Revisiting Worlds
On rereading favorite childhood stories
Revisiting favorite childhood stories can be a risky game. There seem to be a few potential results that come from this practice: you reread the book you loved at age eight and fall back in love with the characters and story; you don’t quite love it again, but you value the nostalgia; or you absolutely cringe to think that you, at one time in your life, adored that story and tried to convince everyone in your life to read it (because everyone should love your favorite book too, right?).
It was two months ago my fiancé began to reread the entire Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. As he told me about his progress and how much he was loving his journey through a series we both loved as children, I thought that I had to follow suit and begin my own revisit to Narnia. Excited, nervous, and expectant, I read The Magician’s Nephew (I grew up reading the series in chronological order, so my reread is in that order, as well). I moved on through The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy, and Prince Caspian, and here’s what has happened as I have read through these four books of the series.
First, as I read and recalled details, I felt almost giddy—like I was back to my younger self imagining myself wearing the yellow then green rings just like Polly and Digory. Or I was Lucy, getting to hug Aslan himself. Or I was in a changed Narnia, meeting the sword-wielding Reepicheep. It was emotional, if I’m honest, to circle back to such a magical and nostalgic world through Lewis’s books.
Now, I think Narnia is unique in this sense. I don’t imagine I would have been quite so teary-eyed over Hop on Pop or Dork Diaries, but you see my point.
Nevertheless, simply put, I had experienced the first of three potential responses to visiting an old favorite story: I fell in love all over again.
Sometimes it seems that adults are hesitant to reread a book from their childhood because of a fear of disliking it, which I can relate to. However, it is such a grounding experience to reopen yourself to your childlike sense of wonder and imagination and just remove all expectations of how a book is to be. Don’t overthink it; just read with an open heart and mind.
Children can be humble in nature (sometimes—as an eighth-grade teacher, I know this isn’t true for the majority, but bear with me), willing to try new things, and visit new worlds without hesitation. They believe and trust in what is presented to them. We could stand to be more like them—even Jesus said so!
And calling to him (Jesus) a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 18:2-4
Jesus says this in response to the disciples asking him who the greatest is in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus does not say the rich, the famous, or the successful. He presents a child and tells his disciples to be like him—humble, believing in Jesus, eyes open to the world around us.
We are told to learn from children. We are commanded, as believers, to have child-like faith. And though it may seem like a stretch, I believe this applies to the creativity and imagination given us by God. We are to open our minds and hearts to stories that reflect that child-like humility and sense of wonder. So, read your favorite story from when you were young. Go into it without expectations, but be curious, be excited, be nervous. Be ready to revisit a world you once adored so deeply.
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I can’t imagine a man really enjoying a book and only reading it once.
C.S. Lewis
 | A guest post by
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I have been enjoying doing just this! I honor of my 40th birthday last fall, I have been rereading books that shaped my life. (The list is a mix of books from childhood and books I came to know as an adult.) Some I reread regularly, some I reread every decade or so, and some I have not read since childhood. I have fortunately found that most of them are just as delightful as I remember them.
I also periodically reread the books that I loved as a child. The best ones stand the test of time and continue to delight: Chronicles of Narnia, Anne of Green Gables, The Secret Garden, Heidi, Black Stallion, Little Women… and the list could go on! Thank you for this essay.