Why They Strike a Chord and Stay With Us Through Adulthood

By Andrea Cleghorn

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The need for good books goes deep, says author Katherine Paterson. It’s like music. Something deep inside of us loves melody, and something deep within us loves a good story.

mily: Verdana;">What makes a great children’s book? Though everyone has favorites – and they vary widely – most book lovers agree that there has to be a good idea, believable characters, wonderful language and, for picture books, illustrations that help tell the story.

mily: Verdana;">There are characters we meet as children and take with us the rest of our lives. “I think so many times about Heidi and what it must have felt like to put all her clothes on and go up to live on the mountain,” says veteran children’s librarian Sharon McDonald. “I’ll always remember the boy in Lois Lowry’s The Giver‚ who had to live with the pain of carrying around a memory that no one else had.”

mily: Verdana;">The memory of books takes us back to where we were and how we were when we read them. For children, the experience is all the more vivid.

mily: Verdana;">One mother in her 40s remembers the year Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat came out: “Our library got one copy. I was in first grade and got on the list for it; everyone did! I couldn’t wait for my name to come up and was thrilled when it finally did.”

mily: Verdana;">For young children, McDonald says, the three little kittens who lost their mittens is a catastrophe they can truly relate to. “To them, this is Hamlet! I have read children the story Alfie Gets in First, about being locked out of the house, and kids are on the edge of their seats.”