by Mark Mukasa

Created on: August 27, 2009   Last Updated: August 30, 2009

Some of my earliest childhood memories were of me fixated on a story from the hundreds of books that my mother would buy the family. I have been reading voraciously almost in conjunction with my ability to walk and talk. Fantasy books offered an escapist alternative to a mundane world. As a young child I was transported in a world of medieval Elves and knights, magical talking spiders from Africa and a myriad of magical beings to entertain me. The idea that somehow these sci-fi and fantasy books I read extensively during my childhood could have been bad for not only me, but children in general bemuses me.

Nothing insidious existed in the fantasy books I read as a child. On the contrary, reading fantasy books allowed me to improve my vocabulary greatly as a child and helped me with lateral thinking. Reading any source of varied material has been proven to enhance a child's academic performance. High performers at many schools are usually those who are exposed to a large source of educational stimulus. Fantasy books can constitute a portion of educational stimulus that allows for a child to have an advantage academically.

In addition to this fantasy books can also aid a child with reasoning and deduction. Although some detractors claim that nothing of merit can be garnered from fantasy books, many fantasy novels have recurring diverse themes in them which would be subtlety imparted to a child whilst reading. For example the extremely popular His Dark Materials series by Phillip Pullman contains themes of revolution, authority and even themes of childhood innocence. By reading fantasy books like these the child gains a grasp of various literary themes that could enable him to analyse the characters and plot extensively thoroughly, all while enjoying it.

An educational aspect exists in many fantasy books, particularly sci-fi books. Sci-fi books make very liberal usage of contemporary science and more often the reader gains some form of knowledge on a particular topic. For example Sci-fi author Isaac Asimov routinely added elements of cosmological theories into his works. In addition many sci-fi touch upon various psychological and philosophical conundrums. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick is an example of sci-fi that pushes the boundary on existentialist claims and religious theory. Other more popular books such as the Harry Potter series introduce themes of death, discrimination and power to young audiences and forces them to think critically about the world they live in.

Furthermore, although many people criticise fantasy books for their perceived inferiority to classical books by authors such as C.S. Lewis and Rudyard Kipling, fantasy books can encourage children to read other literary works. Creating an interest in children for reading will not only extend itself to fantasy or sci-fi, but ultimately they will learn to grasp a variety of concepts that could aid them academically and help them become fully acquainted with the world of reading.

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