The Book Without Words by Avi

Today, I read The Book Without Words by Avi. There wasn't much else to do at work, and I hadn't really anticipated finishing the book in one sitting, but then again, it is a children's fantasy book.

It was a pretty good book. It's supposed to be a fable, and teach children not to want too many things, because desire can destroy them. I don't know how much I agree with all that, but on the surface, it was an enjoyable read. I really liked the characters, but I don't know that everyone got what they deserved in the end. For instance, one really annoying boy didn't really deserve his fate, unless the moral of the story is to be nice and not annoying, lest someone turn you into an inanimate object. I'm sure that there are some parents out there who could support this moral, even though it may not be ideal.

Which leads me to wonder, what type of parent will I be? My parents wouldn't let me read some books that they knew they didn't want me to read, but I read them anyways, and found out that I had been reading things that they would have considered to be much worse for a long time. Am I going to want to read everything before my children do? I read whatever I pleased as a child, and I think I turned out just fine.

At the last book release for HP and the HBP, I was standing in line to get a wristband to stand in line later that night to buy the book (which is craziness) next to a woman who was buying the book for herself. She had a number of children running around the store, I'd say they were between the ages of 5 and 9. She was telling everyone that she would only let the 9 year old read the first couple of HP books, and that the youngest ones were only allowed to read the first one. After that, she decided that they had to be older to finish off the series. I don't know that I agree with her, but they weren't my children.