Everyday, after lunch, the house goes quiet and the sounds of voices – different timbres and paces – can be just about heard from a couple of different rooms in the house. Our two small boys love to listen to stories. We are very thankful for audiobooks.
The routine is a blessing to adults and children alike, but what I love is that imaginations are being fired up. Worlds are being explored, characters are being evaluated and questions are formulating as little minds and hearts respond to what they are hearing.
I love to read stories. A well-written novel gives me great joy and I love to be swept up into the storyteller’s world. Recently, I have not been able to put down The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson. While it is not a secular book in the same way as others I have written about here, it is a powerful, compelling story for children that pulls its reader in and makes one wish the story would never end.
Gripping adventure
Peterson is a renowned Christian songwriter and storyteller, and these books (there are four of them) undoubtedly resonate with gospel themes. But there is no explicit mention of Jesus, God is spoken of using the term ‘Maker’ and the whole saga takes place in a fantasy world involving three siblings between the ages of 9–13. It is a gripping adventure that follows the plights and triumphs of the Igiby children who happen to include the heir to the throne of a ruined but wonderful land.
Amidst the sea-dragons, fangs and heroic battles, Peterson weaves recognisable reality into the fabric of the narrative. Bickering and competitive angst characterise sibling dynamics; familiar fears and hopes are evident; and there are definite rites of passage moments that anyone growing up would recognise. Children’s fiction at its best, while also being enjoyable for anyone who considers themselves a grown-up.
As we look around and see phones in hand and screens being stared at, I love that a written, ‘turn the page’ story might offer a compelling contrast to the instant visuals of social media that pepper our lives. Our youth are constantly confronted with immediate demands to engage with that which is going on either side of them, whether it be through messages, photos or videos. But what if they were swept up into a story that was powerful enough to hold their attention? What if they were to forget what they were missing out on? What if they whole-heartedly enjoyed engaging with the written word and through it were enriched?
A better place
Clearly, not every well-written story will enrich and benefit the reader, but I think that Peterson’s saga points the reader to gospel truth and gives them a longing for God Himself. As we watch the Igiby children journey through different places, grasping after lives that cannot last, we – and they – see that there is a better place. And that place is ultimately in the presence of the Maker.
There’s a beautiful moment when Janner, who in many ways is the hero of the tale, has realised the state of his selfish, weak heart. The Maker shows him his heart, but at the same time, Janner hears a voice say ‘be still’. And as he listened, ‘he felt in his heart a braid of pain and delight and longing that made his bones burn and his heart quake. All his attention turned from himself, and he yearned for the speaker of those words so desperately that he wished he could die and be born again as a single spoken syllable from his mouth, just to know the pleasure of his presence’ (The Warden And The Wolf King, p.458).
Stories and truth
Peterson has said before: ‘If you want a child to know the truths tell him the truth. If you want a child to love the truth, tell him a story.’ The Wingfeather Saga does what C.S. Lewis described as ‘stealing past the dragons’. Lewis was talking about that inhibition and emotion-‘freezing’ that comes about when a child is told to feel something, rather than experience it. And that means that the gospel story may well be held at a didactic distance rather than personally absorbed and felt. Peterson strips the gospel of ‘stained glass and Sunday school connotations’ (Lewis) and allows the reader to encounter it for themselves as they adventure with the Igibys.
It is a collection of books to give to your children, your grandchildren, your friend’s children and anyone else of whom you think. Give it to those in believing families, but also to those in unbelieving families. Let people encounter the Maker and long for eternity through this Saga. Lift their eyes to something better than the broken world set before them.
