Feeling Like a Kid: Childhood and Children’s Literature
by Jerry Griswold
A Book Review by Rosemary Moore
In this day of eBooks, audio books and Kindles, it is easy to forget that holding a book in hand is an avenue for learning, as well as a pleasurable encounter. Yet, that is just what I experienced while reading Feeling Like a Kid, by Jerry Griswold, published by The Johns Hopkins University Press.
The cover and binding are reminiscent of volumes I borrowed from my grandmother’s shelf. The heavy pages and well-chosen font add to the feeling of stepping back in time. Illustrations from favorite children’s stories illuminate the pages. The compact 6X7” size feels like it belongs in my hands, resting on my lap. The reading of it calls for a cup of tea.
Dr. Griswold has much to teach children’s authors, teachers and parents. He pinpoints themes that occur in classic children’s literature and reminds us of the qualities that cause a child to feel sympathy for a character and compel him to turn the pages. As I read about “Smallness: Growing Up and Looking Down” I had an “aha” moment about why older children can be notoriously unkind to their younger siblings. In order to grow up, they must look down and reject the ways of childhood. (This is not an excuse for bad behavior, but perhaps our understanding will lead to overcoming this behavior.)
The connections that made us reread our beloved stories, long after we knew the outcome, these are the qualities Griswold looks at through his hand lens: snugness, scariness, smallness, lightness and aliveness. These are still elements of the best children’s literature, and the author explains why.
So what’s new here? Perhaps nothing is new. One critic suggested that he could have produced the same themes. If I had been a student in Dr. Griswold’s class, assigned to read Heidi, The Borrowers and The Tale of Peter Rabbit, and identify five elements that have been admired in children’s literature throughout the ages, I might have come up with the list myself. Thankfully, I did not. Instead, I stumbled across this precious volume.
Pass the Earl Gray, please. I take mine with lemon.
