Adults who read children's books

[Vautrin]

The other day I stopped by a coffee shop and while I was waiting in line I recognized an old classmate of mine sitting alone by a window reading a book. We know each other pretty well, so I figured I'd go up to her and say hello. Long story short, I noticed her reading a hardcover book with no jacket on it and asked what the book was. She told me it was a Harry Potter book. Now I have never been accused of being a literary snob or a condescending person, but I honestly had to hold back my laughter after she revealed to me what it was she was reading. This is just one example.

I know a few people my age and older who were excited about the Chronicles of Narnia movies because they recently read the books. It's one thing to like these books if you're sharing them with your children or younger siblings in order to bond with them and get them interested in reading, but it's another thing entirely to read them for yourself when it's clearly targeted at kids. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn were essentially children's books; however, an adult could get away with reading them due to the content as well as the quality of the writing. I can't say the same for this relatively new wave of children's books.

Why are so many grown adults reading children's books with the same focus and attention they would give grown up literature? Is the reason similar to that of adults who like watching cartoons once in a while or a Disney movie? Nostalgia? Or is it something far more alarming? Or is it simply just one of the signs of the apocalypse? :reddevil:

[jadrianne]

it is nostalgia true.But sometimes people feel the need to go back to thier beginning , to remember the pleasure with which they read and even to re-read their favourite childhood stories.

It may sound amusing but sometimes it is very interesting to read again what you've read when you were a child because opinions,impressions things like that change due to time and you see the book from another perspective.

Some of them perhaps want to try to see what their children like and in order to understand their favorite books they read them.Other people want to see what's new concerning the children's literature .Other people want to feel themselves as being forever young.

I do think that sometimes the pure need of feeling like a child again is not something to be ashamed of .

[Dark Muse]

I had to take a class in Children's Literature and it was that class which awakened me to the fact that there are quality, engaging, and interesting books in the YA (Young Adult) genre, it was through that class that I myself began to actively pursue the reading of YA books, because I enjoyed all the books which were selected to read for the class, and sought to pursue more books by the same authors that we read.

I also really enjoy the non-paranormal romance YA vampire books, such things as Thirsty by M.T Anderson, and The Vampire's Assistant saga. They are very dark books that display vampires as the blood sucking though charming monsters they are meant to be.

I also just recently read the Alice in Wonderland because I am excited about the new Alice movie coming up and it is truly a delightful and wonderful book, and part of my draw to it, is my fascination for alternative realties.

I think there are YA books that can offer a little something to all audiences and the reason why I read them, is in part because they are a break from heavier books that I read, they are easy and quick to read, which can be nice at times and I do find many of them to be entertaining and engaging, and just an overall fun experience.

And there are some books in the YA genre that are indeed quite well written and can indeed challenge the readers mind and offer some thought provoking ideas as well as deal with more "mature" subjects. Not all children's books are just pure fluff.

[Fen]

Reading children's books like Harry Potter is like watching an action movie. Sure it may or may not have great depth of character or great writing but if it has a good story it's enjoyable. The case would be different if the author talks down to the reader using very simple language and such but otherwise it is just a bit of fun.


Like Terminator:D

[kiki1982]

Well, I don't know, but there seem to be a load of adults who like Harry Potter. My father is one who has read Plato, Socrates and what not. To cut a long story short, he has everything of importance (Western Canon that is) in his bookcase. And he gets into Harry Potter! He has read them all and with a lot of enjoyment. He has even bought and seen all the films. He is about 55...

I haven't read them, because I don't like fantasy, but from the other side, maybe Harry Potter actually speaks to adults too?

I don't know about other children's books, but it depends whether one never gets past them or wether one just takes 'a break'.

Some children's books can even be called better literature than some adult writing.

[BienvenuJDC]

Whoa...whoa..whoa...
The Chronicles of Narnia is far deeper than anyone who hasn't read them could know. I enjoy many different types of literature that is considered children's books. A few of the book series that I have enjoyed are:

The Chronicles of Narnia
The Oz series
Alice in Wonderland
...the many works of Dr Suess...

While some may look for simplicity in that which is complex, others can see a great complexity in the simple. Whether it was intended to have a much deeper meaning (which some of these classic works did), one who can truly appreciate literature written at many different levels. The challenge is not always in that which is written, but the perspective of whom that reads.


Not all children's books are just pure fluff.

Excellent post, but I wanted to focus on this one comment!
:thumbsup:

[Whifflingpin]

I read children's books. Whyever should I not? I also enjoy watching "In the Night Garden," although my grand-daughter has recently decided that it is too juvenile for her.

I do not read "to feel like a child again" and most of the children's literature I own was published after I grew to mature years - perhaps you have to be grown up to appreciate the best children's books.

Can I get away with reading children's books seriously? I don't care; I read them because I want to, and those who want to look down their snooty noses at me are poor sad people who are missing a lot of pleasure, and, maybe, wisdom.

The authors I favour include Joan Aiken, Peter Dickinson, Ursula Le Guin.

I like them for their language, their story-telling, their serious addressing of serious issues, their wit, their decency

[Helga]

I think books like Narnia are just as much for adults as it is for kids. of course not all children books are good quality books but then again, many are really good...

I loved 'Black Beauty' as a kid, and I found it again finally the other day and bought it, can't wait to read it.

I find more excitement in many children books than in 'adult genre' books.

[Modest Proposal]

The other day I stopped by a coffee shop and while I was waiting in line I recognized an old classmate of mine sitting alone by a window reading a book. We know each other pretty well, so I figured I'd go up to her and say hello. Long story short, I noticed her reading a hardcover book with no jacket on it and asked what the book was. She told me it was a Harry Potter book. Now I have never been accused of being a literary snob or a condescending person, but I honestly had to hold back my laughter after she revealed to me what it was she was reading. This is just one example.

I know a few people my age and older who were excited about the Chronicles of Narnia movies because they recently read the books. It's one thing to like these books if you're sharing them with your children or younger siblings in order to bond with them and get them interested in reading, but it's another thing entirely to read them for yourself when it's clearly targeted at kids. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn were essentially children's books; however, an adult could get away with reading them due to the content as well as the quality of the writing. I can't say the same for this relatively new wave of children's books.

