Spend Time With a Children's Book

by Cathy

During the spring and before the summer heat becomes unbearable, you’ll find me eating my lunch outside with a good book. Not an adult book, but a children’s book. I have a love affair with children’s books and own quite a large collection of them. I ran across this quote recently at Read Brightly. 

"Children's books are a fascinating blend of simplicity and life lessons. They're like security blankets - all warm and fuzzy on the outside, but deeply symbolic on the inside. They can be funny,  touching, deep, dark, poignant, or charming, but in the end, they're just the books we love. That's why they so often stay with us well into adulthood."     ~ Devon Corneal

Over the years of reading and rereading my children's books there are two characters that stand out above the others, steal my heart, and bring me joy . . . Peter Pan and Anne of Green Gables. Peter because he refuses to grow old and loves adventures. Anne because she has such an optimistic spirit and the most original view of the world. I’ve revisited my “bosom buddies” (as Anne would say) by rereading their stories while eating lunch.

After reading four books about Peter, I began rereading the Anne of Green Gable series. Lucy Maud “L. M.” Montgomery, a Canadian author, wrote these beloved tales of a young orphan who stole the hearts of a rather conservative brother and sister, Matthew and Marilla. As I mentioned above she stole my heart, too! Published in 1908, the first book sold 19,000 copies in its first few months and went to print 10 times in the first year. The book would ultimately sell over 50 million copies. This was truly an amazing feat since it was written by a female author about a female protagonist and sold without Amazon!

Montgomery’s character Anne has a unique way of expressing her optimistic spirit and her delight in the world. She is grateful . . . she is hilarious . . . and she is wise. I’d like to share just a few of her lovely words accompanied with some pictures. 

“That is one good thing about this world . . . there are always sure to be more springs.”

“Isn’t it good just to be alive on a day like this?

I pity the people who aren’t born yet for missing it.”

“One can’t stay sad very long in such an interesting world, can one?”

“I like the lane because you can think out loud

there without people calling you crazy.”

“I have a conviction that there are scores of beautiful nooks

that have never really been seen although they may have been looked at.”

“Life is rich and full here . . . everywhere . . .  if we can only learn to open our whole hearts to its richness and fullness.”

I would encourage you to pick up a children’s book this summer and read it. There are so many wonderful choices out there. If you have any suggestions for a good children’s book for my summer lunchtime reading, let me know in the comment section. I’d love to add them to my list.

In case you’re not interested in reading children’s books, Deanna gave us a great list of summer reading material last week in her post. I’ve added several of those to my grownup reading list.

Happy Summer Reading to you all!