Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Children's Literature as an Adult

Just as I was contemplating starting on this new blogging adventure, my dear friend John came along with a nudge in the form of a gift that pushed me forward. He presented me with Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Children's Literature as an Adult by Bruce Handy. I am 100% head over heels in love with every part of it already and have scarcely made it past the introduction. The title alone speaks volumes. I am an adult who above all values the joy of reading children's literature. This is good since I am both a children's librarian and a professor of children's literature! Joy is the perfect word.

For nearly a decade, John has welcomed me into his Advanced Placement literature course where together we change hearts and minds of studious young scholars who are at first skeptical that there is deep analysis that can come from reading a picture book.

In his introduction, Handy captures perfectly what John and I wish to convey to our audience each semester, "It goes without saying that the best children's literature is every bit as rich and rewarding in its concerns, as honest and stylish in its execution as the best adult literature -- and also as complicated, stubborn, conflicted, and mysterious. Like any worthwhile art, great children's books are capable of speaking in many different ways to many different readers."

Both John and I love seeing the students' reactions to delving into books that they treasured as kids with their "new eyes." We love reading them aloud to them and teaching them the value of the artwork. Joy is the perfect word.


Without realizing he was doing it, John gave me the perfect gift to sum up the purpose of this blog. Joy is the perfect word. I simply wish to share with you the joy of the books I discover.  This first one, this beautiful gift, is one that I hope you will read whether you are a scholar of children's books or simply a person who treasures the pure joy of reading them.