Miraculous Readings: Using Fantasy Novels about Reading to Reflect on Reading the Bible

Abstract

This article reflects on the vivid images of reading presented in several popular fantasy novels, including The Spiderwick Chronicles, The Great Good Thing, and The Neverending Story. It suggests that these images can be used to help children, youth, and adults reflect on the nature of reading and the potential power of reading sacred texts. The article draws connections to the work of a wide range of literary scholars, biblical scholars, and religious educators including Wolfgang Iser, Phyllis Trible, and Anne Streaty Wimberly.

Russell W. Dalton is associate professor of Christian Education at Brite Divinity School of Texas Christian University. E-mail: [email protected]

Notes

¹ A longer version of the article is currently available at http://homepages.bw.edu/~rfowler/pubs/secondoral/index.html

² The thirteen-year-old, in the throes of formal operational thinking, was very interested in drawing analogies to specific stories in the Bible, such as the fact that the Bastian being saved from the wolf in the story by the luckdragon was like God's grace saving Daniel from the lions.