Should Children Read Books That Bring Up Difficult Feelings?
By Julie M. Randolph Some parents worry that books about loss in adoption will evoke sad feelings that their child will not experience if they are not exposed to the book. This prompted me to step back and think about reading books in general, and the feelings we all (children included) have in response to them. One of the wonderful things about books is that by telling us a story about someone else, they help us recognize ourselves. I vividly remember reading Don Quixote as a teen-ager. The book tells a story that is all at once funny, sad and poignant. If you had asked me before I read it whether I had anything in common with this nutcase Spanish guy from the 17th century, I would have told you absolutely not. But by the time I was done with the book, he and Sancho Panza were near and dear to me. I was a young idealist who felt misunderstood and frustrated by my inability to right all the wrongs I saw around me. That book did not create those feelings in me, but did help me recognize
