Children love non sequiturs. Silliness in picture books – even full on absurdism – is accepted and appreciated by five-year-olds.
Not so much for kids in their second decade, generally. We generally tend to seek more “realism” in our literature as we age. A five-year-old doesn’t think that being silly makes something less realistic. It’s why my eight-year-old has loved our read-aloud of Lewis Carroll’s Alice books, but my older two give lots of quizzical looks at the bizarre narrative.
I personally think we should strive to regain access to that early love of silliness, of non sequiturs and absurdism, that we possessed when we were small.
In our music, in our art, in our conversation, in our literature – a silly approach can breathe new life into our pursuits.
I spent the evening reading children’s books with my high school students, and I think I barely convinced them to accept the silliest books as being quality. Some were tempted to dismiss them out of hand as simply bizarre.
But when we accept the silliness, we are given access to a much more joyful way of interacting with the world. It’s a gift I want to give my students.