Why are so many grown adults reading children's books with the same focus and attention they would give grown up literature? Is the reason similar to that of adults who like watching cartoons once in a while or a Disney movie? Nostalgia? Or is it something far more alarming? Or is it simply just one of the signs of the apocalypse? :reddevil:

Harry Potter is different than "Children's Literature" as a genre.

Even the classic works like "Tom Sawyer" aside, that is those which are deemed worthy of an adult's intellect, there are many reasons to read and Children's literature can often fulfill them.

Entertainment. Don't disparage it as it is TRULY the most powerful tool of the artist to reach an audience. Shakespeare was hugely popular in his day DESPITE the ire of notable intellectuals. Britain's first great library curator said he would not ever allow the bard's plays to exist in the library with "real" masterpieces.

Beauty. Another reason people read is to be awed by beauty. Not just entertained by prettiness, but actually to be amazed at the poetry of language and marvel at an author's ability to elicit catharsis. E. B. White is considered one of the greatest essayists of the 20th century. But he is also the writer of three of the greatest children's books of the last century: "Charlotte's Web", "The Trumpet of the Swan" and "Stewart Little." I read poetry for the same reason I read these books.

Mental and Philosophical Stimulation. This is where books like Twain's come in, where books like "Gulliver's Travels" and "Alice in Wonderland" and "Peter Pan" and "Wind in the Willows" and...

Honestly, I don't even see how a term like "grown up" literature can exist. Maybe you need to visit Neverland...

[IJustMadeThatUp]

I loved 'Black Beauty' as a kid, and I found it again finally the other day and bought it, can't wait to read it.


I did the same with The Red Pony! My art teacher, when I was 10, asked to borrow it and never returned it :lol: I found a beautiful hardcover copy with a picture of a red foal on the front in a secondhand bookstore the other day.

Now, I read children's books. I reread them, and I read one's I've never picked up before. The simplicity is refreshing, the usually happy topics/endings make a nice change, I love to get caught up in fantasy worlds and if somebody bought me a copy of The Magic Faraway Tree, I would kiss them! There is quality writing in there.

Actually, my best friend got me The Roald Dahl Treasury as a birthday present two years ago, I thought it was fantastic. Maybe I'm an uneducated big kid? Your comment seems kind of snobby and frankly silly.

Did you ever consider she may have been reading it for work, class, or a myriad of other reasons? Not, that there is anything wrong with reading Harry Potter.

Kids books are fun! I will continue to read them, manga, and watch cartoons until the day I die.

LONG LIVE BIG KIDS!

[BienvenuJDC]

I did the same with The Red Pony! My art teacher, when I was 10, asked to borrow it and never returned it :lol: I found a beautiful hardcover copy with a picture of a red foal on the front in a secondhand bookstore the other day.

Now, I read children's books. I reread them, and I read one's I've never picked up before. The simplicity is refreshing, the usually happy topics/endings make a nice change, I love to get caught up in fantasy worlds and if somebody bought me a copy of The Magic Faraway Tree, I would kiss them! There is quality writing in there.

Actually, my best friend got me The Roald Dahl Treasury as a birthday present two years ago, I thought it was fantastic. Maybe I'm an uneducated big kid? Your comment seems kind of snobby and frankly silly.

Did you ever consider she may have been reading it for work, class, or a myriad of other reasons? Not, that there is anything wrong with reading Harry Potter.

Kids books are fun! I will continue to read them, manga, and watch cartoons until the day I die.

LONG LIVE BIG KIDS!


Hear, hear...I concur!!

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

The other day I stopped by a coffee shop and while I was waiting in line I recognized an old classmate of mine sitting alone by a window reading a book. We know each other pretty well, so I figured I'd go up to her and say hello. Long story short, I noticed her reading a hardcover book with no jacket on it and asked what the book was. She told me it was a Harry Potter book. Now I have never been accused of being a literary snob or a condescending person, but I honestly had to hold back my laughter after she revealed to me what it was she was reading. This is just one example.

I know a few people my age and older who were excited about the Chronicles of Narnia movies because they recently read the books. It's one thing to like these books if you're sharing them with your children or younger siblings in order to bond with them and get them interested in reading, but it's another thing entirely to read them for yourself when it's clearly targeted at kids. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn were essentially children's books; however, an adult could get away with reading them due to the content as well as the quality of the writing. I can't say the same for this relatively new wave of children's books.

Why are so many grown adults reading children's books with the same focus and attention they would give grown up literature? Is the reason similar to that of adults who like watching cartoons once in a while or a Disney movie? Nostalgia? Or is it something far more alarming? Or is it simply just one of the signs of the apocalypse? :reddevil:

Well, that changes today, because this whole post sounds like true literary snobbery.

[Brad Coelho]

Several ambiguously deemed 'children's books' that I read when younger I've recently jumped back into & extracted a much more substantial meaning from. My favorite example is Watership Down, a brilliantly vivid world that is approachable by most any literate, yet unfurls several layers to those that put a bit more into it. Giggle away baby :)

[Vautrin]

For those who are confused as to why I held back my "laughter" when my friend told me what it was she was reading; it wasn't ill-spirited or in a mocking way. It was instead my reaction to something I didn't quite understand, which is why I started this thread. My friend is actually quite intelligent, mature and well-read. It was her reading choice that particular afternoon that I was curious about and nothing else.

Since I personally don't read books targeted at kids, I wanted to hear other people's thoughts on why they themselves do or why they think adults in general seem to be reading more and more of these books nowadays (Not that there's anything wrong with that!) I sometimes see books I once read in elementary school and think back fondly on that time in my life; however, I never really have the desire to read them again at this stage of my life, let alone the latest children's lit to come out over the past few years. The same goes for cartoons. I LOVED cartoons as a kid and when I see familiar characters in passing on TV or the web, I can't help but smile and watch a little bit of it just to reminisce. But sit through entire episodes of these cartoons? I have no desire whatsoever! Again, I don't think there is anything wrong with people who do. It's just my personal preference.

Kudos to all the people who posted well articulated, insightful responses and did not revert to name calling and other playground tactics. Not everyone is capable of such a feat.

