"Youth is happy because it has the capacity to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old."
~Franz Kafka
"No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally—and often far more—worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond."
~C.S.Lewis
I am fortunate to have a 3 1/2 year old in my life, my niece's daughter, with whom I frequently have the opportunity to read bedtime stories. I don't know which one of us enjoys the experience more. The books feel like a bridge between the generations, a place where we can meet on common ground, the child in me meeting with the child (and aspiring adult) in her. I love the C.S. Lewis quote above—the fairy tales and fables, the treasured stories of childhood, really are written as much for adults as they are for children. They help us re-connect with the sense of magic and wonder and possibility that children have naturally. And children like it when we meet them there.
The Secret Garden was one of my all-time favorite books as a child. Reading it, I was transported to a magical world of beauty and wonder. I was so filled with joy when little Mary Lennox first discovered the secret garden that I could hardly stand it. The book gave me hope as a young person, and taught me about the possibility of healing, forgiveness and redemption, and appealed to my sense of curiosity. I recently re-read the book, as a 50-something adult, and was just as enthralled...actually, more so. This time I understood more of the symbolism and could feel how the secret garden is really a place within us, within our hearts and souls, where love may grow, with understanding, care and attention.
I think in my next lifetime I would like to be a children's book author. I recall with great fondness the books that I loved as a child: the EB White books, Stuart Little being my very favorite; the Nancy Drew Mysteries; A Wrinkle in Time, The Phantom Tollbooth; the Winnie the Pooh stories; Peter Pan; and many others. And I appreciate them even more now.
And there are stories that I have discovered as an adult that I cherish, such as The Invention of Hugo Cabret (the inspiration for the movie Hugo), published in 2007. I LOVE this book. I actually know the sister-in-law of the author Brian Selznick, and was thrilled to receive a signed copy of the book when it was first published...and got to hear all about the process of turning the book into a movie—which Martin Scorcese did with loving care and integrity to the book. I won't even try to describe the book—that would be a whole blog in itself. Check it out at www.theinventionofhugocabret.com and definitely see the film. It's a work of art, and a wonderful story...of healing, forgiveness and redemption (seems to be a theme for me :-)
In great gratitude for these stories and the authors and illustrators who create them, transporting us to realms of magic, mystery and wonder.
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