Guest Post - 5 Children’s Books That Impacted My Life - M.C. Kennedy

Guest posts by MC Kennedy author of A Bird in the Snow

5 Children’s Books That Impacted My Life

One of my earliest memories is sitting with my cousin in our grandparents’ house, reading a storybook to him. My parents tell me this was a regular occurrence. The two of us devoured words from an early age, clinging to stories as if they were as precious as food.

Maybe that’s because they were. A good children’s story has a special power: the power to capture the imagination and feed it with the most delicious morsels, instilling in those young, malleable minds an appreciation for the beautiful, the wonderful, the fantastical.

In this post, let’s look at five children’s books whose effective wielding of that power have made a difference in my life.

The Chronicles of Narnia

I spent a large part of my childhood in Narnia. This seven-book series was the first one I remember my mom reading aloud to us, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was probably the first live-action movie I ever saw. My sister and I would spend hours listening and re-listening to the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre adaptations, and then we’d create wild scenarios of our own filling in the gaps between the stories. My young imagination went wild at the thought that wardrobes could lead to another world, that at any moment a painting might come to life and whisk me off on an adventure.

C. S. Lewis’ fantastic series was my introduction to fantasy. It was the first time I’d heard about the possibility of other worlds, and I admired the idea. It was easy for a seven-year-old to believe that magic was real, and that childlike faith has never quite left me.

I still can’t stand on a train station platform without hoping that Prince Caspian will blow his horn and summon me to Narnia.

A Life of Faith series

These modern re-writes of Martha Finley’s classic Elsie Dinsmore series were ones I read over and over again. Elsie’s faith inspired my eight-year-old self to become more like that, to spend more time with God and get to know Him as well as Elsie did. Then Millie came along, and I decided I wanted to memorize as many Bible verses as she had. These girls were far more than fictional characters to me: they were my friends, my role models. They taught me what a life lived for God might look like. I laughed over them, I cried over them; I loved them.

I can’t wait to introduce them to my own daughters one day.

Little House on the Prairie

This series was another one I read again and again. My mom had the versions with the colored illustrations, and I loved to pore over them, envisioning myself in Laura’s world. My first attempts at art were recreations of scenes from this series. This was another one that Mom read aloud to us, and it was always a highlight of the day when she sat down and started another chapter.

The fact that Laura wrote down her own stories intrigued me. I think that was the beginnings of the idea that I could also tell stories. I loved her tales of simple, everyday adventures that sounded too wild to be true but too homelike to be made up. I wondered if I too could write things like that.

The Hobbit

My dad made me read The Hobbit.

At nine years old, my reading selection consisted of Little House on the Prairie, Elsie Dinsmore, and Anne of Green Gables. Anything beyond that was considered unacceptable. So when my dad suggested I try Tolkien, I at first rejected the notion. What interest did I have in dragons and magic and strange creatures called hobbits? But Dad asked me to try it, and so to please him, I did.

And now I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings every year. If Lewis introduced me to fantasy, Tolkien made me fall in love with it. Middle-Earth had something no other storyworld could quite offer. It gave me tragic heroes, epic battles, and mythical languages. It gave me tales of hope amidst despair, loyalty despite disaster, perseverance throughout hardships. It taught me that spiritual truths can be evident even in a completely made-up world.

I write fantasy now because of Tolkien. So much of my understanding of biblical truth comes from his stories.

I’m so glad my dad made me read them.

The Wingfeather Saga

I didn’t find Andrew Peterson’s masterpiece until last year. I’d seen the titles on Goodreads and had them on my TBR for several years, but it wasn’t until I found them in my local library that I decided to finally give them a try.

And WOW, what I was missing! The first book sucked me into the world and didn’t let go until I emerged from the last one literally weeping. This series is powerful. It’s a beautiful example of how to use fantasy to illustrate biblical truth. That last book? I sobbed over it because it’s the best picture of Christ’s sacrifice I’ve ever read.

When anyone asks me for book recommendations, The Wingfeather Saga is near the top of the list. I’ve read it twice already, and I can easily see it becoming another of my annual re-reads. This is one series I truly think every kid should read!

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I want to thank you for joining me on my blog today. I really appreciated you sharing children’s books with my audience.

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About the Author – M.C. Kennedy

M. C. Kennedy fell in love with fantasy at nine years old after reading The Lord of the Rings. She now strives to reflect her Creator by dreaming up fictional realms that point readers to His truths in the real world. When she’s not roaming through fanciful forests, struggling to understand Greek and Hebrew, or geeking out over one of her many fandoms, she loves to connect with readers on her website or her various social media platforms.

Learn more about M.C. Kennedy in this interview.

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