Have No Fear, Wishbone is Here – 4 Literary Lessons from the Little Dog with the Big Imagination

Photo © World Wide Wishbone

What’s the story, again? You’ve got a smart teacher, supposedly helpful in-class discussions, maybe even a genius sitting next to you…and yet that book you’re reading (or not reading) still escapes you. Now you’re starting to wonder, who invented assigned reading anyway? And they say reading is supposed to be fun. Well, tag on a “Wishbone” to your “What’s the story?”, and it still can be. Here are four literary lessons from the little dog with the big imagination that just might leave your teachers drooling.

1. Wag another Tale
Wow. I’m supposed to be on page 55 already? Where did all the time go? So you’re confused by Treasure Island. Or The Odyssey. Or some other title that, as far as you can tell, just doesn’t make any sense. The solution to your confusion? Think of a simpler parallel to the story that just might help you actually get it. Next time you’re leaving your last class of the day, put yourself in Odysseus’ sandals – mesmerized by guitarists in the hallway, abducted by a lost-assignment crazed teacher …and all you want is to just get home already.

2. Shake a Leg with Shakespeare
Doesn’t Shakespeare just make you want to ask…wherefore? Well, maybe not in those words, but admit it, when it comes to Shakespeare, you’re stumped. You’ve even started asking that genius kid to translate every page of your play into modern English. But nobody even talks like that anymore, how am I supposed to understand it? Though that is true, there’s a way to make this language barrier seem a little less scary. Be a drama queen! Or king, as the case may be. Shakespeare did write plays, after all. Try reading lines of dialogue aloud while putting some feeling into it (or have someone read to you).

3. Get your Paws on the Classics
So maybe reading’s not your thing, not everyone can be a bookworm. But everybody loves a good story, right? And what better place to find a great story than in a classic piece of literature? I know what you’re thinking, how much fun can books that are written by a bunch of dead guys be? But you might be surprised. Tom Sawyer fooling the other kids into thinking painting a fence is fun…Christian using Cyrano’s love poems for Roxanne to win her heart himself…. You could wind up thinking the classics are better than what you’re reading now. Too bad they’re so old.

4. Sniff Out Adventure
Nobody said reading had to be boring. If you’re just not getting into what you’re reading, have an adventure! Use your imagination and pretend someone else is in your protagonist’s shoes – it could be you, your best friend, a family member, a goofy relative, even your dog. Then when Jim Hawkins is stuck inside that apple barrel, you might think twice about putting the book down.

Today’s post is inspired by Banned Books Week.