One of the consequences of being the only literature person in a room full of doctors (parents’ friends, usually) is having to come up with endless recommended reading lists for their children. A lot of Indian parents, and I’m not sure if this happens elsewhere, seem to believe that there’s something inherently virtuous about the act of reading that raises it above ‘lower’ art forms like movies, videogames, comics (which aren’t real reading, apparently) and the like. They want their children to read, but they’re not sure what.
I love doing this. In bookshops I spend more time in the children’s section than I do in the adult’s; something most bookshop owners seem to find suspicious.
After my exams earlier this year my brain briefly rebelled and for a time I could only reread childrens books. I’ve come to love Tamora Pierce’s Tortall books – what a wonderful way to introduce children to issues of gender (and class, but mostly gender) and do it realistically and still be wonderful and entertaining.
I’ve also been recommending China Mieville’s book-for-young-adults Un Lun Dun to a number of people, for various reasons (none of which include making him feel lots of gratitude towards me, at which point we will get to talking and he’ll find out that we like all the same books and..no, it’s nothing to do with that. At all.)
Er. So what’s your favourite children’s book and why?