I wanted to "escape" into some lite reading last night, so I headed for 13yodd's bookcase. She has a collection of fantasy books, and I figured that would do the trick. I chose Fablehaven since I had heard favorable reviews.
It was a fun read and had some surprisingly strong similarities to The Sisters Grimm (sanctuary for magical creatures/fairy tale characters, children who are unwillingly sent to stay with grandparents they vaguely know, a grandparent is kidnapped and it is up to the children to save the day). It made me wonder which one was published first.
Even though it was one of those fun, brainless reads, as a parent I wasn't able to fully enjoy it. I was constantly annoyed by the fact that the 11yo character repeatedly disobeyed the rules without being disciplined. Time and time again his grandfather sets down clearly defined rules and this kid disobeys him as soon as the grandfather is out of sight. There are no consequences enforced by the adults in charge. And, when "natural" consequences do occur, he doesn't seem to learn from it. He goes right back out and disobeys again - almost immediately.
Sad to say, but I think this is a common theme in modern children's literature and movies: children are portrayed as being wiser than the adults who surround them. No wonder today's children have little if no respect for adults.
4 comments:
It is amazing how many times in books children are portrayed as orphans or their parents are off somewhere. Perhaps it's wishful thinking. They want so much to be independent.
how are you doing?
I actually love that about Seth because my kids roll their eyes and say "he never learns." They get that he is the root of all the trouble, and I'm gratified that they learn from Seth's mistakes.
I've read books where I could point out mistakes that kids made, but I thought this was over the top. THANKFULLY, I finished the 2nd Fablehaven today and Seth's character was toned down and more realistic in my opinion. Or, maybe I haven't been around boys enough.
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