As a voracious reader all throughout my childhood, I have encountered a huge variety of books over the years since I learned to read. Reading became less popular among my friends as I got older, but I always begged my parents to let me read any book I could get my hands on. Given the huge library of books I read in the first few years of my literary life, it should be hard to pick out favorite books and a favorite series. However, to this day, at the ripe stage of a college sophomore, I can look back on my childhood and easily pick out my favorites.
I first read “The Phantom Tollbooth” by Norton Juster (1961) when I was in fourth grade, and it introduced me to a whole new world of science fiction, quickly earning a place on my favorite shelf. It is the story of Milo, who receives a tollbooth one afternoon that transports him to the Kingdom of Wisdom. He becomes involved in an elaborate rescue mission, meeting strange and whimsical individuals along his way. Although it was published years before even my parents knew how to read, I was enthralled by the descriptive writing and penciled images that seemed to be lacking in every other book I read during my youth. Juster targeted a young demographic, but at the same time he didn’t lower his literary attention to detail just to make his story easily comprehensible for young readers; rather, he pushed the reading abilities of his audience as he created a world that was easily understood through the eyes of a child, hinting at situations and emotions that his audience likely shared.
My favorite series, with a whopping 13 individually published books, was “A Series of Unfortunate Events” by Lemony Snicket (1999-2006).Capturing the horrifying and insane life events of the Baudelaire orphans, the series introduced a 10-year-old Helen to a world of disaster and uncertainty. Brilliantly written and beautifully illustrated, the series appeals to me even today. The goal of the tales wasn’t to put readers into circumstances they’ve experienced themselves. Rather, it placed relatable characters into unimaginable situations, making readers excited and inquisitive as to how they could ever escape. The masterful storytelling the author produces is thrilling even for adult readers, something I’ve found as I’ve returned to the series again and again over the years.
This past Friday, I was fortunate enough to attend a reading given by Daniel Handler, otherwise known by his pen name Lemony Snicket. After finishing his adventures with the Baudelaires, he took to writing other works, some for children and others for adults. Handler read from his newest book, “We Are Pirates,” and discussed his writing process, interspersing his talk with accordion jokes. It was incredible to meet and get into the mind of one of my favorite childhood writers. I not only recalled the middle school memories of my thoughts on his books, but I gained a better understanding of his writing experience alongside my own reading experience. I found it particularly astonishing that the way he spoke was exactly the way he wrote. I met the ghostly voice in my head from years ago, and it was extraordinary to hear what I’d only known from his books resonating from just a few feet away.
Childhood favorites do not have to be banished to the past. Over the years, I’ve revisited some books from my childhood, only to find that their messages aren’t lost with time. I’ve grown older and wiser, I’d like to think, but it’s incredible to find that these books have grown right along with me.
