A classic tale of leaving childhood behind in order to find one’s own identity is required reading for McDaniel College’s class of 2011.

“The Stolen Child,” a science fiction/fantasy by Keith Donohue, was inspired by the W.B. Yeats poem of the same name.

The author will visit campus Sept. 6 to discuss his novel and to meet with first-year students.

The novel was chosen because it can be analyzed through many different perspectives. During first-year orientation, students will meet in groups to discuss the book in relation to topics ranging from ecology, music and genetics to poetry, psychology and sociology.

“There’s more to reading a book than just the plot and perspective you bring to it,” says Gretchen McKay, associate professor of Art History and associate dean of Academic Affairs. “You might read a book from a scientific perspective, but you can also learn a lot about music and understand the aspects of poetry and the sociological need to belong to a group.”

“The Stolen Child” tells the tale of Henry Day, a boy who runs away from home and hides in a hollow tree. “The changelings,” a tribe of wild children who live in darkness and in secret, take the boy in and rename him Aniday.

In his place, they leave behind a boy who looks like Henry and who takes his place in Henry’s old life. Both Henry and Aniday obsessively search for the lives they had before they changed places in the world.