What children's book changed your life?
You've read so many over the years, I know. But sometimes one speaks to you, and you still remember it.
This seems like it’s a big question for the subject of children’s books. But some stories we don’t even realize how it affected us until later on in life.
They can be fun, like the story –
“I Wish That I Had Duck Feet”
A boy who wishes that he could have many different animal and mechanical body parts, explaining the pros and cons of the body part. At the end, he decides that he is happiest being himself.
I think that one was the first book that spoke to me artistically. The drawings in that book and the color scheme were something that just stood out when I saw it.
I still remember finding that book at my grandmothers house and thinking it was so different. I saw those drawings and wanted to make things just like that. I think that may have been when I decided to try to really draw.
Of course, some stories have a deeper meaning that escape us as a child.
“The Little Prince”
By Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900–1944), Public Domain, Linka story of a pilot stranded in the desert meets a young prince fallen to Earth from a tiny asteroid.
The book is still a story a child can follow, but as we all know, there is way more to it. It makes several observations about life and human nature.
“The Story of Ferdinand”
A bull who would rather smell flowers than fight in bullfights.
I thought the book was a silly little tale as a child and the lazy bull made me laugh.
But did you know that the book was released nine months before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War and it was seen by many as a pacifist book?
It was banned in many countries, including in Spain (where it remained banned until after the prime minister of Spain’s death).
What could your own book mean to your kids?
These are a few of my examples. Think about how making a book of your own could help expand the the mindset of your children. They may look back at this when they are older and think to themselves, “that’s what meant the most to me”.
What books would you say meant the most to you?
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