I came late to Sandra Boynton.
When my first son was a baby, we were given a copy of children’s author Sandra Boynton’s Moo, Baa, La La La! to read to him. I remember feeling underwhelmed when I first read the little board book. The story was just a bunch of animals, making sounds. Was this really a book? Where was the narrative, beyond that little conflict where the pigs say “La La La!” instead of “oink” as pigs ought? I didn’t get it.
But then I read it to my baby son. And he laughed. And laughed and laughed. To this day, it’s one of the times I remember him giggling hard as a baby.
Here’s the thing about Sandra Boynton that I didn’t get: kids love her books. The animal sounds, the songs, the plump hippos, the excited dogs, the silly pigs.
I confess I’ve sometimes been a harsh critic of kids’ books. I’ll admit I also didn’t get Goodnight Moon…at least the first twenty times I read it. (After that it sort of sends you into a trance-like state.) I want narrative arcs, compelling characters, conflicts to be overcome. I don’t need the mooing so much, the tour through some bunny’s bedroom.
But kids? They love this stuff. At least mine do. When I give my younger son a choice of books at naptime nowadays, he will inevitably choose a Boynton book, often Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs or The Going to Bed Book. And I’ve come to love the books too, the funny rhyming lines and animal characters that fill her stories.
My older son, now six, still reads Sandra Boynton. Over three years ago, he was diagnosed with autism and still has limited ability to speak. Recently I discovered her Happy Hippo, Angry Duck, which has all sorts of moody animals within the pages. I’d like to think seeing and hearing about the angry duck and excited dog helps my son recognize and understand emotions, something I know he must struggle with. But, even if he doesn’t, one thing’s for sure: whenever we read Pajama Time, he bounces on the couch when we sing the pajama time song.
(Sometimes I do, too.)
What Sandra Boynton taught me is this: we should read the books that kids love–not just the books we love, or the books we think they should love. Because a love of books leads to more books, which leads to literacy, pleasure, wonder, imagination, knowledge, perhaps art, definitely possibilities. And that’s something I feel like shouting La La La! about.