"'Once upon a very long ago, in the time of Glaux, there was an order of knightly owls, from a kingdom called Ga'Hoole, who would rise each night into the blackness and perform noble deeds. they spoke no words but true ones, their purpose was to right all wrongs, to make strong the weak, mend the broken, vanquish the proud, and make powerless those who abused the frail With hearts sublime they would take flight-' Kludd yawned." Is this a true story or what, Da?' It's a legend, Kludd,' his father answered.'But is it true?'Kludd whined. ' I only like true stories.'''A legend, Kludd, is a story that you begin to feel in your gizzard and then over time it becomes true in your heart. And perhaps over time makes you become a better owl.'" The Capture by Katherine Lasky pg 14
This past Sunday during the homily the priest talked about how Epiphany is about searching for Christ. I would take this further and say it's about searching for the Christ child. For at Christmas time we are reminded that Christ not only came to save us but to guide us and teach us participating in our human nature in its most basic form, that of a baby. In Christ, the fullness of human nature can be found. We see in Him the fulfilment of those characteristics of which legends are made of: honesty, faith, bravery, chivalry, and sacrifice. That is why children's books are some of the books most worth reading because, in the best of them these traits are seen, good always conquers evil, and we are reminded of our childhood selves. When we get older we can lose this straightforward approach to life and get caught in the whys and ifs, losing the basic truth, that in the end all that matters is that we follow Christ, and good will overcome evil in the end. I have always enjoyed children's books like The Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, The Wrinkle in Time series, all of which have specifically Christian messages. I have recently been reading The Guardian's of Ga'Hoole which I've enjoyed. There are a few caveats that need to be mentioned this series should be read around 10 or up as there are many battles between the owls and one of the owls has turned on his own family. One more thing parents need to be aware of is that a few times where any type of god is mentioned they have an relativistic view that everyone is right whoever they choose to follow. This was a minor element in one of the books and otherwise it is a great series of children's books from which I learned a lot about owls while they fought evil.
