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Wild Things
Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Childrens Literature as an Adult | Bruce Handy
An irresistible, nostalgic, and insightfuland totally originalramble through classic childrens literature from Vanity Fair contributing editor (and father) Bruce Handy. In 1690, the dour New England Primer, thought to be the first American childrens book, was published in Boston. Offering children gems of advice such as Strive to learn and Be not a dunce, it was no fun at all. So how did we get from there to Let the wild rumpus start? And now that were living in a golden age of childrens literature, what can adults get out of reading Where the Wild Things Are and Goodnight Moon, or Charlottes Web and Little House on the Prairie? In Wild Things, Vanity Fair contributing editor Bruce Handy revisits the classics of every American childhood, from fairy tales to The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and explores the back stories of their creators, using context and biography to understand how some of the most insightful, creative, and witty authors and illustrators of their times created their often deeply personal masterpieces. Along the way, Handy learns what The Cat in the Hat says about anarchy and absentee parenting, which themes are shared by The Runaway Bunny and Portnoys Complaint, and why Ramona Quimby is as true an American icon as Tom Sawyer or Jay Gatsby. Its a profound, eye-opening experience to reencounter books that you once treasured after decades apart. A clear-eyed love letter to the greatest childrens books and authors from Louisa May Alcott and L. Frank Baum to Eric Carle, Dr. Seuss, Mildred D. Taylor, and E.B. White, Wild Things will bring back fond memories for readers of all ages, along with a few surprises.
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review
Robotswithpersonality
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Mehso-so

Hmmm. I should have remembered that while I adore reading picture books as an adult, I rarely enjoy children's chapter books. I did get a few picture book recommendations out of the early chapters! Of those chapter books covered by the author, I can only remember reading Charlotte's Web as a child, and I'm not sure I ever read the other exemplars provided. 1/?

Robotswithpersonality 2/2 It's not really fair to say this book isn't what I thought it would be, because I'm still a little fuzzy on how one could write about loving reading children's books as an adult without it being an in depth analysis of certain books (though I'm not sure coverage of the authors' lives was necessary) and themes found within them. I'll continue my pattern of sporadically checking out picture books from the library, having my own joyful moments. 5mo
5 likes1 comment
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Robotswithpersonality

What does The Juniper Tree mean? I couldn't begin to say. Is it a story for children? Not mine. Obviously the answer in this and all such cases is know the kids, THEY ARE PEOPLE, NOT A CATEGORY.“ 👏🏻 [Emphasis added]

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Robotswithpersonality

“As we will find out, the mother in Cat in the Hat is so loopy she leaves her children in the care of a fish. Hers will be the house where all the kids go to smoke weed in high school.“

Pfft, judgy. 🙃 🫢

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Robotswithpersonality

“I also bring up Portnoy 's Complaint to highlight the fact that books for very young children occupy a rare literary preserve where mom and dad don't fuck you up.“ 👀
Audiobook read by the author is a chill, good time.

4 likes1 stack add
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Tex2Flo
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1. English well, French with enthusiasm, German with great difficulty, and Italian just for cussing. 2. Wild Things. 3. One, beige. Hummus on crackers with pepitas. 4. Can‘t get used to using them, so none. @howjessreads @4thhouseontheleft #friyayinto

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Tex2Flo
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Loved learning that Theo Geisel was given these 222 words with which he could write his iconic Cat in the Hat book.

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Mandigolightly
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🗣🗣🗣

Macker11 Scream this from the rooftops!! 5y
Megabooks 👍🏻👍🏻 5y
BethM I waS/am a reader because of my mom. If she not instilled that in me, school would‘ve stamped it out. 5y
See All 9 Comments
JacqMac Yes!! 5y
KathyWheeler I only partially agree with this. How do you teach literature when everyone is reading something different? I also think it‘s important to have a core frame of reference for literature — things everyone gets taught. Those classics don‘t have to be taught in a boring way. If you don‘t challenge people, they will stick with what they know they like and never grow as a reader. (edited) 5y
Mandigolightly @KathyWheeler I think that it‘s true on a classroom reading basis—particularly in JH and HS, but here in the library I see that teachers are assigning them out of classroom reading BUT ONLY between x Lexile and z Lexile—which is a highly suspect algorithm that has been known to put Barenstein Bears in 5th grade and Hamlet at kindergarten—and takes away their interests 5y
Mandigolightly @KathyWheeler especially when you have a kid who tests high. My 9 year old tests in the HS Lexile...but he can‘t be expected to emotionally connect with characters so far above him developmentally, with problems that he doesn‘t face in the 4th grade, so making him ONLY read at his Lexile would crush his interest in reading 5y
KathyWheeler @Mandigolightly Now on outside reading, I completely agree! I tested pretty high when I was a kid too, but, like your son, was probably better off reading about people and issues I could relate to. 5y
Mandigolightly @KathyWheeler In a classroom setting, the teacher can show the kids where it‘s relatable, why it matters, etc. it‘s usually not an issue with classroom reading—though, arguably, classes that read Shakespeare have this issue still—but outside reading should be just whatever imo 5y
79 likes9 comments
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LibrarianRyan
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A gift from a litten. #wildbooks.