[IJustMadeThatUp]

Several ambiguously deemed 'children's books' that I read when younger I've recently jumped back into & extracted a much more substantial meaning from. My favorite example is Watership Down, a brilliantly vivid world that is approachable by most any literate, yet unfurls several layers to those that put a bit more into it. Giggle away baby :)

Watership Down is one of my favourite books!

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

For those who are confused as to why I held back my "laughter" when my friend told me what it was she was reading; it wasn't ill-spirited or in a mocking way. It was instead my reaction to something I didn't quite understand, which is why I started this thread. My friend is actually quite intelligent, mature and well-read. It was her reading choice that particular afternoon that I was curious about and nothing else.

Since I personally don't read books targeted at kids, I wanted to hear other people's thoughts on why they themselves do or why they think adults in general seem to be reading more and more of these books nowadays (Not that there's anything wrong with that!) I sometimes see books I once read in elementary school and think back fondly on that time in my life; however, I never really have the desire to read them again at this stage of my life, let alone the latest children's lit to come out over the past few years. The same goes for cartoons. I LOVED cartoons as a kid and when I see familiar characters in passing on TV or the web, I can't help but smile and watch a little bit of it just to reminisce. But sit through entire episodes of these cartoons? I have no desire whatsoever! Again, I don't think there is anything wrong with people who do. It's just my personal preference.

Kudos to all the people who posted well articulated, insightful responses and did not revert to name calling and other playground tactics. Not everyone is capable of such a feat.

I'm a bit of a literary snob, too. Don't fight it. I can't help but laugh when people say they're reading HP or, God forbid, Twilight. Embrace the snobbishness, young padawan.

[wat??]

Watership Down is one of my favourite books!

Is Watership Down really targeted at children though?

[Brad Coelho]

Is Watership Down really targeted at children though?

It is accessible to them & its facade certainly lends itself to that audience. I'm not sure were Adams or his publisher intended to 'target' it; but I do think it firmly falls into the deceptively adult category. It is one of my favorite books too :) To me, another of the beauties of literature is that its breadth is endless...I can extoll the vitures of Ulysses, Sound & the Fury, Sirens of Titan and a book about bunny rabbits.

[Vautrin]

I'm a bit of a literary snob, too. Don't fight it. I can't help but laugh when people say they're reading HP or, God forbid, Twilight. Embrace the snobbishness, young padawan.

If you insist on calling me a snob, okay, I'll play along. For starters, you personally can't qualify as a literary snob, since you list Stephen King as your favorite author. In the Kingdom of Literature, King is more like a jester. Therefore, you are not even eligible to be labeled a literary snob. :hand:

"I'm a film snob. My favorite filmmaker is Michael Bay." That's basically what you're saying.

How'd I do Jedi Master? :D

[OrphanPip]

Is Watership Down really targeted at children though?

It was definitely intended by Adams for children, it started as a private story for his daughters. I've even read that he denies any intentional political or religious allegory in the novel.

Related to the ongoing funny criticism thread, there was an essay titled "Male Chauvinist Rabbits" published in the New York Times attacking the representation of the female rabbits in the novel lol.

[Brad Coelho]

It was definitely intended by Adams for children, it started as a private story for his daughters. I've even read that he denies any intentional political or religious allegory in the novel.

Related to the ongoing funny criticism thread, there was an essay titled "Male Chauvinist Rabbits" published in the New York Times attacking the representation of the female rabbits in the novel lol.

I remember reading about that denial- while he may not have intended to add particular theological and political layers to the story, his creation of the society was so developed that it made their inclusion inevitable (and particularly provocative to me).

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

If you insist on calling me a snob, okay, I'll play along. For starters, you personally can't qualify as a literary snob, since you list Stephen King as your favorite author. In the Kingdom of Literature, King is more like a jester. Therefore, you are not even eligible to be labeled a literary snob. :hand:

"I'm a film snob. My favorite filmmaker is Michael Bay." That's basically what you're saying.

How'd I do Jedi Master? :D

Touche.

[Katy North]

With my toddler, I'm even starting to realized that picture books can be literary in a way. There's something about reading "Harold and the Purple Crayon" and experiencing the simplicity and wonder of the book through my son's eyes.

That sense of wonder works its way up through *good* children's literature... Narnia, Oz, Wonderland, Dr. Doolittle, Black Beauty, The Giver, Harry Potter (to name a few). Many of these books can be read seriously and enjoyed thoroughly by all ages.



Or is it simply just one of the signs of the apocalypse?

That would be one awesome apocalypse. :hat:

[stlukesguild]

I think the line between what is "childrens' literature" and "adult literature" is not as clear as some would have it... if the literature is first and foremost good writing. Aesop's Fables, The Arabian Night's Entertainments, the collected fairy tales and fables of Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, even Italo Calvino, Gulliver's Travels, Lewis Caroll's Alice books, Huckleberry Finn, Edward Lear's "Nonsense" poems, Christian Morgenstern's "Nonsense" poems... none of these are strictly literature for children... indeed I would argue that some aren't children's literature at all. What makes Huckleberry Finn a children's book? The fact that the main characters are children? So does that make Oliver Twist a children's book? Does that make much of the first book of Proust's In Search of Lost Time reading for children? And what of Sterne's Tristam Shandy? Or do we assume that it is the fantastic that makes something "childrens' literature"? But where does that leave Poe, J.L. Borges, Dante's Comedia, or Ovid's Metamorphoses... to say nothing of the Bible? Or is it the simplicity of form and language? Again, where does that leave Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience, Hemingway, J.L. Borge... even Samuel Beckett... or again, the Bible?

