Children as Readers

Children have a layered relationship with words..., they enjoy them on an aural/oral and visual level as much as for meaning, and sometimes they live happily with a word on an aural level - without knowing its meaning.

Kate de Goldi

The thought of a layered relationship with words excites me, even as an older adult. I too, enjoy the sound and look of some words, without the need to understand them. The Jabberwocky, a poem by Lewis Carroll, springs to mind here. Nonsensical at the level of meaning but with a rich texture at the aural and visual levels.

Once again we are led by the little children.

As a converse, reading some of the post-modern literary critics there is no enjoyment at any level and sometimes it appears to be a literary and academic attempt at a Jabberwocky stripped of meaning, charm or fun.