As we enter into college and beyond, (young) adults feel the need to show their maturity and their experiences. We start to belittle the younger generation and forget how it felt to be in their shoes. We ignore the childish instincts we have in favor of acting as everyone wants you to act. We stop looking at clouds and think "that looks like a knight riding into battle." We merely look up and wonder whether it will rain.
But I think we have to remember that getting older doesn't mean you have to "grow up." It's good to keep in touch with our younger selves and the best way to do that (other than taking a trip to the park for a ride on the swings) is to re-read our favorite books. They capture the essence of being young and innocent. They transport your soul into a time when you didn't have to worry about impressing everybody. Here are seven children's books to reread so that you can go back to an easier time in your life.
1. "The Little Prince"
I read this book in fourth grade and I loved being immersed in the Prince's travels. I dreamed of flying among the stars and being pulled to different planets with the help of birds. Re-reading this book will make you appreciate the morals that the Prince is learning through his interactions with adults. He doesn't understand how adults think, and when I first read it, I didn't understand it either. But now I see that I am dangerously close to becoming one of these "ignorant adults" that the Prince talked to. It made me rethink of what was truly important to me in life,
2. "Harry Potter"
I don't mean re-read all seven books of "Harry Potter," but choose a random book and re-immerse yourself into the Wizarding World. For me, it was the "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." I felt more for Harry and the trio more now than I did when I first read the book in third grade. They were forced to grow up so quickly and let me appreciate the fact that I can still be young at heart if I choose.
3. "Charlotte's Web"
4. "Because of Winn-Dixie"
To be honest, I didn't even read this book. It was a read aloud book and my teacher read it for us while my class sat on the reading carpet. Either way, this is just a short feel-good book that will make you smile and giggle at Winn-Dixie's humor. It also deals with learning to forgive and forget, something we stop doing as we grow up. Maybe we can start to let go of the past like Opal does in the story.
5. "Little House on the Prairie"
I love this book because it's in the point of view of a young girl. She describes life in a simple and innocent matter. We forget the way we used to think of life. Every day was a new day and the ills of the past were forgotten straight away. You fell, you cried, you got back up with a smile on your face. It's an attitude that we should remember in our "adult" lives.
6. "Maniac Magee"
This is probably the most unknown book on this list but "Maniac Magee" was definitely one of my favorite books when I was younger. At the time I didn't know WHY I loved it so much. But once I re-read it, I realized it's because of Jerry Spinelli's ability to incorporate the harsh reality into a heart-warming story of an orphan boy. I didn't understand why Magee ran so much and what he was running from. But now, I want to join him on his journey.
7. "Coraline"
I'm not ashamed to say that this book creeps me out to this day. The button eyed "other mother" that turned into a spider made me put down the book for a second. I needed to collect myself to keep reading through. The writing is beautifully simple yet strangely so eerie, it put chills down my spine. And yes. It's CORALINE and not CAROLINE.