Seriously, a great deal of what we love about literature... the sheer love of story telling... the audacious and fantastic imagination... are to be found in forms of literature that are close to the folk tale, the fable, the fairy tale, and what many may call "childrens literature". These forms are integral to the great Indian Epics such as the Mahabharata, many parts of the Bible, Ovid's Metamorphoses, Dante's Comedia, Boccaccio's Decameron, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, the various Arthurian myths and the legends of Roland/Charlemagne, etc... There is often a profundity beneath the surface of these works belied by the apparent "artlessness". I have repeatedly read and re-read Lewis Carroll, Christian Morgenstern and Italo Calvino's wonderful fable, The Baron in the Trees. I will admit to perusing Dr. Seuss' works from time to time if I happen upon them (unfortunately my parents gave away my childhood copies) and just recently I sat down to read A Wrinkle in Time which I had not read since I was in 3rd grade (9?). I personally have no use for the Harry Potter novels or the Twilight series... not because I am an adult and I feel these are books for children or adolescents... but rather because they just aren't that good.

Is Watership Down really targeted at children though?

It was definitely intended by Adams for children, it started as a private story for his daughters. I've even read that he denies any intentional political or religious allegory in the novel.

And Lewis Carroll's "Alice" books were intended as entertainment for children... does that make them exclusively childrens' literature? Michelangelo's Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel was intended as a counter-reformation statement... does that mean that it only has any worth to practicing Catholics? And here I am... an agnostic Lutheran going around proclaiming Michelangelo to have been the greatest artist of time.:blush:

[JBI]

There is children's literature, and Children's literature. I am not about to read Amelia Bedelia or whatever, nor am I likely to read picture books, but I may flip through some easy children's stories in a language I am not too competent with.

[The Comedian]

I like comics and I consider myself semi-literate.

[BienvenuJDC]

I like comics and I consider myself semi-literate.

Do you have any favorites?

[hellsapoppin]

{Ahem} Got to clear my throat before I attempt to answer this one.

There are certain things in life that are meant to appeal to children such as professional wrestling, comic books, the Three Stooges, Twinkies, Clair Bee's writings, etc. Some people continue to love these things well into their adulthood and cannot envision their lives without these things.

{Ahem} If you can keep a secret - I'm one of those adults and I'm approaching my 60s! Ask me to give these things up and I'll say, no chance!

[Vautrin]

I think the line between what is "childrens' literature" and "adult literature" is not as clear as some would have it... if the literature is first and foremost good writing. Aesop's Fables, The Arabian Night's Entertainments, the collected fairy tales and fables of Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, even Italo Calvino, Gulliver's Travels, Lewis Caroll's Alice books, Huckleberry Finn, Edward Lear's "Nonsense" poems, Christian Morgenstern's "Nonsense" poems... none of these are strictly literature for children... indeed I would argue that some aren't children's literature at all. What makes Huckleberry Finn a children's book? The fact that the main characters are children? So does that make Oliver Twist a children's book? Does that make much of the first book of Proust's In Search of Lost Time reading for children? And what of Sterne's Tristam Shandy? Or do we assume that it is the fantastic that makes something "childrens' literature"? But where does that leave Poe, J.L. Borges, Dante's Comedia, or Ovid's Metamorphoses... to say nothing of the Bible? Or is it the simplicity of form and language? Again, where does that leave Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience, Hemingway, J.L. Borge... even Samuel Beckett... or again, the Bible?



I never stated that books in which the main characters are children are automatically categorized as children's literature.

I chose The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn as examples of children's lit because, well, they are, even if Huck Finn falls within that gray area. Tom Sawyer was originally marketed at children, or the "boy's book" market. Huckleberry Finn started off that way too until Mark Twain began experiencing trouble writing it and it eventually morphed into something else. The end result was a marriage between a sequel to a boy book and adult literature. Many scholars still classify it as a "boy book", while others don't.

I really don't know what Ovid or the Bible have to do with any of this. The two examples of recent children's fiction I mentioned were Harry Potter and the Chronicles of Narnia. Is it really necessary to have a philosophical discussion as to why they are considered children's fiction? That's not even the point of my post. I simply wanted to ask people why they enjoy reading these books as adults. I'm genuinely interested in why.

[pooteeweet]

I have not yet studied children's literature in college, but from what I have gathered from my readings is that the older novels, such as Peter Pan and Alice and Wonderland, deal with more adult issues than Harry Potter...with that said, I have not yet read anything by Rowling, only seen the movies, so maybe I am wrong?

Patrick

[Vautrin]

Seriously, a great deal of what we love about literature... the sheer love of story telling... the audacious and fantastic imagination... are to be found in forms of literature that are close to the folk tale, the fable, the fairy tale, and what many may call "childrens literature". These forms are integral to the great Indian Epics such as the Mahabharata, many parts of the Bible, Ovid's Metamorphoses, Dante's Comedia, Boccaccio's Decameron, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, the various Arthurian myths and the legends of Roland/Charlemagne, etc... There is often a profundity beneath the surface of these works belied by the apparent "artlessness". I have repeatedly read and re-read Lewis Carroll, Christian Morgenstern and Italo Calvino's wonderful fable, The Baron in the Trees. I will admit to perusing Dr. Seuss' works from time to time if I happen upon them (unfortunately my parents gave away my childhood copies) and just recently I sat down to read A Wrinkle in Time which I had not read since I was in 3rd grade (9?). I personally have no use for the Harry Potter novels or the Twilight series... not because I am an adult and I feel these are books for children or adolescents... but rather because they just aren't that good.


This is more like it. I agree with many of these ideas. This is the kind of answer I was looking for when I originally started the thread. A few other posters gave equally insightful responses.

[pooteeweet]

I never stated that books in which the main characters are children are automatically categorized as children's literature.

I chose The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn as examples of children's lit because, well, they are, even if Huck Finn falls within that gray area. Tom Sawyer was originally marketed at children, or the "boy's book" market. Huckleberry Finn started off that way too until Mark Twain began experiencing trouble writing it and it eventually morphed into something else. The end result was a marriage between a sequel to a boy book and adult literature. Many scholars still classify it as a "boy book", while others don't.



:nod:

[TurquoiseSunset]

Is it really necessary to have a philosophical discussion as to why they are considered children's fiction? That's not even the point of my post. I simply wanted to ask people why they enjoy reading these books as adults. I'm genuinely interested in why.

Heh, you'll soon learn that most topics are turned into philosophical discussions here :D

Why do people enjoy reading any books? I read Harry Potter, for the same reason I read As You Like It, or The Count of Monte Cristo, or whatever. I enjoy those stories, because I just do. I enjoy those books for the same reason I don't enjoy others (Catcher In The Rye, The Glass Bead Game, King Lear). Personal preference, is all. It's got nothing to do with childhood nostalgia for me.

