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In praise of middle reader books

Have you ever compared a book that your child has read with a book from your own childhood that you read when you were your child's age? Well I have and I can tell you I can better understand the attraction my son's books have for him and the reason for his disdain when I mention the books I read as a child.


As you can see from my bookshelf, I have been reading quite a bit of books my older son is reading. He is 10 and we are reading books for the 9-12 age range.This means I've been through Harry Potter and working my way through Rick Riordon's Lightning Thief series, but I am still behind.

Lucas enjoys fantasy and the books are usually fast-paced, with traces of humour, and although they deal with good vs evil issues, generally the plots are simple and don't make me stay awake at night. I don't need adult thriller fiction to keep me interested, in fact, better not since some adult books are quite gory.

When I was growing up I read a ton of Enid Blyton, and my favourite series was The Secret Seven. So I KEPT MY BOOKS FROM WHEN I WAS 9, so I could bequeath them to my children, starting with Lucas. And I imagined the beatific smile that Lucas would grant me and the glow of gratitude at the wonderful gift I bestowed on him. You can imagine what I got instead.

When I compare the books, the pace of The Secret Seven was very sedate (I might even say slow), very simple plots, not a whole lot of characters. I am surprised by the complexity of children's books now and the amount of characters and interactions children keep in their heads. And, I will dare to say it. My books were simpler. Reflective of another era.
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Savi said…
Hi Sally,

Just wanted to say, I agree completely! I've tried reading Enid Blyton books to my kids (The Wishing Chair, The Magic Faraway Tree), and they have no appeal, and I can see why. Today's books are just so much more sophisticated and interesting. Jamie and I just started on The Lightning Thief last night - it seems really good so far. I had been thinking for a while to try and get a copy of Enid Blyton's Tales of Long Ago (now out of print) to introduce the kids to Greek and Roman legends, but this book is so much better!

Take care,
Savi
5 December 2011 at 08:32
Austin Trini said…
Hi Savi -
That is so funny that we have the same outlook on this. I too bought The Wishing Chair for Lucas. I told him a friend of mine was reading The Lightning Thief and that he might meet you some day. He seemed less interested in you and more so in meeting Jamie (that is, another boy his age who is reading those books!)
5 December 2011 at 20:47
Savi said…
I think Jamie would love to meet Lucas - they have a lot in common. And I would love to see you again. Maybe someday we can arrange it. You do know you and yours have a holiday crash pad in Scotland whenever you want to use it (Space would be tight but we would manage!)
7 December 2011 at 13:58
Austin Trini said…
Thanks Savi!
You know I have the most wonderful memories of Scotland so I would love for us to visit :)
8 December 2011 at 16:41
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