20316 Via Galileo

Porter Ranch, CA 91326

September 16, 2014
Mr. Rob Shin
c/o Mail Drop Code 8248
English Department
California State University at Northridge
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA 91330
Dear Rob,
The central theme in your essay Nostalgic Hero is the question: How many other adults are
afraid to admit their addiction and loyalty to their childhood books? The critical message is that if a
book like Captain Underpants can encourage and help children and adolescents to enjoy reading, does
it matter if its contents are somewhat immature and simple from an adult's viewpoint?
I read your essay in my English writing class 113A recently and it captivated me totally because I
had also read Captain Underpants when I was a little child. I don't remember if it was the first book I
read; but I do remember that it was one of the children's literature books that I truly enjoyed reading. I
would sit on my couch in the family room or lay on my bed in my bedroom and got lots of good and
hilarious laughter out of it. Captain Underpants was one of the books I like to read repeatedly because
it was a cinch and uproarious to read. Even to this day, I would still read it once in a blue moon to
recall and reminiscence the my good old memories and experiences as a kid. I was really into reading
your essay because not only was it so descriptive, but we had a lot in common. You even loved it more
than I did because you would draw and sketch pictures with colored pencils. I only just enjoyed
reading the book while constantly smiling and laughing as I read the book word for word.
The key question in your essay is whether grownups should hide their immature habits especially
regarding reading comics and simple books to improve their reading skills. I am not afraid to admit my
addiction to children's books and movies. I think it's wonderful thing to remember your past as a child
and to help other youngster to overcome embarrassment to pick up reading through simple subject

matters. Captain Underpants is a great book for children who have an impediment for reading or
simply loathe to read altogether. In fact, I would immensely recommend that all children should read
what they like in order to immerse themselves and develop a good attitude and a good habit of reading
and, perhaps, consequently a liking for writing as well.
In my view, it is the comics and entertainment that help develop children's interest in reading. In
my middle school and high school years I didn't like reading because all my English classes required
me to read many older and onerous books by authors like Shakespeare with his archaic and difficult
language or the Bible with its inscrutable parables or some books with hints full of racism against the
blacks and others as in American literature, such as, Tom Sawyer, The Color Purple, Black Boy, and
Indian Killer. Some of these books may be descriptive of their time period; but they do implant a sense
of racism in young minds that are difficult to eradicate. I don't mind reading the history books
describing these human prejudices since they were facts. This is a major reason why I lost interest in
reading English literature. I like reading more imaginative, fantasy, and fun books with cheering
endings and yet still educational, such as, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Hunger Games.
Due to my loss of interest in reading, I would instead play computer games with the likes of Wii,
Nintendo, Xbox. These games, in turn, got me engrossed in learning computer programming in high
school; at least, I benefited something from playing many games rather than reading all day long.
Thus, I believe you and I will agree that the morale of your essay is that reading and writing should be
fun in order to encourage children and students wanting and desiring to read and write. I am glad to be
taking this writing class at CSUN because most of the reading materials are short and diverse in nature
and they are easier to comprehend.
Sincerely yours,

Nicholas Tong
Freshman