Youth literature, written for adolescents but adored by adults. Let me start with a fun fact. According to Ferguson (2019), 39% of youth literature is sold to adults, that’s wild! According to Jasper Rees (2003), adults love youth literature because of escapism and the feeling of freedom. The naïve part of these stories makes them feel comfortable and protected. Even though I’m not reading as much as I should my favorite books are autobiographies. Right now, I’m drawn to non-fiction books because I like to learn while reading. In my journey to pick up reading, I discovered some great youth fiction books. My weekly blogs will inform you about these findings. But first, let me go back to where I started. How I started reading and what stories inspired me to keep on reading.
My love for reading started when I was a little girl. I can remember the bedtime stories like The Rainbow Fish, Jip en Janneke, Nijntje and Dikkie Dik. As a child, I liked books with colorful illustrations and repetitive stories. The repetitiveness of these stories makes them easy to remember. I figured this out as a kid and applied my new learned skill at my daycare. This is how I impressed my peers by acting as I could read.
At school, we learned to read out of AVI books. These books are categorized into levels. The class got spitted into 4 groups with each a different reading level. I cannot remember my favorite book, but I did enjoy reading these with my classmates.
As a pre-teen, I liked to read because I wanted to learn something new. According to Appleyard (1991) reading for pre-teens is a way of exploring an internal and is self-centered. Pre-teens want to learn about facts and opinions. I enjoyed reading non-fiction informative books from the school library. William van den Akker was my favorite informative writer. After reading all the books in the school library I decided it was time to step up my game. I started reading fiction.
When I was in eighth grade, I loved the book: En de groeten van groep 8 by Jacques Vriens. This book is part of a book series: groep 8 written for eighth-graders. The story of a class struggling with daily tasks and going on an adventure makes this book so relatable for children and fun to read. Other writers I adored are Roahl Dahl, Francine Oomen, Joke van Winkel, Carry Slee, Astrid Lindgren, Paul van Loon, Tosca Menten and Jan Terlouw, Erna Gianotten and Cok Grashoff etc. I am pretty sure I must have read all the books from the children section of my local library.
In my early years, I went to a Christian school and church. The first great literary book I read must have been the bible. The bible is the biggest and most popular literary piece of art ever created. There are multiple stories implied in one book and the writers use morals, symbolism, history, similes, metaphors to deliver their message to the readers.
I have been educated as a dancer. At the dance academy, it was required to know the most famous ballets. Most ballet choreographies are inspired by literature. According to van Leeuwen (2018), one of the leading writers Théophile Gautier who created Giselle was inspired by a Slavic legend about Wili’s written by the famous poet Heinrich Heines De l’Allemagne. This is how I started reading classic literature such as The Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, and Cinderella.
After such a rich history of reading what made me decide to stop reading? There are multiple answers to this question. Some people are more directed to the stimulus of direct media like video games, movies, and tv. Do we get lazier or more practical? People are convinced this way of perceiving information is more efficient than just reading a book. Let’s figure out if they are right or if reading still has its charm. In the next couple of weeks, you can expect a weekly blog. Go on a journey with me and rediscover the fun of reading.
Bibliography
Appleyard, J. A. (1991). Becoming a reader: the experience of fiction from childhood to adulthood. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.
Ferguson, D. (2019, April 20). Why Harry Potter and Paddington Bear are essential reading … for grown-ups. Retrieved on March 20, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/apr/20/adults-should-read-childrens-books-says-oxford-don-and-author
Getty Images (2017). Reading Habits of the Most Successful Leaders That Can Change Your Life Too [image]. Retrieved on from https://www.inc.com/marissa-levin/reading-habits-of-the-most-successful-leaders-that.html
Rees, J. (2003, November 17). We’re all reading children’s books [pdf]. Retrieved March 1, 2020, from https://hubl.hu.nl/archive/file/23621
Van Leeuwen, A. (2018, July 6). Herkomst van de ‘witte aktes’. Retrieved on March 1, 2020, from https://www.operaballet.nl/en/node/8296
Literature II: Youth Literature 