Baseball and Children's Literature
An interview
The C. S. Lewis Foundation (about which you may read here) recently interviewed me on two topics that are among the most important there are.
I rarely quote Joseph Campbell, but this sentence—probably the most famous he ever penned—is perhaps the aptest description of the narrative logic of baseball as one could imagine:
A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.
Anyway, here is the link:
I just re-read three outstanding sequels to The Wind In The Willows by William Horwood and wonderfully illustrated by Patrick Benson
I’ve been trying to take this approach with my 5 year old and assume he’s fundamentally intelligent. I always thought those books with a little circle and a number to tell you what age you can read it at weren’t quite right, so it’s nice hearing you confirm that suspicion. We’re currently reading through The Wind in the Willows, ironically enough, and The Mystery of Castle MacGorilla is sitting on the shelf waiting to be opened next. I grew up with the most meager exposure to literature, so this all is just as exciting for me finding good books to read to my son.