It wasn't until recently that I actually remembered that the first fantasy novel I actually read in primary school was The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. That's almost 10 years ago, but I still remembered it. I don't even remember the exact story anymore - it was kind of a reading assignment back then. We had to hand in book reports every few weeks and I actually enjoyed most of it, though it was always quite a difficult rush to do - My English was not too bad, but also less than my peers, who did reading comprehension exercises religiously. I had trouble remember what I read and I had a small vocabulary - both of which were greatly boosted when I started to do some passionate reading.
Looking back, I'm thankful for the religious reading regimen. It pushed me up to the level where I could actually enjoy novels instead of seeing it as a chore. While I could have done it eventually, the support was invaluable, laying the groundwork for the reading I now look forward to.
1 comment:
I don't remember which is my first fantasy novel (does Roald Dahl count?), but I did read one book from The Chronicles of Narnia in Primary School - The Silver Chair (4th book).
Reading it separate from the rest of the series, I remember I was entertained enough, though it did not entice me enough to read the rest of the series then (it was also a busily borrowed series at the school library). I found the book brave and not so "toned-down" as other children's literature, including the sarcastic side criticism of Parliament on the last page.
I read the whole series much later, right when they were rebooting the film series in 2005. While you talk religiously reading it, for me it was reading religion in the series, for the series is well known as Christian apologetic writing. Reading it with Christian glasses adds an extra layer of thinking!
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