Read Aloud Review: Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
“What’s the use of stories that aren’t even true?” The question posed by the characters in Haroun and the Sea of Stories leads us into a magical adventure designed to delight as well as to push us to explore the value of fiction, the role of story, the role of narrative, the role of the legacies our oral and written traditions in our lives. Most readers who are familiar with Salman Rushdie think of him as a writer of magical realism for adult readers and associate him most often with his novel Midnight’s Children , which won the Booker Prize, and The Satanic Verses , which is his most controversial book. However, this children’s fable will not fail to captivate you and your children. I first read Haroun and the Sea of Stories in my 20’s and loved it for its craft and exploration of the power of writing, storytelling, and the spoken word. My 12 year old son and I were recently exploring my bookshelves, looking for our next bedtime read aloud. Now that he’s a preteen, we hav...