Parenting Through the Page
As a writer, reading has always been a significant part of my life. My parents divorced when I was little, so my Dad wasn’t around to tell me bedtime stories. I don’t recall my mother reading to me either (though I’m sure she did), but I do recall reading when I was very young. I couldn’t put down the 1964 children’s novel Harriet the Spy, both written and illustrated by Louise Fitzhugh. It has been called “a milestone in children’s literature” and a “classic”—accolades that are well deserved.
Robert Arthur, Jr’s American juvenile detective book series first published as Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators kept my mind—and hands—occupied as well. Arthur believed using a famous figure such as thriller movie director Hitchcock would attract attention and it definitely got mine. The mysteries typically involved investigation of baffling phenomena—like an ancient Egyptian mummy that appeared to whisper and a human skull that purported to speak). When I was ten-years-old, I voraciously consumed King Kong which I loved. And—because my big brother read them—I had many a sleepless night after reading some of Edgar Allan Poe’s work (the stuff I could understand, anyway).
All of the books I read as a child, it turns out, have influenced my work as a writer of Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Science Fiction, Paranormal Mystery, and Post-Apocalyptic Fiction. I don’t know why I gravitated to genre works – maybe it’s in my blood somehow – but whatever the reason, those were the stories that gained my interest. Those led to Heinlein, Asimov, King and more as I grew older.
Reading it Forward – Like Father, Like Son
While I don’t remember my parents reading with me, my wife and I wanted to make sure that our son, Gabe, grew up in a book-filled world. When he was growing up, we read constantly to him. We started with old myths and fairy tales. And, as he got older, moved on to the Chronicles of Narnia, King Arthur Tales, each and every Harry Potter, and Redwall, to name a few. Today, Gabe is sixteen and steeped heavily in Manga. But whereas I read Marvel comics at sixteen and dug the action of Spidey and the X-Men, my son dissects the storylines and discusses the character development in these tales.
YA & Urban Fantasy Fiction – A Parenting Tool That Knows No Bounds
Now, my wife and I consider us lucky to have a kid like Gabe. Through our reading, talking about books, media and life, we’ve grown closer as a family. We’ve discovered that being geek parents raising our kid in a geek culture has presented us with some rare opportunities to connect. My YA Fantasy and Science Fiction writing has helped open up a discourse with our child to discuss any number of issues facing kids today.
The Young Adult Urban Fantasy genre enables me, as a writer, to explore just about every topic—and with no limits. Issues of race, gender, sexuality, power, even bullying and friendship. In addition, I’ve found that genre fiction allows us, as parents, to use the characters and storyline to candidly discuss the range of complex issues facing kids today as we reinforce our personal values.
How have books brought you and your family closer together? Do you have any book recommendations that your family has enjoyed?
Please share your thoughts on parenting through the page with me. I’d love to hear them…In the meantime, if you want to know what we think is so wonderful about Gabe, check out his YouTube Channel—he even caught me in a game of #DadTag (below)—I’m both proud and flattered.
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