Tolkien, J.R.R. Lord of the Rings Part I. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954. Print.
About the Ring and Other Matters Related to YA Reading…
If you have never read or heard of the story about a
hobbit and a ring, you probably have been living under a rock, or more likely,
you are a rock. If you have not actually
read the volumes of The Lord of the Rings,
and have only seen the movies -- you are missing out, as well, but I’ll give
you leave on being a rock…for now. Nevertheless,
if you so choose to let movies be your guide to learning and stories, than
perhaps this is not the place for you!
As I begin to write more regularly here, I am interested
in knowing how parents are getting their tweens and teens to read. (FYI - Did you know that J.R.R. Tolkien first
used the term “tweens” to describe young hobbits?) Yes, some of our own young “hobbits” love to read
and continue to read voraciously, but more often than not, we see an abhorrence
for reading enter the picture in about middle school. The rolling of the eyes and huffing and
complaining about Language Arts and reads like Of Mice and Men and Lord of
the Flies begin, and to what I might add, are really not very boring…but
something happens, and we cannot deny it…study after study says it is happening
and the young reader is turning into an LP of whining utterances related to
reading. Remember though, young people
are actually “reading” a lot…social media, web, cellphones…you know it…they
really can read, can’t they?
Do you remember sitting in a rocking chair, watching little
hands grasp the picture book page and turn it – hungering for what lies beyond? Drool and chocolate pudding finger stains left
their mark on well-worn and well-read books your little ones could not put down…but
all of a sudden…poof! It’s gone like dieting
at an Old Country Buffet. I cannot say I
can help you, but I think it is important to turn kids on to stories in books
first, rather than turning them on to movies about books. Young people nowadays are attuned to easy and
immediate satisfaction. So, lingering on
books seems a little…well, boring. We
can throw our hands up in the air and give in, saying kids are kids and they
don’t have the capacity to learn how to read or enjoy reading, but that’s not
true....picture this...mother prying cellphone from hands of 14-year-old who says "they will die" if they can't have their phone back...well, because they ARE reading stuff...it is striking the balance that is difficult!
There are options to use for
reading that can spark the interest and help young people become better readers…and
it can be developed if your child is not or has not been a great reader. Reading sparks the imagination, and we know
that society as a whole functions on creativity and imagination. Without it, life would be a turntable of
endless blah…we need to develop the imagination in our young people today and reading “stories”
can help.
Now…back to the story of a hobbit and a ring. This is a classic story of a battle between
good and evil, but is mostly a story of self-sacrifice and perseverance…something
we all can learn from. If you don’t have
much back story on The Lord of the Rings, I’ll keep it simple, but will say that
after enormous edits and versions and what not, J.R.R. Tolkien’s book is
available today in many forms…e-book and hardcover galore. At the ripe ole age
of 13, I devoured these volumes one right after another, and recently, I picked
up the work again, but I noticed a unique experience. The story is tedious initially…now, to most
writers nowadays, it is a colossal failure that a key or inciting incident
does not start off the book with a bang…but here’s the deal – the story is
worth it and though it may take a while before Frodo actually begins his journey
to Mordor, your young reader will begin to understand that more often than not,
good things take time and like good food, it is better when done slowly and
savored.
We cannot possibly believe that tweens and teens are not
capable of harnessing their need for immediate gratification and cannot read a
book. Teens are capable of more than we
give them credit for…pick up this story and if they have seen the movie, have
them take mental notes of the differences and how Tolkien wrote it, and how
Jackson interpreted it. Like anything,
teens need responsibility and things to do…so give them something to do and
then reward them for completing it, in some way. It helps.
In closing, stories are not meant to be similar to a
drive through window where instant satisfaction is achieved by tossing hurried
morsels made by who-knows-what and handled by who-knows-whom…don’t give up on
your teen when it comes to reading...seek out for your young one quality
stories that have been handled with care and written from the heart…and like The Lord of the Rings, took many years
in the making. -- J.M.Mills
