Ayush Chaurasia - Week 10 - The Power of Childhood Reading
Earlier this week, I was cleaning out a shelf in my room when I realized that I had the entire Percy Jackson series sitting right in front of me. Even though it had been five or six years since I last read those books, I could still remember most characters and the general storyline of the entire series. As I grabbed the books off the shelf, I remembered how I used to sit down and spend hours reading at a time, how I could burn through a 400-page book in one or two days.
As I grabbed those books off the shelf, I remembered how those books shaped who I would become.
Children aged 6-11 who state that they read for fun are able to get through over 44 books per year, on average—at such a young and malleable age, these children likely take some inspiration from all those books.
One of the most obvious examples of “inspiration” is learning. Before I ever read a Percy Jackson book, I knew basically nothing about Greek mythology; now, even five years since I last read one of those books, I can still remember many of the Olympian gods and other important Greek figures (and their supposed personalities). At the time, those Percy Jackson books really felt like they could be real to me—they expanded the world of my imagination, showing me the possibilities of how powerful a “god” could be or how unique a monster could be.
However, reading offers more than just knowledge about a new topic. Books are naturally designed to be entertaining, and humor is a common strategy that authors use, especially in childrens’ books. In consuming a large amount of content written with a certain type of humor, a child could be influenced to have a similar sense of humor.
Although it is more difficult to observe how the books I read affected my sense of humor (since my humor has been developed by a wide variety of factors beyond just reading), I can definitely see some signs. As a child, I loved the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, with its oftentimes ironic humor. To a certain extent, the humor in that series encouraged readers to laugh at Greg Heffley’s struggles, laying the foundation for a greater appreciation of irony-based humor.
The true extent of reading's impact on my life (and the lives of other people who read often as a child) can’t really be known—I may have spent hours reading different books as a child, but I also spent hours watching movies and TV shows. Viewing my childhood in retrospect does not let me determine precisely how much of my humor or knowledge actually originated from reading. Regardless of this ambiguity, however, it is difficult to deny that childhood books had some power over the person I grew into.
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Hi Ayush! Mentioning how you still remembered the characters and the storyline of the Percy Jackson books is a good example of how impactful these books are. I also loved reading Percy Jackson when I was younger and I still do now! Sitting down and reading for hours was my favorite hobby at the time. I can also relate to the wonder of reading for hours on end; the book series I vividly remember reading the most was The Keeper of the Lost Cities. My parents would only allow me to read one book a day because they knew otherwise I would just sit on the sofa and read everything. I love how you incorporated your childhood experiences into your blog and how you mentioned the way reading could expand the imagination of the readers. Coming up with your own stories and characters is such a fun experience and books have given me so much inspiration throughout the years. In a way, when a person is creating their own stories, they have as much power as those Greek gods in the Percy Jackson books. Have you ever created your own stories and made your own characters? Your commentary on the impact of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series on a reader’s humor is also a good way to further display the power of language. Your blog was an engaging read!
ReplyDeleteHi Ayush! The personal touch and the relatable personal experience described in your blog make the content engaging and may resonate with the readers. The opening anecdote about finding the Percy Jackson series again and the fond memories associated with it fosters an immediate connection who may have had similar experiences in their childhood. Incorporating the statistics about children ages 6-11 who read for fun adds a layer of credibility, further supporting your claim about the influence of books on children’s minds. Additionally, the consideration of how the Percy Jackson series opened up your knowledge of Greek mythology is a strong argument about how literature can be extremely insightful for young children. Your reflection about how these books felt authentic and enhanced your imaginative skills opens up another valid point and adds to the depth of your blog. Addressing humor as a key aspect in children’s books and its influence on a child’s emotional outlook is an intuitive observation. I completely agree with this point, as when I was younger, I collected the entire Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and loved its ironic humor. This further demonstrates how books and reading can add to the forming of unique tastes and preferences. I found that the acknowledgment of how much reading may have truly impacted your life showcases self-awareness. Discussing the several other factors that may have helped towards the development of children, leaving children’s books as the leading factor supports your claim. Overall, I found your conclusion to effectively wrap up the blog, and your post successfully combined personal experiences with statistical evidence, creating a strong piece. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Ayush! Thank you for sharing this personal blog that explained just how important reading was in your childhood. Reading your blog also reminded me about how I read a lot more than I do now in my childhood. As you mentioned, the power of childhood reading is immense and it can be one of the most formative experiences for a young child. Most children's books are written with a goal of sharing some sort of lesson, and more times than not this lesson is something that instills a strong understanding of right and wrong in children. One reason why books might have such a powerful influence over children is because the characters seems relatable for children, and children are quite inspired by them. On Halloween, it is not uncommon to see plenty of children dressed up a character from Harry Potter or another popular series.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the last fifty years, stronger pushes have been made by many presidents and lower level politicians to encourage childhood reading in both schools and homes. This exemplifies just how important childhood reading can be. On average, people who read more in their childhood go on to be more prepared for higher education. Because reading is a skill that many states are trying to improve due to poor performance on standardized tests, starting young has perhaps never been as important. However, in the world of today, digital distractions often seem much more appealing than books. Now, it is so much easier to open a tablet and play a game than to go find a book. But unlike playing a game, reading books prepares children for the future and helps refine so many important skills.
Thank for sharing this blog as it is an important topic for us all to consider as students of an educational system that stresses the importance of reading. I found your personal examples to be powerful and your conclusion helped wrap everything that you discussed up and present it in a way that leaves a lasting impact on the reader.
Hi Ayush,
ReplyDeleteI think that the way you introduced your blog topic was very effective as I could immediately relate with you the nostalgic feeling of cleaning up your room and finding something you haven’t touched in ages reappearing before your eyes. It wasn’t only the action of cleaning up a room and finding something really nostalgic but also the fact that it was a Percy Jackson book collection. I spent my entire elementary school life reading and rereading classical series like Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, The Land of Stories, etc. I can certainly resonate with you on how impactful and shaping these books have been on our lives. I also couldn’t agree more with you on the fact that at such a “young and malleable age,” these children would definitely “take some inspiration from all those books.” They always say that whatever we learnt and did in our childhood, especially from entertaining mediums like books and television, will always stay with us forever. These aren’t necessarily the best or the worst things, yet they stick with us, shape our personalities and characters, and allow us to grow into better people. Apart from the enlightening content your blog has to offer, I really liked the way you structured your blog. Starting off with a personal experience, allowing the audience to relate much more better with your blog topic, and then transitioning from that to how books affect different parts of our lives made your blog very fluent and coherent. It was also a really smart move to use widely-known books series, like Percy Jackson and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which I’m sure we’re all familiar with. I really enjoyed reading your blog and am certainly inspired to clean my room and find other nostalgic old things that have shaped and influenced me from my childhood!