Let Children be Children in Children's Books pleads Griselda Heppel
My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky: So was it when my life began; So is it now I am a man; So be it when I shall grow old, Or let me die! The Child is father of the Man; And I could wish my days to be Bound each to each by natural piety . William Wordsworth, British School, By anonymous - Art UK, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/ index.php?curid=97545046 I know, I know, I don't usually begin my post with a Wordsworth poem but today I couldn't help it. That wonderful line, one of the poet's most famous, keeps going round and round in my head (for reasons which will become clear if you stay with me). But first, how does this Child is father of the Man idea even work? No child can beget (if anyone uses that word anymore) his or her parents, that's just nonsense. Yet in the context of this delightful poem it’s clear Wordsworth’s meaning is both simpler and deep...