#30JuneBooks. @howjessreads

86 likes4 stack adds
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Autumnscribe
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Have had this one for a while. So far so good. Some parts are hilarious and on point, others are a bit dry and fall into the pitfall of simply listing information about the about the author‘s life. But still enjoying this far (about 1/3)

15 likes1 stack add
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mrp27
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Panpan

#31bookpics

⭐️ This really should have been a #dnf but I powered through. I was expecting a kind of love letter to children's lit and instead I got one mans rambling opinion about the books he read as a child. Nothing in here at all about the joy of reading children's lit as an adult.

40 likes1 stack add
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LibrarianRyan
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I WAS a children‘s librarian. Now I‘m a boring gov docs librarian. But I still review and I still meddle. So I love all of it. The handmade dream catcher is hanging in the bedroom. Josh has tried to steal my socks twice at least. Plus zentacle pens and books. My cup runith over. And I am so thankful for everything.

See #makerswaps and trips to new your being new awesome people into your life. 😁💜😁🤓💚🤓

ReadingRover I‘m so happy you like it all and I‘m so sorry it took me so long to send. Good thing I wasn‘t your actual match 🤪 6y
94 likes1 comment
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SW-T
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“That right there may have been Dr. Seuss‘s greatest talent of all: he not only made kids want to read; he kept them reading.” #quotes

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SW-T
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Pickpick

Handy discusses his adventures in rediscovering children‘s books by reading to his own kids. He also explores the author backgrounds and what cultural phenomena existed during their day, leading to the success (or not) of their works. #childrenbooks #childrenlit #booksforchildren

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monalyisha
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Thanks @LiterRohde for your #inspirationalgiveaway! I‘d love to own “Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Children‘s Literature as an Adult.”

I work in a Children‘s library & the most rewarding part of the job is inspiring a love of literature in kids. The best way to do that is to be passionate about the books they read - & I AM. Some of the most beautiful, lyrical, playful, heartbreaking & influential books I‘ve ever read have been children‘s books.

monalyisha I wish it were more commonplace for adults to continue reading children‘s books; it is, as the title of the tagged book suggests, an absolute joy. From delighting in detailed illustrations, to reminding yourself that magic & wonder exist, I truly believe that reading children‘s literature makes me a better, happier, more empathetic & aware human being. (edited) 6y
LiterRohde Agreed. Though my kids are more YA than children‘s books. My favorite is when I start talking to them about a book they are reading or about a book they might like. I get looks like “How does this old guy know about this?” Happens with music and movies too. Like when I do a lesson on figurative language using Lil Wayne. The looks are priceless. (edited) 6y
monalyisha @LiterRohde Ha! I know less about Li‘l Wayne & more about, say, pangolins, & slime. But I think we‘re coming from the same place. 🙌🏻 6y
41 likes3 comments
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Clwojick
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Tonight‘s bedtime audiobook. ♥️ I have high hopes for this one.

LauraJ Let us know! My coworker and I were just discussing reading kids books today. 6y
GypsyKat Hey, it‘s not like you to be MIA for so long here. Hope all is well. 💗 6y
Clwojick @GypsyKat Awe! Thanks for checking in on me. 💗 I‘m basically just spending EVERY spare second Wedding planning. Only three months left until the big day, and still so much to do. (edited) 6y
GypsyKat @Clwojick I had a feeling it was something like that. Have fun, these weeks will fly by! 💗 6y
83 likes3 stack adds4 comments
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mrp27
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#emojimadness

As usual, I am #🤹🏻‍♂️ way too many books at once.

readordierachel The First Rule or Punk sounds cute! 7y
JanuarieTimewalker13 E&P❤️loved that book!!! 7y
mrp27 @ReadorDieRachel It does. I'm barely a chapter in but I have high hopes! 7y
mrp27 @JanuarieTimewalker13 I'm enjoying it so far. 7y
Purrsistently Dis is my life 😹 7y
52 likes5 comments
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josie281
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Pickpick

I enjoyed the format of an author per chapter. While I would not have picked all of the authors he chose, I did learn new info regarding the authors and/or their stories. Thanks to my boss for recommending this one to me!
p.s. picture is completely unrelated to review except it snowed today which reminded me of Narnia. Look! I made the picture relate! Go me! 😂 🦁 👸🏼🚪❄️

Eggs 💕👌🏻🌲🎄☃️💕 7y
Avanders So pretty!! 7y
73 likes2 comments
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Go_Brina

When Lewis showed him the manuscript for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Tolkien was appalled at its inconsistencies. Not only had Lewis tossed together creatures from different mythological traditions, he even dragged Santa Claus into the story; as many critics have pointed out, a secularist Christmas figure has no logical business butting into a Christian allegory....

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KatyAliceReads
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Small Business Saturday encourages me to spend stupid amounts of money on books...

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Allietaylor16
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Looking forward to this one!

21 likes1 stack add
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Peddler410
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It's National Read a Book Day! This is what I'm reading today. What are YOU reading?

ContraryMary Nothing 😭😭 first day back at school for my kids and it's been nuts lol 7y
22 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Peddler410
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In honor of Read a Book Day --September 6 -- my dad got me this one! Totally perfect choice and one that was not on my radar.

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emtobiasz
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Pickpick

Ignore the uninspired cover: this is a nice tribute to enduring classics of children's literature. You won't find anything too unexpected in the books and authors he highlights, and I already knew a lot of the authors' lives and anecdotes that he shared, but this was still an enjoyable listen to paint to this afternoon.

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Librarylady
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I'm at home alone this afternoon so I decided I could justify relaxing on the couch for a while with this book. As an elementary school librarian it's ringing all my bells and whistles.

15 likes1 stack add