[kelby_lake]

Sometimes you miss out on things first time round.

[purpleViolet]

I only know two people who have read all the Harry Potter books, my sister and my mum. The reason my sister read them is because the first one came out when she was about 13 so she was in the right age group to begin with and then stuck with them even as she reached adulthood.

My mum, she will read anything lying around whether thats war & peace or Harry Potter. Shes not fussy.

Harry Potter has personally never appealed to me but there is some very good YA books out there which sometimes I pick up.

Its also interesting how books are marketed, for example 'The book Thief' was marketed as an adult book in Australia and as a YA book in America which means this could put off some adult readers in america but could also put off younger readers in Australia.

[The Comedian]

Do you have any favorite [comics]?

Yep. Preacher, Hellboy, Sandman, Watchmen, Blankets, Persepolis, Maus, and Green Lantern are just a few that I enjoy. Lately, I've really taken to the Hellboy series -- the art and aura of it are just out of this world: it balances violence, fable, and playfulness really well.

[Annamariah]

I often read books targeted for children or young adults, and often I like them better than most contemporary litereature targeted for adults.

[BienvenuJDC]

Yep. Preacher, Hellboy, Sandman, Watchmen, Blankets, Persepolis, Maus, and Green Lantern are just a few that I enjoy. Lately, I've really taken to the Hellboy series -- the art and aura of it are just out of this world: it balances violence, fable, and playfulness really well.

Duh...cuz they're from hell...:out:

[Babbalanja]

As a parent of teens, I've read a lot of young adult literature. I think any adult who reads more of it than he has to should expand his horizons.

I read the first Harry Potter book with my daughter, and we liked it fine. It was a nice old-fashioned little outsider story. But adults who are big Potter fans remind me of grown ups who go to Star Wars conventions dressed like Darth Vader.

If you're looking for a good author of young adult literature, certainly one of the best is M.T. Anderson, whom Dark Muse mentioned earlier. My wife and I have both read his books. He writes in a range of styles depending on the age of his intended audience. The kids liked Whales on Stilts, a funny parody of the old teenage detective novel. For teens, there's Feed, a dark comedy about alienation and conformity in the not-so-distant future. And then there's his challenging Octavian Nothing books, the saga of Revolutionary-War-era intrigue that should fascinate smart kids.

Regards,

Istvan

[TurquoiseSunset]

It's all relative though. When is it too much? You can't be the judge of that...no one can.
Why should anyone stick to any age group? You would never tell teenagers/young adults to avoid adult literature until they're the right age, so why are adults not allowed to read YA lit? Will it corrupt them? Don't say it's not the same, because it really is. I should dictate which books I read, no one and nothing else.

So I say, to each his own.

[Brad Coelho]

As a parent of teens, I've read a lot of young adult literature. I think any adult who reads more of it than he has to should expand his horizons.

I read the first Harry Potter book with my daughter, and we liked it fine. It was a nice old-fashioned little outsider story. But adults who are big Potter fans remind me of grown ups who go to Star Wars conventions dressed like Darth Vader.

Be nice ;) Those passionate about any hobby need to be wary of dogma. Literature can fullfill multiple moods and needs. My mother, for example, was an English major and ate her way through just about everything that currently gets my goat. She's been there & done that. Now reading is a numbing relaxation for her, an accompaniment to a warm bath. She doesn't want literature to challenge her at this point in her life (and its not for lack of horizon expansion), she enjoys the fun-loving escape. While my current passion for literature obviously directs me elsewhere, I stil respect the pleasures these books can provide someone like my mom in her particular search.

Just like cheesy movies that make you giggle. There's a time and a place :D

[Babbalanja]

Just like cheesy movies that make you giggle. There's a time and a place :DIsn't that exactly what I said? I've read YA literature myself, haven't I?

Saying there's a time and a place, or that mom don't want to be challenged, doesn't change the fact that children's books aren't very challenging for adults.

Regards,

Istvan

[ktr]

I am a huge snob, and an egomaniac. It's just what happens when you're as intelligent and as good looking as i happen to be - however, some of you are truly missing out.

I felt an initial sting at the disparaging remarks made toward harry potter, and the readers of such books - and i was compelled to retort with inflammatory insults and what have you, but then i realized something - it doesn't stem from any anger, it stems from a deep envy. oh how i wish i could go back in time before i had read the harry potter series and enjoy them in full all over again.

a few of you have so much to look forward to, if you can get past the first 2 books and about 3/4ths the way through the third.

[Three Sparrows]

Hum, is the the Lord of the Rings children books? Personally, I love Tolkien. Has anyone ever read Roverandum?:)

[applepie]

For those who are confused as to why I held back my "laughter" when my friend told me what it was she was reading; it wasn't ill-spirited or in a mocking way. It was instead my reaction to something I didn't quite understand, which is why I started this thread. My friend is actually quite intelligent, mature and well-read. It was her reading choice that particular afternoon that I was curious about and nothing else.

I actually smiled a bit myself at your first description of your friend reading not because she was reading a children's book, but because she had the jacket off. I was really amused because I know more people who read children's books than ones who admit to reading them :hand:

I personally love children's stories. Part of it is the nostalgia, part of it is simply I have two kids of my own. I suppose I could come up with a number of excuses, but I really do just enjoy them. There is something pleasant in the simplicity of stories written for kids. Very often they are good vs evil type plots and I've always been a sucker for that type of a tale :D

[TurquoiseSunset]

I actually smiled a bit myself at your first description of your friend reading not because she was reading a children's book, but because she had the jacket off. I was really amused because I know more people who read children's books than ones who admit to reading them :hand:

Some people (my dad for one) take them off because they don't want to damage them. :)

[IJustMadeThatUp]

Some people (my dad for one) take them off because they don't want to damage them. :)

I hate, HATE dust jackets. They're always so flappy, move around and generally disturb my reading. I take them off too.

[TurquoiseSunset]

I hate, HATE dust jackets. They're always so flappy, move around and generally disturb my reading. I take them off too.

