The world has changed in ways we never could have anticipated. We are challenged in unprecedented ways and yet I am encouraging all of us, children and adults to take that extra step. When it comes to reading, most of us choose books we are quite sure we will like; we are familiar with their ‘landscape,’ making us feel comfortable. Sometimes it’s good to try a book that doesn’t feel instantly so cozy and approachable.
Sometimes it’s worth challenging yourself to push past what feels just right and tackle a book that at first feels unfamiliar. The setting of the story might be a different time and place. The language of the story does not feel familiar The characters are not like anyone you know.
Rebecca Mead an author offered a wonderful metaphor for this experience— “ Think of (this experience) as climbing up into Papa Bear’s chair. Maybe it’s a stretch to get up there. But maybe once you’re up it’s not as hard as you feared. Maybe you’re bigger than you thought you were. Yes, your feet many be dangling off the floor. But you’d never have felt those luxurious cushions against your check, or seen how life looks from just a bit higher up, if you hadn’t tried it”
