Something I was thinking about today

Its interesting how some themes in children books tend to be popular - orphans, for example. Harry Potter series, The Secret Garden, The Little Princess, Anne of Green Gables. Perhaps its the underdog theme, or the mystery of having no parents - it tends to be a recipe that works.

Another beloved theme, especially in younger children stories, is the wild child - rambunctious, marching to one's own beat, a bit of a hellion: Max from Where the Wild Things Are, precocious Elosie in her many adventures, Olivia the pig, Ramona, the bratty sister, so well written by Beverly Cleary (one of my favourite), Huck Finn, Skippyjon Jones - the list goes on.

So here's my thought - why do we love this character so much in fiction but not in real life? We love that Max runs around in his wolf costume, creating mayhem and threatening to stab the dog (okay, maybe not that part); however, we constantly ride children to behave, settle down, be quiet, be the same. The noisy energetic child who can't sit still needs to learn to behave, to follow the rules, as it would be easier for everyone. You don't want to get stuck with this kid in your child's class as he can't behave. Ideally, you would want a class of quiet well-behaved children, right?

So, I have a Max. A Skippyjon Jones. I have a son who has his own ideas. He is noisy. He is messy. He is energy personified. And he is all mine. I know that there will be times that I will feel embarrassed when he has done something in public; however, there will be times that he will feel embarrassed when I have done something in public - its a given. I have always love the rambunctious, tenacious character in fiction - and I love this character in real life as well. We need the Maxs, the Olivias, and the Huck Finns -if only to balance out the vanilla pudding and oatmeal folks (who no one tends to write about).