I know, me too. I'm not so much concerned about damaging them as with how annoying they can be!

[krisgil_aguila]

books are for everyone,
it doesn't say that children books are only for children,...
0___0

[Night_Lamp]

I am taking a children's literature class this year, and am really enjoying it.

Some of the texts have so much deeper value and meaning than I ever expected them to, like Peter Pan; which has more adult themes and humour than I ever thought they would. These are books that parents could read to or with their children and enjoy themselves as well.

Right now I'm reading Ursula Le Guin's brilliant teen fantasy series Earthsea. Which I HIGHLY recommend to anyone.

[RosyRosalind]

Greetings, everyone!

You know, I became really interested in this thread when I first read it, although I didn't immediately reply. What an interesting topic to discuss! Bravo to you all for excellent responses and ideas!

I am currently a seventeen-year-old student in high school, and I can see some differences between "adult" and "children's" literature, but only small ones. There are a few books I've read that I never really considered to be "children's" books, even though I found them hidden in the children's section of the bookstore. For instance, the "Anne of Green Gables" series appealed to me in seventh grade and I picked it up expecting a pretty easy read (which is was), but it was still chock full of vocabulary and historical references I wouldn't expect a ten-year-old to understand. I enjoyed them very much and still don't mind reading them (or even the Harry Potter books) over and over again.

I think, perhaps, the differences between "adult" and "children's" literature is not often the quality of the book itself, but the content. I've read a wide variety of books, and the main differences I found were that in "adult" literature, the plot mainly concerned adult characters and adult problems/concerns/content, and in "children's" literature, the main character was usually a child or teenager, dealing with problems from a different, younger, less experienced, naive perspective.

Perhaps I'm wrong. That's simply a short description of the differences I've found between the two.

To close a rather short and unrefined response (though I'm glad to see the forums have a very limited number of these), I'd like to add this idea in. Perhaps the quality of the book has less to do with what bookshelf it's put into, and more with the text inside of the book.

[estelwen]

Adding my bit.

Some children's books--"The Chronicles of Narnia" as a prime example--are just as worthy of critical attention as adult books. There can be great truth and beauty, great pain and grief--greatness in any shape in children's literature just as there can be in adult literature.

How much children's literature have you read? Of course there is banal triviality; there is also weighty truth. There are many noteworthy passages, many delightful or horrifying tales.


Remember: "The Wheel on the School", "At the Back of the North Wind", "Linnet", "The Perilous Gard", "The Lord of the Rings", "The Chronicles of Narnia", "Beauty", "The Riddle-Master of Hed", "Walk Two Moons", and so many others?

My mother is an excellent writer for children, thus I have been exposed to not a few children's authors both through their words and in person. I see that those who choose to write for children do not do it because they can't function in adult fiction but because they truly desire to communicate to a valued section of humanity. Subject matter can be weighty and treatment of it varies, but I have found many children's books to be wonderful.

Good thoughts and good recommendations!

[Kemathenga]

To add another two-pence - children's books are mostly WRITTEN by adults so why shouldn't adults read them?

But to be more serious about the subject I happen to read almost only children's books. Partly because adults's books bore me and partly for the maybe "more alarming" reason that I didn't experience most of the things the children in those books do and seek a way to participate in a normal childhood in retrospective, but that's biography.

The difference between children's books and adult's I see not so much in the topics but in the intention of the author. The majority of the children's books I read very clearly want to teach their readers something. Now, I know adult's books only from reviews in the paper but it seems to me that many of them either just want to entertain or to describe something or even to provoke some certain reactions, anyway, the pedagogic element seems not so relevant in them.

As for Fantasy it often escapes definition. I wouldn't call Ursula K. LeGuin's books children's books and The Lord of the Rings even less so. The Hobbit was meant as a children's book but not The Ring.

I confess myself guilty of adoring Harry Potter, being heavily engaged with Tolkien' work, having read Earthsea more than three times and in different languages. One of my all-time favorites is Rosemary Sutcliff (great to learn about history, too) who is considered to have been mainly a writer for children. Another one I fully enjoy is Hilary McKay and it doesn't hurt a bit that many of these books are also read by my daughters and we exchange our thoughts a lot.

[Night_Lamp]

Kemathenga:

I'm VERY glad to see someone else mention Rosemary Sutcliff! She's one of my favorites as well, even though I read little fantasy or speculative fiction. I started a thread about her a few months back which unfortunately died quickly. I wish more people would read her fantastic novels.

[Sebas. Melmoth]

Big Dr. Seuss fan: On Beyond Zebra is mind-blowing!

http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Zebra-Classic-Seuss/dp/0394800842/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280510711&sr=1-1

[aliengirl]

A few days ago one of my friends asked me what could she give to a child (about 10 years old) as a birthday gift. Well, naturally I suggested 'Story Books'. When we were looking at different books for kids I talked about how I still enjoy reading them. She looked at me with her mouth wide open, her eyes quite round with amazement, as if she can't believe that an adult can go back to books meant for kids. She told me I should not read them NOW. I disagreed but I was thinking all the time that am I the only grown up who likes to read and enjoy children's literature. Thanks to this thread I have found so many people just like me. And yes, a few of my favorites are:-

Alice in Wonderland
The Wizard of Oz
Black Beauty
Works of Mark Twain especially The Prince and The Pauper
Works of Roald Dahl



Now, I read children's books. I reread them, and I read one's I've never picked up before. The simplicity is refreshing, the usually happy topics/endings make a nice change, I love to get caught up in fantasy worlds and if somebody bought me a copy of The Magic Faraway Tree, I would kiss them! There is quality writing in there.

Actually, my best friend got me The Roald Dahl Treasury as a birthday present two years ago, I thought it was fantastic. Maybe I'm an uneducated big kid? Your comment seems kind of snobby and frankly silly.

Did you ever consider she may have been reading it for work, class, or a myriad of other reasons? Not, that there is anything wrong with reading Harry Potter.

Kids books are fun! I will continue to read them, manga, and watch cartoons until the day I die.

LONG LIVE BIG KIDS!

