The Harry Potter series opened up the world of reading for many people, both children and adults. That’s great! I love that for many people reading the Harry Potter series made reading cool.
However, the Harry Potter series also changed the children’s book landscape because it allowed publishers to see that young readers would read longer books than previously thought. For example, The final installment of the Harry Potter series The Deathly Hallows clocks in at 784 pages. The longest Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is 870 pages!
According this article in The Guardian, the book length of children’s books grew 173% between 1976 and 2006 and Harry Potter is likely responsible for that.
I myself enjoyed reading the Harry Potter series.
I think it is great that books for youths are longer than they used to be. I find that sometimes when I am reading a longer book, I am engaged in more reading because I don’t have figure out what to read next. I am engaged and I keep reading for a longer period of time.
However, books don’t need to be long to be great! Short books can be great for many reason. 1) For starters, it can be less intimidating to read a short book. 2) Short books can fit into a busy schedule. 3) Reading a short book can give a reader a sense of accomplishment when finished which might not be possible with a longer book. 4) Short books might allow you to explore a new topic, idea, setting, author, style which might not be explored otherwise. 5) There is less commitment with a shorter book. 6) A short book might be the perfect palette cleanser after reading a longer book. 7) Reading a shorter book might be the just the thing to get a reader back into reading after a period of “reader’s block”, which is a real and at times debilitating occurrence.
All the hail the short book, I say. They are the “short kings” of the book world.
Additionally, please don’t think that just because a book was written for children or young adults as the primary audience that it might not be great. There are so many great books for youths that adults would also enjoy.
With that in mind, I present to you my recommendation for this week. I read Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo this week.
This Week’s Book Review
Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo
Page Count: 231
Year of Publication: 2013
Genre: Children fiction, magical realism
How did I commune this book: I read it instead of listening this time. I read it quickly over 3-4 days.
Flora is a cynic and frequent consumer of a series called Terrible Things Can Happen to You. She is lonely and has recently divorced parents. One exceptional afternoon she sees her neighbor’s seemingly sentient vacuum cleaner go wild and suck up a squirrel outside. She runs to the rescue and gives the squirrel CPR. The squirrel was about to cross over to the bright light when the CPR is administered. This near death experience causes the squirrel to see the world differently. Now the newly reborn Ulysses has magical powers and exceptional thoughts. Over one strange weekend, Ulysses changes the lives of the people around him. Told though a mixture of text and comic panels, Flora and Ulysses is a unique story of love, friendship, magic, and story.
I loved this book. I remember when it won the Newbery Award in 2014. I am so glad that I finally got around to reading it. It was really outstanding. It has everything that I like in a book. For starters, I loved that it is on the short side. Back in the day, its 230 pages was pretty standard for a middle grade aimed book, but today everything seems so long. It is funny and surprising. One review that I read said that it is “sweet without being saccharine”.
Five stars! Fun for adults and children. Great for all audiences.
