One of the most helpful things I’ve heard about books and kids was from Jerram Barrs at last year’s L’Abri conference, speaking on Harry Potter. A mom asked him how old a child needed to be before hearing or reading the stories. Jerram mentioned that he read The Lord of the Rings to his grandchildren when they were as young as six. However, they didn’t see the movies until they were much older. His thinking was that a six year old’s conception of something evil, such as a ringwraith, would be informed by the scope of evil that a child could imagine. Peter Jackson (the director)’s conception and visualization of a ringwraith, as a grown man who has seen a lot of evil, is much darker than a six year old with limited experience.
I say this to introduce the near-opposite concept, somehow. In the second book of Andrew Peterson’s Wingfeather Saga, North! Or Be Eaten, he manages to use his child-eyes and grownup-eyes adeptly and interchangeably. As a father of three, a storyteller and songwriter, my guess is that he’s a grownup who had the good sense to stay childlike.
Andrew’s created the world of Aerwiar. It has snotwax candles that repel critters, a former pirate of a grandpa who can tell a tale like his family’s lives depends on it (they do), fearsome toothy cows, and a faithful fluffy dog who becomes as big as a horse. Lots of fun sounds in the names- people and places like Blapp and bomnubbles and Anklejelly Manor. And in short, there is silliness galore.
It’s a good thing we have all of this silliness. We need bellylaughs and giggles in a world where evil occupiers steal children in the dead of night, where the Igiby children are running for their lives, where there are traitors and mercenaries and destroyers. Eldest brother Janner needs friends and family to remind him of who he is, a Throne Warden of the kingdom of Anniera- which he has never seen. Janner’s calling is to protect, protect, protect his little brother Tink, who is hesitantly becoming the king he already is.
We need lots of beauty and song in this adventure too, for sharing truth and stories, for healing and delight. So Andrew gives us the gifts of little Leeli, Songmaiden of Anniera, and the mysterious, majestic sea dragons, who know ancient things. Then there’s Uncle Peet- ahh, there we go, I had to erase whole sections again-I so want to tell you more. Peet is my favorite part- a broken, beautiful saint. Just wait. I’ve seen reviews that tell the grownups more than I wanted to know. That’s all you get.
Go run and buy this delightful book. Read it yourself, and then go find some children- any children- to read it to. The loveliness of this book is that it makes you want to read it to children, to give them something good, a vision of who they are, what they are made for: a good, heartbreaking fight and a kingdom. It makes you want to fight for children, for their vision and their hope. They are adventuring under the eye and in the heart of the Maker, the unseen and ever-present lord and truest storyteller of Erweiar. It makes you want their hearts to be brave, and it makes them giggle.
Also: if you’d like to enter this world, read the first book, On The Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness first. Or you won’t know what T.H.A.G.s are. And go to http://www.wingfeathersaga.com for more about the whole world and a creaturepedia. Here’s a bumpy digtoad for you:
Also also: If you’d like to generally hear more thoughts of the community that Andrew has gathered, head to The Rabbit Room. I hang out there, too.
Tags: Andrew Peterson, anklejelly, blapp, bomnubble, bumpy digtoad, Jerram Barrs, North! Or Be Eaten, On The Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, Rabbit Room, snotwax
