As adults, we tend to have busy and overwhelming lives; wake up for work, go to work, maybe have a sandwich, go back to work, go home, have dinner while doing some catch-up work, and go to sleep. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Joy can sometimes get lost in the churning waves of our middle-aged panic attacks, but a great way to reconnect with that joy is to look back on ourselves pre-middle aged.
Related: Do you collect (or stock) Little Golden Books?
Revisiting books that made us happy as children can greatly improve the way we dance with the adult-devil. They can help us remember forgotten morals that we may have learned along the way but ones that have been shoved behind the tax returns and voting stamps. Let me help push you along this flower-infested, unicorn-populated, magical journey with five different books we all (hopefully) remember.
Charlotte’s Web by E.B White
Charlotte’s Web (1952) is basically a comprehensive list of what we, as adults, need to strive for: being terrific, radiant, and humble. Maybe some of us can also be “some pigs,” but it’s hard to say. Wilbur is saved from certain slaughter by Fern’s kindness and is saved again by Charlotte’s generosity. Over and over again, he received compassion through the acts of life-saving. It is dramatic at times, but maybe we need a bit of drama when it isn’t at a political rally! Charlotte’s Web is a must read, and it is definitely a must re-read!
Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel
Frog and Toad Are Friends (1970) is another book that can help us in a variety of ways. Frog and Toad are two characters embarking on adventures in their small town. They go swimming, they get embarrassed, they lose things, and most of all, they help each other. In the fifth and final story, Toad wishes he had someone who would write him a letter. He waits every day for the mail, yet he never receives any.
Frog immediately knows what to do. He goes home, writes a letter, and gives it to a snail to deliver it to Toad’s house. After waiting four days, Toad finally receives his letter from Frog. They celebrate, and Toad thanks Frog for his kindness. They are both happy in the end. This is a tale of two best friends solving conflicts, feeling things, and most importantly, loving one another. Frog and Toad Are Best Friends is a book many adults should consider picking up this summer.
Love You Forever by Robert Munsch
Love You Forever (1986) is one of my personal childhood favorites. My mom used to read me this book while sitting outside on our patio, shooting bug spray into our eyes, waiting for the world to cool off a little. She read me this book with a slight smile, one that I did not know the meaning of yet. This story details the life and relationship of a son and his mother. It begins with the son as a baby, getting into trouble and stressing out his mother. It ends, however, with the frail, aged mother being cradled by her now adult son, singing the lullaby that she used to sing to him.
This story is heartbreaking, but now more than ever, it is moving. It is physically moving, as I am urged by Mr. Munsch to grasp my mother’s arms and tell her “thank you.” It is also emotionally moving. I, as most people do after reading this picture book, feel as if our lives move as quickly as the flipping pages do, and we need to call our moms.
Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
Amelia Bedelia is a character I believe more adults should look up to; yes, she isn’t bright and she misunderstands, but she is creative, thoughtful, and daring. Amelia Bedelia is a story describing a maid who is very prone to misinterpreting orders. When asked to “draw the drapes when the sun comes in,” she sits down, gets out her pencil, and sketches the lovely view of the sun-lit drapes. She has multiple incidents just like this one, and with every incident comes a feeling of genuine compassion; she is forgiven when the residents of the home taste her homemade pie. Amelia Bedelia is a story of empathy and forgiveness, whether outright or tasted within a lemon meringue pie.
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
This is the last book on my list and, arguably, the most meaningful to us old people. Stellaluna (1993) is a story all about acceptance. Stellaluna, a young bat, gets thrown out of her nest after an owl attacks. She ends up in a bird’s nest and is raised with three other baby birds, all while being separated from her mother. While flying with her bird sisters, she gets left behind and hangs from a branch. Other bats come up to her, and Stellaluna’s mother soon reveals herself. They are reunited!
Stellaluna goes back to show her bird friends how to fly in the dark, and eventually, all four winged creatures acknowledge their differences and understand that they can be family either way. In 2022 and beyond, it is incredibly important to recognize we can all be family. Stellaluna teaches us to stop worrying about the little things, see the giant, terrible things in front of us and freak out! No, not really; but she does teach us to love those alike and unalike. She is determined to find her mother and her people but does not leave her friends behind.
I hope these books bring you back to a better time—one of bicycles on cul-de-sacs, parents yelling to come back inside, and monkey bars on the kindergarten playground. But also, I hope we can all find joy in our childhood books and memories, and if you didn’t read any of these, hopefully you can find hope in the lessons they can give us. As old-sters (like youngsters, get it?), we need to search for hope. It won’t come to us like it has in the past. Search for it in good things, and believe me, you will find it!