Reading a good book is not only entertainment in itself, it can open the door to discovering more literature.
Most authors do not live and work in a vacuum. What they write tends to be what they themselves like to read or is often heavily influenced by past cultures, ideas, and works of literature. Ideas and themes can accumulate over the years, resulting in the final written word. Inspiration comes from the creative mind, and often from the creative influences already experienced.
Great Books
Some authors are very influenced by classic literature. This type of literature can usually be found in lists of “Great Books”, books that have profoundly affected Western Civilization. Often considered too difficult to read in today's world, especially by young people, these influences in modern books are often not fully understood by the modern reader.
When a young person, or even an adult, reads a book that has this kind of background, it becomes the perfect opportunity to discover this often-dismissed branch of literature. Doing a little digging can uncover what has influenced a particular author, although some are more easily identified that others.
Examples in Modern Children's Literature
Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series is a good example of modern literature referring to classic works. The popularity of the books and the release of the first movie make this series a perfect jumping off point. In a rather obvious way, these books draw heavily from the wealth of ancient Greek and Roman mythology. C
hildren who read the Percy Jackson series should be introduced to the myths themselves. These stories, though very old, are still quite exciting today. Many good translations and editions are out there, such as the D'aulaire's Book of Greek Myths, written specifically for children with good illustrations. Once children become aware of the source material – the myths themselves – they often begin to see the influence of this literature in many ways.
Likewise, the popularity of the The Lord of the Rings movies and books, and the much anticipated future release of the movie “The Hobbit” can open the door to today's reader to a wealth of background material. J.R.R. Tolkien was heavily influenced by classic fairy tales, such as Andrew Lang's translations or George MacDonald's Curdie stories; ancient Norse mythology, which can be read by today's reader in D'aulaire's Book of Norse Myths; and classic hero literature, notably Beowulf, which is a hard read in itself but can be found in edited, illustrated versions for young readers. Young readers are often thrilled to discover the names of the dwarves in The Hobbit come directly from an ancient Norse epic poem.
Even JK Rowling's Harry Potter series comes with a wealth of background material. The spells are often based on Latin phrases. Since many English words are derived from Latin, and languages such as French and Spanish are Latin-based languages, this is the ideal jumping point into even a brief exploration of basic Latin.
Many of the characters names have ties to literature – Hermione is a Shakespeare character from “Much Ado About Nothing”, Remus (Professpr Lupin's first name) was one of the legendary twin founders of Rome, Dedalus Diggle, a minor repeating character derives his first name from the ancient Greek myth character Daedalus, who built the labyrinth for the Cretan Minotaur.
A Chance to Learn
Even these few examples from popular modern children's literature show that many authors reference great works of the past in their books. Taking time to uncover and explore these background materials gives children today the chance to learn more about other great works and ideas.
Christine Alcott - Christine is an active homeschooling mother of 4 boys in Texas. She holds a BS in Mental Health and Human Services and a MTS in Theology ...
