Back to school is here and Labor Day is around the corner. Kids across the country are walking into all kinds of schools. Private schools, public schools, Title 1 schools, charter schools, magnet schools, religious schools, homeschools, boarding schools, virtual schools, and schools inside treatment facilities. Are all these schools equal? No. Are all these schools important? Yes.
This post isn’t diving into the nuances of the education system in the United States, but it is opening the discussion on what books should be available to kids—regardless of the school they attend. News flash—there is not a right answer or a specific list of books. Let’s defer to one of the greats to start us off, shall we?
“Let children read whatever they want and then talk about it with them.” - Judy Blume
Can I just end this post right there?
Adults (myself included) want to pick the books that the children in their life will read and enjoy. As readers, we want our youth to feel what we feel when we read that amazing story! There is nothing wrong with this—giving a book is the best present ever. Like, ever. And of course I am not biased.
So why do some of us want to give Anne of Green Gables to our child but cringe when they reach for Diary of a Wimpy Kid? Is it because we grew up loving Anne of Green Gables? Is it because we don’t consider graphic novels to be “real books?” I’m here with great news. We. Can. Do. Both. (And yes—graphic novels are real books.)
A child reading a book is good, it’s great, it’s going to change the world. And they can read Anne of Green Gables, or the Diary of a Wimpy Kid, or Bluey, or The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, or The Great Gatsby, or Taylor Swift: A Little Golden Book Biography. They can even read—wait for it—Danielle Steel or Stephen King—WHEN THEY ARE KIDS.
It may seem like this post is about preaching to have no boundaries about what kids read. It’s not. Okay maybe a little, but not really. It’s really about breaking down the rules we impose on ourselves even when it doesn’t feel right. It’s about the thought in our brain “I shouldn’t let them read that” even though you can’t articulate any concrete reason.
I’m not suggesting that if your child has night terrors every time they read a scary book you allow them to read IT by Stephen King the night before they have a huge test (this is the scariest book of all time by the way—I will die on this hill). There is still basic common sense at play. But largely, kids who read more of what they enjoy will be more likely to continue reading as young adults and adults.
Back to all the schools mentioned earlier—what books are in their libraries? Do some of the nontraditional schools even have a functional library? Who decides what books are in those libraries? What books are in the public libraries near you? If Albert Einstein said “the only thing you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library”, can we please make sure our libraries have books in them that kids want to read? Even if they aren’t the books the grown-ups want to read or think our kids should read.
Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation, says “we have overprotected children in the real world and under-protected them in the virtual world.” I would love to know if Mr. Haidt agrees with me that we have also overprotected children in the literary world. If he would agree that it’s better for kids to read the scandalous book, the scary book, the book that uses foul language, the book that uses offensive language, rather than see it all on Youtube or Instagram with the commentary and comments of a thousand strangers.
What should children read? What they want.
