Don’t Take Yourself (or Your Reading) Too Seriously!

Today, in my leisure reading, I came across some good “fifty cent” words: pandemonium, benefactors, stratosphere, maligned, facilitate, photons,…

I also noticed some terrific literary allusions (such as Hamlet).

This particular title is from the Dewey (nonfiction) shelves, and I noted that the visuals were a terrific addition to the text. They enriched my understanding of the text significantly and provided some sophisticated humor.

In fact, I laughed out loud–several times. My kids perked up and commented on this: “Look! Mom is laughing at –.”

What is this marvelous title that can make a literary “snob” like myself laugh out loud, take pleasure in its rich vocabulary, and ponder the illustrations?

Calvin and Hobbes–no joke!

If it’s been a while since you read Calvin and Hobbes, stop right now and go put one on hold at your library.

We might not feel comfortable assigning “comic books” for “school reading,” and I’m not going to recommend that you do so necessarily. But I am going to recommend that you find a place for reading like this. If you are a school librarian, make sure you stock them. If you are a teacher, leave room in the schedule for some light reading like this (maybe one Friday a month is comic strip day). If you are a parent, allow your children the freedom to chortle out loud and share funny stuff with you. You might be surprised to discover the riches your kids pick up automatically (much like that classical music I unconsciously learned when watching Looney Tunes back in the day).

And make sure YOU are enjoying some light reading purely for pleasure in the presence of your children and students.  **And if you remember Calvin and Hobbes from your own childhood, the Tenth Anniversary collection contains some really interesting annotations on the development of the comic strip.

Check out Megan’s post on Nurturing Young Readers for more Calvin and Hobbes fun.