger than me. Often times, the reason is because I want to find the right story for the right reader. Reader's advisory is a big part of my job and it makes me a better librarian when I know the genre that my immediate patrons are interested in.
That being said, there are times when I purposefully choose a juvenile book to read for pleasure. It's not out of a sense of work duty - although it helps, nevertheless. It's simply because I've heard the hype about a particular book, for example, or I remember reading a particular author's work as a child and I want to read more from them, to see if I'd enjoy their work now, as an adult. Sometimes, I just happen upon a book and the story sounds compelling. I also get recommended books by friends and co-workers, which is usually enough of an inducement for me to pick up the book.
So, I decided to share with you some of the books that I have read, as an adult, written for children that I find are truly ageless in their storytelling, in their writing style, in their characters. Just because the main character is a child doesn't mean you, as an adult, can't relate!
There is more than one reason to enjoy a book - and one of them, for me, is to find a book that is fun to read. Sometimes adult fiction misses the mark on that score. But, no matter the reason, the following books are some of my favorites, and I would stand them alongside some of my favorites in adult literature. Many are highly re-readable, or books that I would recommend to anyone. Please check them out!
Boy is this story powerful. I was completely sucked in - I couldn't put it down. I've been meaning to listen to the audiobook of this story, just to see how well it's performed, because it would make an amazing road trip story.
The book is about a rabbit - a china doll rabbit, to be exact - by the name of Edward Tulane. An odd name, sure, and a mighty stuck-up rabbit, too. Edward lives in a very nice house and he belongs to Abilene, a girl who treats him so well and really adores him. But he's so snooty, he could hardly care. He has his routine, he loves his life. But then something happens - he gets lost. And then his journey really begins. It's a journey of self-realization, of love, of understanding. Edward passes from hand to hand, and each time he becomes the belonging of a different person or set of people, he learns new things about himself and about the world.
I nearly cried. It's true, this story is so touching it hurts, in a way. As someone who's grown up with some very important stuffed animals, who believed (and maybe still does) that they have feelings and lives of their own, I was so invested in Edward's story. And DiCamillo knows how to pull your heartstrings. She can write a story that is so tender and so beautiful - and though it might be a story written for children, you'd have to have one cold, cold heart not to find something moving or relateable about this story. And this story has so many things going on inside it - themes about death, prejudice, anger, broken families. It is more than a children's story. Read it, please, please do.
Have you read The Canturbury Tales? Did you like it? If you didn't that's okay - this book contains elements like The Canturbury Tale, but it's certainly it's own thing. If you do like The Canturbury Tales, you will like this book too, because it is reminiscent of some of the best features of Chaucer's work.
For example - multi-narrative storytelling. This book has a cast of characters to beat the band: a librarian, a butcher, a jongleur, and, yes, even a nun, to name a few. This book is also quite magical, but this magic is surrounded by a rich, historical background. It's set in the 1200s in France, during a particularly tumultuous time - one of religious persecution. It follows the story of three miraculous children and how and why their paths meet. It's told through the recollections of different characters all congregated at an Inn. The titular Inquisitor is trying to piece together the journey of these three supposedly miraculous children, and discover where they went. He's looking for the truth behind the miracles and he manages to coax the stories out of these diverse individuals, who have in some way or at some point, crossed paths with these children. Gidwitz has done his research - it's so well written, you feel transported to this time and place. Each narrator's story is rich and unique in voice.
And the characters - oh the characters! The three children in particular are so compelling: Jeanne, the peasant girl, Jacob the wise, Jewish boy, and William, the oblate on a mission from his monastery. I love them all and the journey they take together is at once magical and transformative. This book paints such a beautiful picture of tolerance, friendship, and the struggles of truth and justice. It touches on themes of religion, magic, and morality, but it is also just a story of three kids trying to make sense of their place in the world.
To quote Paula Willey from her review for School Library Journal: "Read it for the Talmudic wisdom, commonsense philosophies, and moments of doubt. Read it for the palaces and monasteries and the unbelievable descriptions of food. But read it." I can only echo her sentiments.
