Lost & Found On The Bookshelf by Amy

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I’m not ashamed to admit that, at 25 years old, I still love picture books. Luckily, my job and having my own daughter allow me to indulge my passion for children’s literature without raising any eyebrows.

There are some children’s stories that I’ve read again recently that have left me thinking ‘how did I miss that?’ When we read books as adults, we are exposed to a new realm of subtleties and suggestions that simply went over our heads as children. Our adult experience and understanding allows us to discover new layers of meaning in books that we may naively dismiss as being too simplistic. If you’re ready to rediscover a children’s classic, here are a few of my favourites to get you started...

Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian

I vividly remember reading this tale of an awkward and shy evacuee, housed with the grumpy Thomas Oakley, as a child. I knew the war time experiences of Willie Beech were sad, but it is only reading again through adult eyes that I can appreciate the extent of the neglect and abuse that he endured at the hands of his mother; the devastation that he must have felt at the loss of his closest friend, and the importance of his relationship with Mister Tom. Reading this book as an adult makes it more horrific, but also makes the transformation of the main characters all the more heartwarming as a result. Magorian’s Back Home is also on my list of books to revisit, because I suspect the effect will be similar.

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

This is generally sold as a children’s book, but I think this is mainly due to the fact that the story is purely told through pictures, rather than because it is more enjoyable for younger audiences. The lack of a written story allows every individual reader to shape their own unique understanding from the images, with our differing perspectives bringing diverse meanings to the experience of the main character, leaving his family and home to reach a land where everything is unfamiliar.

The Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpurgo

I’m not sure how I managed not to read anything by Michael Morpurgo as a child. The Butterfly Lion tells the story of Bertie, a young boy who rescues a white lion cub. Despite Bertie’s best efforts, he is torn away from his lion. The rest of the tale is a quick read with a touching story of friendship and determination. As an adult, you can make predictions and spot the links running through the text in a way that children often miss at first.

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Perhaps because of the level of the vocabulary, I never made it through the entire series as a child. Revisiting Narnia later on though, it is exciting to discover an enjoyable story beyond The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

Next on my own list of books to rediscover is Dodie Smith’s I Capture The Castle. I remember the dramas of adolescence and falling in love amidst an impoverished, eccentric family, but there could be endless details waiting to be uncovered the second time around.

Which childhood favourites will you be dusting off?

Amy is a teacher who is currently enjoying her time as a full time mum. Take a peek at her blog here. Find more posts by Amy here...