Adults who read children's books

[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.

[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

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...

[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

[Babbalanja]

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

Isn'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

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