One of the best things about Peter Brown is his amazing gift for storytelling. I first knew about him because he has written numerous children's picture books. They are usually funny, but they're also such good stories - the make me laugh, think, and are compelling (despite being only a few pages long). But The Wild Robot is his first chapter book and when I saw that he'd written a chapter book, I was really excited because I thought, "Now I can enjoy a Peter Brown story for longer - really savor it." And he did not disappoint.
One of the things I love best about this story is its depth. As you read it, you discover a layer that might make you think - this story is about making friends. Then you peel back another layer and you think - wait, it's also about parenting. But then there's another layer and this one's about the cycle of life and death as it pertains to nature. And on, and on. I don't want to give away the whole story, but, truly, it's so deep!
The story is about a robot, Roz, who finds herself in the wilderness. She is absolutely unequipped to exist in the forest, but, amazingly, she finds a way - through the help of animals. Roz is both a piece of technical machinery and human at the same time. She grows, she develops feelings, and she learns to care for a small, motherless bird. If animal stories make you cry, well buckle up! It's very touching, and, yes, there is death, but it's not in the expected way.
This book is full of nature - the setting is a forest, and it's beautiful and so familiar, even if you've never visited a forest before. There's a real community in this forest, and it's fascinating to see all the relationships that have developed between the diverse set of animals, and to see this machine, this robot, first surviving, then living among it all. Anyone who likes nature stories would enjoy this book - but truly, I'd recommend it to just about anybody.
I can't have a list of children's books without including Neil Gaiman. He writes for everybody and this is just one of his books for younger readers. Fortunately, the Milk is just what you'd expect from Gaiman: a wild, weird story that takes you to magical and hilarious places. It's such a funny little book (and by little, I mean it's short), you can't help but enjoy it!
It's a bit like a tall-tale, one that a father is telling to his children to explain why it took him so long to get milk from the store. There are aliens, there a dinosaurs, there are pirates and vampires, a potential end of the world, and time travel! It's a little bit of everything and it's outrageous. It's a perfect read-aloud book, especially if you're reading it as a bedtime story - there are plenty of cliff-hanger chapter endings.
I mostly include this book on this list because it's fun. Everyone needs a little fun in their life - and Neil Gaiman does it so well. I also include it because it has a little bit of everything. If you're not a fan of one thing, there's something else that will grab hold of you. It's also short - a quick-paced story that's like a breath of fresh air. Read it and feel vivified!
Finally, I include this story because it's a book about storytelling, a story within a story. Carolina - Carol - has to spend her summer in the middle of the desert on a ranch, her grandfather's home, in New Mexico. Her parents and siblings are there to pack up the house and help her grandfather move into assisted living as he has dementia and can no longer care for himself. Carol has never met her grandfather, Serge, before and she is a bit afraid of this prickly, old man who wavers between the present and the past. But as she gets to know him and as she listens to the story he has to tell, she finds herself regretting that she didn't meet him till now, because she is unsure of which parts of her grandfather are real or just the dementia talking.
Eagar has a way with telling stories - there is a real spell-binding quality to Serge's story and you want it to be real so badly, but at the same time it's full of magic and you don't want that magic to be just a dream. But this story sits within Carol's story, and you get a real sense of struggle between past and present, cultural acceptance and the wish to shed one's culture. Carol is a fascinating character, and we can see her struggle with finding out who she really is, how she can fit the within her blended family, and how to navigate the canyon-wide cracks of her family's past that are threatening to disrupt her present.
The setting of this story is so gorgeous and rich - the ranches of the past and present are both so detailed and you can practically see the beauty painted in front of you as you read. I love how easily I fell into this story and it is a great example of complex storytelling. Children and adults will be swept away by it. It has really complex themes, as well: family and remembering your roots, living without fear, mental health. It's heartbreaking but it builds you up at the same time. It's truly magical.