:thumbsup: I really liked this and yes,

:hurray:LONG LIVE BIG KIDS:hurray:

[Wilde woman]

Personally, I still consider myself a big kid...all grown up and in graduate school. But I'm a sucker for animal stories. I had three copies of Black Beauty when I was growing up. Anything with dogs or horses was a must for me: National Velvet, My Friend Flicka, the Black Stallion series, Old Yeller, Where the Red Fern Grows, 101 Dalmations, Call of the Wild. I loved them all and I still revisit them when time allows. I'm attracted to them partially because of nostalgia, and partially because they are so entertaining and so escapist. But children's lit is more full of tragedy than most people give them credit for: just think of Where the Red Fern Grows or Old Yeller or Road to Terabithia; there's some very moving writing in these works.

[brave new tony]

The other day I stopped by a coffee shop and while I was waiting in line I recognized an old classmate of mine sitting alone by a window reading a book. We know each other pretty well, so I figured I'd go up to her and say hello. Long story short, I noticed her reading a hardcover book with no jacket on it and asked what the book was. She told me it was a Harry Potter book. Now I have never been accused of being a literary snob or a condescending person, but I honestly had to hold back my laughter after she revealed to me what it was she was reading. This is just one example.

I know a few people my age and older who were excited about the Chronicles of Narnia movies because they recently read the books. It's one thing to like these books if you're sharing them with your children or younger siblings in order to bond with them and get them interested in reading, but it's another thing entirely to read them for yourself when it's clearly targeted at kids. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn were essentially children's books; however, an adult could get away with reading them due to the content as well as the quality of the writing. I can't say the same for this relatively new wave of children's books.

Why are so many grown adults reading children's books with the same focus and attention they would give grown up literature? Is the reason similar to that of adults who like watching cartoons once in a while or a Disney movie? Nostalgia? Or is it something far more alarming? Or is it simply just one of the signs of the apocalypse? :reddevil:

Really? How old are you? Ever Since Robert Cormier wrote The Chocolate War there has been this category called Young Adult Literature. I like to read young adult literature as well as any canonized classic literature because it has great content. Look past the prose into the heart of the author and the message he or she is conveying and you'd be surprised what you can discover.
One thing I hate is the attitude that the book must be difficult to read in order for it to hold any valuable literary insight. I learned so much more from I Am the Cheese than I ever did from something like Slaughterhouse Five. I know apples to oranges but still, this makes me want to ask you, "Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?" :puke:

[PrimordialBeast]

I'm 21 years old. I can unhesitantly say my two favorite books are The Hobbit and The Call of the Wild, essentially labeled "children's books". No shame, no care.

[aliengirl]

One thing I hate is the attitude that the book must be difficult to read in order for it to hold any valuable literary insight.

Agreed. I bet most of the people only pretend that they read only serious classic stuff.

[dafydd manton]

Have any of the parents on here tried to read Winnie The Pooh to their kids? The children don't find it in the least bit funny, but it's a brilliant read, and incredibly funny. The last time I tried reading it to children, the adults were all rolling around helplessly, whilst the younger element, po-faced, wanted to know what was so funny. The way Milne uses word pictures is superb, but I wouldn't want to disregard it because it's ostensibly for children. I've read all the Christopher Robin series again fairly recently, and they're as fresh as the day they were written. The only difference is that now I can get some way to understanding what's in there. That goes, I think, for anything that is well written, no matter who it was aimed at.

[Snowqueen]

I always enjoyed children’s literature and have read variety of children books from different cultures. My grandfather used to buy stories for my aunts and uncles and when they grew up they passed them to us. I still own many children books bought by my grandfather. They are old but in good shape. Some of these are now favourite bed time stories of my nieces.
Here are few names of the books on my shelf. Aesop Fables, Hans Christian Anderson's Tales, Heidi, Danny the Champion of the World, Alif Laila( A Thousand Nights),few Russian and Japanese Folktales and ever green Tot Batot (Urdu) poems.

[Silas Thorne]

I started to read the Brothers Grimm (in English- Jack Zipes translation) aloud in the evenings.

[sadhana]

I still read Enid Blyton

[Darcy88]

I like the art-work. Many of the illustrators of children's books are artistic geniuses.

[halfmoon25]

Does it really matter? If a person enjoys a certain type of book, more power to them. Reading for enjoyment is something that is not done enough in our world, and I'm sure books like Harry Potter and The Hunger Games have sparked that enjoyment with many adults who haven't read books in years. To me, that is a good thing.

For the record, I have been known to pick up a YA novel from time to time. Are they easier reads? Yes. Do I still enjoy them? Yes.

[Mona_Marlow]

While I may come off as snobby when I say that adults readin HP, Twillight, etc... is laughable and ridiculous - I must say it. My reasoning? Those books are mass-market mulch written by teams of Hollywood writers to get hormonal teenagers to spend money. They were not written to inform, educate or make the reader think. They are certainly not the literary gems of old such as Tom Sawyer and Animal Farm.

[halfmoon25]

They were not written to inform, educate or make the reader think.

I would have to disagree. While I would agree that they are not literary 'gems', you can take a lot away from some (not all) of these books. Your telling me that a grade school/jr. high student can't be educated about racism by reading Harry Potter?

And what is wrong with just reading for enjoyment?

[Varenne Rodin]

I started to read the Brothers Grimm (in English- Jack Zipes translation) aloud in the evenings.

I read that aloud too! I had no idea their stories were so shocking and perverse. Very entertaining.

[Sophia21]

I love reading children's literature. It would make a very long list if I start naming the children's books I have in my collection. My uncle gifted me a collection of Hans Christain Anderson tales on my 10th birthday which I still have and love to read. My dad used to bring me a monthly children magazine and I made it keep on coming till I became 18 and even now often read them at leisure.

[cyberbob]

While I may come off as snobby when I say that adults readin HP, Twillight, etc... is laughable and ridiculous - I must say it. My reasoning? Those books are mass-market mulch written by teams of Hollywood writers to get hormonal teenagers to spend money. They were not written to inform, educate or make the reader think. They are certainly not the literary gems of old such as Tom Sawyer and Animal Farm.

