I have a confession: This week, for the first time, I sat down with my three kids and read multiple chapters of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
This feels like a confession because it feels years overdue. I’ve been excited to share The Chronicles of Narnia with my kids for as long as I can remember. I’ve pushed other parents to read ‘Narnia to their kids. And it feels like my book-loving friends have read not only ‘Narnia, but also The Lord of the Rings, Pride & Prejudice, Moby Dick, the entire Bible (with Leviticus twice), and the collected works of Charles Dickens to their kids by time they were four years old.
But not me. I tried reading ‘Narnia several times, and my kids always thought it too boring, or too scary, and sometimes both at once.
I felt disappointed about this, and also guilty. I had a mental image of SD Smith (and hundreds of dads like him) sitting down every night, pipe lit, reading amazing literature to his children, who listen with rapt attention and quiet, joyful wiggles.
The message I got from this never-helpful practice of comparing myself to others was, “You’re a lousy dad.” But what was I doing wrong? Should I buy a pipe?
It seems that what I was doing wrong was panicking.
This week’s reading began without incident. We needed a new book. I suggested two, and this time they were more curious about “Narnian” than they were scared by the word witch. I started reading, they loved the Pevensie children, and just like that we got both Lucy and Edmund (spoiler alert!) safely into and out of the wardrobe.
Ten years from now, it probably won’t matter that my oldest girl was already seven the first time she read ‘Narnia. I hope that by then I’ll be a lot more comfortable with a steady, relaxed practice of offering good stories over and again until something clicks.
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He continues to write about adventure, backyard wildlife, and realizing there are no ordinary places, and you can find him at JamesDWitmer.com.
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I remember completely freaking out at the sacrifice-Aslan-on-the-stone-table scene when I first heard it at age six. So a little delay might not be all bad.
But I want everything nice noooowwwww! 😉
If your oldest is seven, you are still ahead of me. I read them on my own and not until I was 9 or so, but I absolutely loved them. I was a slow bloomer in reading, but I turned into a bookworm anyway. I wouldn’t feel bad. Glad they are enjoying it now.
I think that’s about the age I read them, since my mom was at least as nervous about the first “W” in TLTW&TW as my kids were. And as you say, no harm done. 🙂
I’m in the rare, it seems, group of parents who chose to keep these wonderful stories until my children were around 10 or 11 years old. By then they had an understanding of the Biblical stories of creation, sin, salvation and our future redemption, and had the maturity to see the way these things were reflected in the stories of Narnia – it was such a delight to observe them making the connections as we read them aloud, and they understood that they were reading something so much grander than ‘a little kid’s book’ – I have no regrets about the wait.
You are wise to have waited for yours to be ready to listen…doing what others are doing is never a good measure of one’s parenting…
Thanks Judy. I think I’m learning that nurturing little imaginations is more about knowing my kids than having the perfect resources. Good for you, and I agree – watching the lightbulbs go off as they recognize the deeper themes puts a huge smile on my face.
DID YOU STEAL THIS FROM MY BRAIN? I was JUST talking to Rebecca Reynolds about this. I’ve tried to read Narnia twice now. My kids are now 5 and 7. When I sit them down to read a “bigger” story, they always says “It’s not going to be Narnia, is it?” They’ve HATED it and my heart has broken. I’ve felt a failure, that I’ve not passed my love of words, of reading, of story on to them. Thanks for the encouragement. I’m not alone. And all is not lost.
And I would have got away with it, too, if it wasn’t for…
You’re far from alone! And as I’m sure Rebecca said, all is far, far from lost. There’s lots of other wonderful stuff to read them in the meantime. 🙂
This made me smile. Yes, don’t panic! I’m a firm believer that sometimes it’s just not the right time for a particular reader to enjoy a particular book, despite the urgings of a parent, teacher, or bookish friend. I think I heard Leif Enger tell a story about his mom giving him a boxed set of the Narnia books when he was the ripe old age of 13. So, you’re ahead of that curve.
(Also, “rapt attention and quiet, joyful wiggles” is now my goal for the audience of every storytime EVER.)
Yah… let me know how that goal works out for you. I settle for mostly listening, and happy to read again next time. 🙂
Either way, you should probably go ahead and buy that pipe.
I’ve been forbidden. My five year old holds the firm conviction that my lungs will immediately turn to coal… makes my wife and me laugh, but she’s dead serious!
Haha! So true. Glad you’re easing into it. I’m still intimidated by all these bookish folk. 🙂
I stopped reading Plato’s Republic to the kids and put down my pipe to read this post. Not bad. I could have done better, obviously. Welp, got to get back and teach my kids fencing and ballroom dancing. Ta ta.
Also, have you met me?
The number of males in my extended family who do not enjoy the mesmerizing delights of spit tobacco are few, for instance.
Haha!
Interesting points both your article leaves me reflecting on as well as the comments. I will keep that in mind for other “older” books I am so looking forward to reaching in the read alouds soon. I have an 8. 6, 5, and 3 year old. Hard to find books for the 8 and 6 year old that don’t bore or scare the Littles. Narnia was a series that we received as a Christmas gift from a mutual friend with same aged kiddos. It was the Focus on the Families Audio CD’s and there are different voices for all the kids, etc. I could never read Narnia aloud and do it justice for my kids…. they were the same way at first- uninterested. It REALLY helped listening to the audio book. We would save them up for road trips and all but the youngest (who was 2 at the time) was enraptured by all the books and begging for more. Still allowed us to pause and ask questions and talk about things as if we were reading aloud ourselves. Now that they have heard the stories read, the older 2 read them on their own devouring them. Just thought I’d put that out there in case it helps anyone!