Imagination Sensation

"Once upon a time..." was the beginning to all of my stories I told a little girl I babysat. I have known her for a few years now, she is 5 years old. Every night at bedtime, we would all read a story with the 3 year old younger sister. She would get all excited and pick out which book she wanted to read, usually Barbie or a Disney Princess book. I would read the book, and she would sit there, watching me turn the pages, and her face lit up at the pictures. She loved to have stories read to her! Once she went to bed, it was the 5 year old's turn. Her mother always had a specific book for me to read to her. Some of the ones we read were the "Ramona" series, the "Magic Tree House" series, and the "Fairy" series. Note that these were all chapter books, and had no pictures. I would begin to read, and she would run around the room, and jump on her bed. She wanted nothing to do with the books I was reading. After I finished a chapter, it was time for made-up stories. Now she got into bed all excited! This was her favorite part of the night, I would tell a story about princesses, and finding magic treasure. Then she would tell one back to me. I noticed that she would much rather use her imagination than read the literature her mom provided. I do not think she gets to tell made-up stories with her parents, so she cherished this time.

Now after reading guidelines for good children's books, I do not think that the books I was reading to her were age appropriate. She couldn't relate to them or the story, and there was not any pictures. I think that we are trying to push higher literature onto children who are not able to handle it yet. Children should be able to pick out their own stories based on their likes and dislikes. They just want to have silly stories, and use their imagination. So lets let kids be kids, and run wild and free (not at bedtime), and use their imagination.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Blow to My Creative Psyche

Everyone talked about how they cried at the end of the last installment of the Harry Potter movie series. But I shed no tears at the end. I said “Good riddance.”

Okay, I know what you’re thinking. How dare she! How dare she slander the amazing, unforgettable cinematic experience that is (was?) Harry Potter! And I do apologize. But not for my opinion. I apologize that you feel that way.

True, the movies are full of beautiful imagery. The acting is impeccable. And the story ain't half bad. But more than half of its missing and I believe that is a true injustice to such an amazing work of literature.

How many of us have read the books? Cover to cover, again and again? How many of us grew up with the series, learned about unconditional love and its triumphs over evil? How many of us dreamed that we’d wake up one morning to a snowy white owl perched outside our window, scroll in hand, our ticket to Hogwarts? I don’t have to tell you I am a total Potterhead.

But I am not a fan of the movies. I loved the world that I built in my head. J.K. Rowling’s amazing way of describing a world I had never imagined, her imagery, had formed this concrete picture in my mind’s eye. I believed Hogwarts, the wizarding world and all within it existed as they did in my head, and that was enough for me.

And then the first movie was released. I remember going to see it for my 11^th or 12^th birthday.

Worst. Present. Ever.

It was ruined. Harry Potter was ruined for me. The somewhat frumpy, not in the slightest bit attractive vision of Hermione Granger I had in my mind, was replaced by the quite classically beautiful movie substitute. Draco Malfoy’s appalling white hair was burned into my imagination. My psyche was wrought by the image of a Severus Snape who looked more like my mom than the sinister, looming figure of my past mental images. All of what I had imagined, what I had perceived through hearing the stories and reading them on my own was gone.

I believe that one of the BEST parts of reading are the images reading invokes. The imagination it stirs and the stories that readers themselves can create when expanding upon a work.

So, no, I don’t like the movies. And as I think about the other movies based on books, I do not really understand why, except for monetary gains, books are constantly being made into movies.

What do you all think? What about those of you who have only seen the movies? What about other literature that you have read that has been made into movies?