I've just scratched the surface here, but if you want somewhere to start, these books are standouts, for me, at least. Let me know in the comments if there are any that you would recommend, or perhaps authors that you loved growing up. I still love and revisit stories I read from my childhood, and some of those authors are still writing stories - so you could get lucky and discover new favorites from the authors you loved as a child. Anyways, don't forget your inner child and pick out a book from juvenile literature every once in a while. You might be pleasantly surprised by what you can find.
That being said, there are times when I purposefully choose a juvenile book to read for pleasure. It's not out of a sense of work duty - although it helps, nevertheless. It's simply because I've heard the hype about a particular book, for example, or I remember reading a particular author's work as a child and I want to read more from them, to see if I'd enjoy their work now, as an adult. Sometimes, I just happen upon a book and the story sounds compelling. I also get recommended books by friends and co-workers, which is usually enough of an inducement for me to pick up the book.
So, I decided to share with you some of the books that I have read, as an adult, written for children that I find are truly ageless in their storytelling, in their writing style, in their characters. Just because the main character is a child doesn't mean you, as an adult, can't relate!
There is more than one reason to enjoy a book - and one of them, for me, is to find a book that is fun to read. Sometimes adult fiction misses the mark on that score. But, no matter the reason, the following books are some of my favorites, and I would stand them alongside some of my favorites in adult literature. Many are highly re-readable, or books that I would recommend to anyone. Please check them out!
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
Boy is this story powerful. I was completely sucked in - I couldn't put it down. I've been meaning to listen to the audiobook of this story, just to see how well it's performed, because it would make an amazing road trip story.The book is about a rabbit - a china doll rabbit, to be exact - by the name of Edward Tulane. An odd name, sure, and a mighty stuck-up rabbit, too. Edward lives in a very nice house and he belongs to Abilene, a girl who treats him so well and really adores him. But he's so snooty, he could hardly care. He has his routine, he loves his life. But then something happens - he gets lost. And then his journey really begins. It's a journey of self-realization, of love, of understanding. Edward passes from hand to hand, and each time he becomes the belonging of a different person or set of people, he learns new things about himself and about the world.
I nearly cried. It's true, this story is so touching it hurts, in a way. As someone who's grown up with some very important stuffed animals, who believed (and maybe still does) that they have feelings and lives of their own, I was so invested in Edward's story. And DiCamillo knows how to pull your heartstrings. She can write a story that is so tender and so beautiful - and though it might be a story written for children, you'd have to have one cold, cold heart not to find something moving or relateable about this story. And this story has so many things going on inside it - themes about death, prejudice, anger, broken families. It is more than a children's story. Read it, please, please do.
The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz
Have you read The Canturbury Tales? Did you like it? If you didn't that's okay - this book contains elements like The Canturbury Tale, but it's certainly it's own thing. If you do like The Canturbury Tales, you will like this book too, because it is reminiscent of some of the best features of Chaucer's work.
And the characters - oh the characters! The three children in particular are so compelling: Jeanne, the peasant girl, Jacob the wise, Jewish boy, and William, the oblate on a mission from his monastery. I love them all and the journey they take together is at once magical and transformative. This book paints such a beautiful picture of tolerance, friendship, and the struggles of truth and justice. It touches on themes of religion, magic, and morality, but it is also just a story of three kids trying to make sense of their place in the world.
To quote Paula Willey from her review for School Library Journal: "Read it for the Talmudic wisdom, commonsense philosophies, and moments of doubt. Read it for the palaces and monasteries and the unbelievable descriptions of food. But read it." I can only echo her sentiments.
