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Sarawak State Library

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Feeling Like a Kid: Childhood and Children’s Literature

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Call no.
: 809.89282/GRI
Author
: JERRY GRISWOLD
Contributor
: Siti Nurhafizah Binti Sajeli@Sejali
Summary
Jerry Griswold explores what it feels like to be a child — the wonder, smallness, scariness, and aliveness — through children’s literature. His examples range from Harry Potter and The Wizard of Oz to Alice in Wonderland, but for me, the themes resonated just as strongly in Malaysian favorites like Hikayat Sang Kancil or Lat’s Kampung Boy. The book reminded me that stories do more than instruct; they allow us to relive the raw textures of childhood. It made me see literature as a bridge between adult memory and child experience — a reminder of emotions that too often fade with age.