Drawing Closer by Reading With Your Child
A trip to Venice with the Prince of Thieves
I just made myself a pot of « Trip to Venice » herbal tea. Not sure the amaretto and cherry flavour are typical of Venice, but the name sure has a fantastic effect on my mind, inviting me on an imaginary trip to a city where water rules over land — where reality is different.
As I write, my sister-in-law is spending a week there, and we are receiving photos and videos of her experience daily. My 10 year old marvels at them, finally discovering what the Venice of « The Prince of Thieves » looks like. We finished reading this children’s story by Cornelia Funke a few weeks ago, and I’m certain it will age as a sweet memory in our minds. Let me share it with you.
In Venice, a handful of orphans live in an abandoned theatre, under the benevolent care of the Prince of Thieves, an adolescent boy himself who can’t stand his father. Two of the boys are runaway brothers, escaping from an awful aunt who only wanted to take care of the youngest. They get involved in a mission to steal the missing piece of a mysterious carrousel, which allows its riders to become younger or older, depending on its spinning direction. Of course, a few characters want to take a ride, some to relive their childhood, others to escape it and become adults.
Yes, it is common for children to long to be adults, and for adults to regret their youth.
As I sip the remainder of my lukewarm tea, I realize there is a meeting point here. The Prince of Thieves chose to fight his reality by riding a few rounds on the magic carrousel, instantly growing into a young adult, able to live without his father.
I took a different trip in a children’s book with my son, travelling back to his age. He agreed to grow in his listening and reading skills, and we both met at the intersection of turning pages.
Many hours and several hundred pages later, we’ve grown closer, sharing a common story and reaching a theoretical mean of our ages, he moving forward, and I moving backward. The carrousel worked its magic effect on us, too. Care for a ride ?