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
One of the best things about Peter Brown is his amazing gift for storytelling. I first knew about him because he has written numerous children's picture books. They are usually funny, but they're also such good stories - the make me laugh, think, and are compelling (despite being only a few pages long). But The Wild Robot is his first chapter book and when I saw that he'd written a chapter book, I was really excited because I thought, "Now I can enjoy a Peter Brown story for longer - really savor it." And he did not disappoint.One of the things I love best about this story is its depth. As you read it, you discover a layer that might make you think - this story is about making friends. Then you peel back another layer and you think - wait, it's also about parenting. But then there's another layer and this one's about the cycle of life and death as it pertains to nature. And on, and on. I don't want to give away the whole story, but, truly, it's so deep!
The story is about a robot, Roz, who finds herself in the wilderness. She is absolutely unequipped to exist in the forest, but, amazingly, she finds a way - through the help of animals. Roz is both a piece of technical machinery and human at the same time. She grows, she develops feelings, and she learns to care for a small, motherless bird. If animal stories make you cry, well buckle up! It's very touching, and, yes, there is death, but it's not in the expected way.
This book is full of nature - the setting is a forest, and it's beautiful and so familiar, even if you've never visited a forest before. There's a real community in this forest, and it's fascinating to see all the relationships that have developed between the diverse set of animals, and to see this machine, this robot, first surviving, then living among it all. Anyone who likes nature stories would enjoy this book - but truly, I'd recommend it to just about anybody.
Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman
I can't have a list of children's books without including Neil Gaiman. He writes for everybody and this is just one of his books for younger readers. Fortunately, the Milk is just what you'd expect from Gaiman: a wild, weird story that takes you to magical and hilarious places. It's such a funny little book (and by little, I mean it's short), you can't help but enjoy it!It's a bit like a tall-tale, one that a father is telling to his children to explain why it took him so long to get milk from the store. There are aliens, there a dinosaurs, there are pirates and vampires, a potential end of the world, and time travel! It's a little bit of everything and it's outrageous. It's a perfect read-aloud book, especially if you're reading it as a bedtime story - there are plenty of cliff-hanger chapter endings.
I mostly include this book on this list because it's fun. Everyone needs a little fun in their life - and Neil Gaiman does it so well. I also include it because it has a little bit of everything. If you're not a fan of one thing, there's something else that will grab hold of you. It's also short - a quick-paced story that's like a breath of fresh air. Read it and feel vivified!
Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar
Finally, I include this story because it's a book about storytelling, a story within a story. Carolina - Carol - has to spend her summer in the middle of the desert on a ranch, her grandfather's home, in New Mexico. Her parents and siblings are there to pack up the house and help her grandfather move into assisted living as he has dementia and can no longer care for himself. Carol has never met her grandfather, Serge, before and she is a bit afraid of this prickly, old man who wavers between the present and the past. But as she gets to know him and as she listens to the story he has to tell, she finds herself regretting that she didn't meet him till now, because she is unsure of which parts of her grandfather are real or just the dementia talking.
Eagar has a way with telling stories - there is a real spell-binding quality to Serge's story and you want it to be real so badly, but at the same time it's full of magic and you don't want that magic to be just a dream. But this story sits within Carol's story, and you get a real sense of struggle between past and present, cultural acceptance and the wish to shed one's culture. Carol is a fascinating character, and we can see her struggle with finding out who she really is, how she can fit the within her blended family, and how to navigate the canyon-wide cracks of her family's past that are threatening to disrupt her present.The setting of this story is so gorgeous and rich - the ranches of the past and present are both so detailed and you can practically see the beauty painted in front of you as you read. I love how easily I fell into this story and it is a great example of complex storytelling. Children and adults will be swept away by it. It has really complex themes, as well: family and remembering your roots, living without fear, mental health. It's heartbreaking but it builds you up at the same time. It's truly magical.
I've just scratched the surface here, but if you want somewhere to start, these books are standouts, for me, at least. Let me know in the comments if there are any that you would recommend, or perhaps authors that you loved growing up. I still love and revisit stories I read from my childhood, and some of those authors are still writing stories - so you could get lucky and discover new favorites from the authors you loved as a child. Anyways, don't forget your inner child and pick out a book from juvenile literature every once in a while. You might be pleasantly surprised by what you can find.
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