The Secret Power of Conan the Barbarian & Strawberry Shortcake

Chuck Gamble
August 2, 2012

Chuck Gamble

Lives in: Seattle, WA
Occupation: Art director at UIEvolution, Inc.
Web: http://mixamajig.com
Twitter: @LuckyRadish
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What you see in this fuzzy, dark, photo is a source of GREAT JOY for me!  No, not Strawberry Shortcake, but a little 10 year-old girl who previously didn’t much like to read – now hiding under a blanket with a flashlight, feverishly immersed in a book she just can’t put down!

This is a major goal achieved as a parent. Wa-hoo! My first daughter picked up on reading right away and has continued to devour books and reading of all kinds. She never hesitates to dig into words. Daughter 2 liked being read to, but never got the fever to pick up a book on her own and read.  She struggled with reading assignments in school and eventually, despite our support, became resistant to reading. I think part of her resistance was due to the fact that her older sister was such an advanced reader and she felt inferior.  As we saw this resistance grow we tried different solutions: Rewards for reading. Big celebrations for picking up a book.  Santa would even drop off books especially for her. These tricks helped keep books on her radar but she still wasn’t really interested in picking up books all on her own.

Being an avid reader myself I was getting concerned with her lack of interest… not only for how it would effect her education, but also for what she was missing creatively and the joy of exploration books provide. Again, trying to find a way to engage her more, I remembered my childhood as a comic book reader. That was what really got me hooked on words. My parents fully supported any kind of reading and comics caught my full attention. I remember picking up a bunch of comics while camping and reading them late into the night while hiding in my sleeping bag with a flashlight. These are the first moments I remember really being  hooked on reading.

So, finally the Conan part: Mrs. Gershon, my very formal 3rd Grade teacher, would always put vocabulary words on the chalkboard and have the kids define them. I was the one that always raised my hand and blurted out the meanings. She eventually got frustrated and posted the word “Stoic” hoping to stump me. When I said “It means to not complain.” she was astounded. “How do you know that word?!” she asked shocked. I replied, “In the Conan the Barbarian comic they always say he is very stoic so I looked it up.”  From that day forward, Mrs. Gershon allowed comics as a reading resource. When I saw her 20 years later she still remembered that moment! And after reading the comics for a bit, I jumped over to the actual Conan novels… in 4th Grade!

So comics were the solution! We started with Teen Titans Go!, Walt Disney Comics, DC Super Friends, and various Marvel Adventures. Ultimately it just came down to finding the right reading material and never letting the importance of words slip away. After a time she started occasionally picking up “real” books. Then I caught her reading after bedtime under a Strawberry Shortcake blanket. I won’t tell her this, but, as with my parents, I will never force her to stop reading and go to sleep.

Thank you, Conan! Thank you Strawberry Shortcake!

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