by Alissa King

Created on: September 26, 2008   Last Updated: September 27, 2008

When I was little, my parents used to read to me. They might not have been perfect parents, they might have fought most evenings, but they did instill in me a love of books, and this gave me whole worlds of imagination to wrap myself up in as I went through the strange world of childhood.

After love and affection, I really believe the greatest gift a child can receive is a love of literature. Now I have a child of my own, and I have learned first-hand how difficult parenting is, how much guess work and mistake-making is involved. But I have been vigilant in passing on the gift of stories. In fact, some of the stories we read together are the same stories my parents read to me as a child.

Shel Silverstein's 'A Light in the Attic', and 'Where the Sidewalk Ends' were staples of my childhood, and now my daughter has discovered these warped and wacky poems. There is an element of the bizarre and a weird truth-telling side that add a dimension to how you view the world after a good reading. Shel Silverstein is kind of a rogue writer of children's literature: He doesn't fit the bill of the kindly academic, or the nurturing parental sort. Much of his early material first showed up in playboy, poems and stories meant to tickle adult funny bones. He was also a well-known writer of country western songs, and he penned the famous Johnny Cash song, 'A Boy Named Sue'. Shaved head, dark beard, cigarette smoking, rough around the edges, Silverstein seems an unlikely source for the most famous childrens' poems in circulation, but there's always been an advantage for writers who will tell the truth, especially to young audiences.

The stories of Maurice Sendak were also special favorites growing up. His most famous story, 'Where the Wild Things Are' was my brother's very favorite for the longest time. I liked the book, 'There's a Nightmare in my Closet', although I was fascinated and a little wary of the monsters depicted. Both of these books seem to induct us into a world of wildness and wonder. A child's mind does require that introduction to things that aren't as knowable and cuddly as Beatrix Potter. In a very real way, Sendak's fanciful creatures gave us an acquaintance to nature: Beasts neither friendly or malevolent that exists in places that cannot be controlled. We wanted to go there.

Finally, one of the best books ever was E.L. Konigsburg's 'From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler'. This is the ultimate story of youthful problem solving. Young Claudia decides that she is fed up with life at home. It isn't that things are terribly bad, but rather that they are terribly dull. She enlists the help of her younger brother Jamie, and they hatch a plan to hide out in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

During their stay, they encounter a mystery regarding a beautiful angel statue, and it becomes much more to Claudia than a simple intrigue. Claudia wants their adventure to be meaningful, to change something under the surface of her every day life. I know this sounds like a strange story to read your child, a tale of runaways, but the way it is written changes that. Konigsburg's unique style and rare acknowledgement of a child's ability to look at things practically and problem solve- this is a good message. The book is beautiful in places too, it made me think and think and think about what Jamie and Claudia were experiencing, and what they must feel. I felt as though I were with them, spending those eerie nights in the museum, listening to the deep silence of history in those cavernous rooms.

This book is unique and appealing to read. I can't hardly wait till the time is right to read it with my daughter.

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