I'm pretty sure Harry Potter was written by JK Rowling and Twilight was written by Stephanie Meyer.

Maybe they were written to make money. They were certainly written to entertain. So what?

Do you really think that if kids weren't "wasting" their time reading this stuff they'd be reading "good" fiction like Tom Sawyer and Animal Farm?

I'm a pretty big movie buff. Lately, eveyone's been watching The Avengers and it's broken all kinds of box office records. I went to watch it at the midnight showing when it came out. I thought it was mediocre. Typical Hollywood cotton candy fluff.

As underwhelming as the movie was, I'm not scandalized by the fact that it made a billion dollars while a movie that I love like The Big Lebowski barely made back its budget.

To make sense of things you have to play the numbers game. The amount of people with uncultivated taste at any one thing far outweigh the number of people with very developed taste.

Have you ever been to a rock concert? A sporting event? Well, somewhere out there are geeks who would probably laugh at your knowledge or appreciation for rock music/sports. These are just random examples, obviously.

The fact is that there aren't a billion dollars worth of movie buffs out there. All of this money is coming from people who ordinarily might not go to the movies on the weekend. Doctors, lawyers, soccer moms, etc. people who have chosen to spend their mental resources on something other than film appreciation. The only reason they're going now is because The Avengers is a spectacle, an escape from the mental exhaustion that their ordinary lives bring. Afterwards, they'll resume their regular lives and probably won't return to the movies until some other movie that their kids want to see comes along.

My point with all this is that the people who are reading HP and Twilight might not necessarily care that they're reading fluff. This fluff is not what's keeping them from reading Twain or Shakespeare or whoever would supposedly challenge their minds. Maybe they don't want their minds challenged. Or maybe they want to challenge them in other ways. What's keeping them from reading that stuff is that they simply don't want to. HP/Twilight is a temporary escape, not a way of life like literature is for some people.

Being snobbish isn't even necessarily wrong, I think it's natural. I roll my eyes when I see people reading Stephen King, and I like Stephen King! When you're passionate about something you're going to be a snob about it to some degree, but you should also have some perspective.

Not everyone who reads is a habitual reader, or has any desire to develop their literary taste. Not every kid who reads Twilight was ever necessarily going to read anything better, so it's not actually a travesty.

[muhsin]

Sometimes one drives fun outta reading them. I, for example, do, though not so often.

[Aylinn]

I have nothing against children books, some of them can be really imaginative. My favourite author of children's books, Michael Ende, who is best known for his epic fantasy work The Neverending Story, wrote many interesting books that show he had a vivid imagination.

As for Harry Potter, I don't think it is a bad book. It's certainly not the best one, but it's not the worst either. It makes children read and some of those children will try to read different books. I have recently spoken to a librarian and he told me that there is a lot of children who still read Harry Potter, so the library in which he works plans to buy a new set of Harry Potter books, because the old ones have been borrowed so often that they are in a bad shape. Apparently there is something magnetic in Harry Potter that attracts children and adults, even though there are no more volumes or films to look forward to, by comparison, Twilight's popularity is dying down.

I agree with cyberbob's post. Not every person who reads Harry Potter would spend time reading something more challenging instead.

[TurquoiseSunset]

I'm pretty sure Harry Potter was written by JK Rowling and Twilight was written by Stephanie Meyer.

Maybe they were written to make money. They were certainly written to entertain. So what?

Do you really think that if kids weren't "wasting" their time reading this stuff they'd be reading "good" fiction like Tom Sawyer and Animal Farm?

I'm a pretty big movie buff. Lately, eveyone's been watching The Avengers and it's broken all kinds of box office records. I went to watch it at the midnight showing when it came out. I thought it was mediocre. Typical Hollywood cotton candy fluff.

As underwhelming as the movie was, I'm not scandalized by the fact that it made a billion dollars while a movie that I love like The Big Lebowski barely made back its budget.

To make sense of things you have to play the numbers game. The amount of people with uncultivated taste at any one thing far outweigh the number of people with very developed taste.

Have you ever been to a rock concert? A sporting event? Well, somewhere out there are geeks who would probably laugh at your knowledge or appreciation for rock music/sports. These are just random examples, obviously.

The fact is that there aren't a billion dollars worth of movie buffs out there. All of this money is coming from people who ordinarily might not go to the movies on the weekend. Doctors, lawyers, soccer moms, etc. people who have chosen to spend their mental resources on something other than film appreciation. The only reason they're going now is because The Avengers is a spectacle, an escape from the mental exhaustion that their ordinary lives bring. Afterwards, they'll resume their regular lives and probably won't return to the movies until some other movie that their kids want to see comes along.

My point with all this is that the people who are reading HP and Twilight might not necessarily care that they're reading fluff. This fluff is not what's keeping them from reading Twain or Shakespeare or whoever would supposedly challenge their minds. Maybe they don't want their minds challenged. Or maybe they want to challenge them in other ways. What's keeping them from reading that stuff is that they simply don't want to. HP/Twilight is a temporary escape, not a way of life like literature is for some people.

Being snobbish isn't even necessarily wrong, I think it's natural. I roll my eyes when I see people reading Stephen King, and I like Stephen King! When you're passionate about something you're going to be a snob about it to some degree, but you should also have some perspective.

Not everyone who reads is a habitual reader, or has any desire to develop their literary taste. Not every kid who reads Twilight was ever necessarily going to read anything better, so it's not actually a travesty.

:hurray: Amen.

[ennison]

There are many books written by those considered children's authors that are very good and would entertain an adult. There are books I read as a child that I would recommend to a child but from which I would now get very little. There are books I have read to/ with children which I have enjoyed myself as we read them. There are some books I have ditched as infantile even if nominally they were aimed at adults. There tends to be progression in children's reading from simple to complex. The complexity can be in language but is often in character or in theme. When I was ten I had read Huck Finn and Robinson Crusoe several times each. Either of these can be read at another level by an adult. Some writers for children have a brilliance of imagination that some writers for adults can only envy. Brian Jaques was one such writer. There are a very large number of writers who adults can read and enjoy even if nominally they are aiming their work at children. I would only find an adult reading children's literature a bit sad if that was all he or she read.