50+ Lifestyles

Children’s Book Day

By Mary Schricker Gemberling

April 2, 2022 is International Children’s Book Day. National Library Week is April 3 – April 9 of this year. To underscore the importance of books, reading and libraries this article is a reprint from April 2017.

“The more that you read
The more things you will know
The more that you learn
The more places you’ll go.”
– Dr. Seuss

As an English major and former educator, books and reading have always been important to me. I used to tell my students that one of the best ways to travel without ever leaving your home was through the pages of a book. Reading allows you to meet and get to know a variety of people and learn about their cultures. It stimulates your imagination to visualize places you have yet to visit. It lets you help solve problems that the characters encounter, and it broadens your world as you see things from a different perspective.

We all have our favorite books from childhood; ones that set the tone for our imaginations and that bring back memories of home as we remember. In 1967, the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) founded Children’s Book Day to be celebrated on April 2nd of each year. As an international non-profit organization promoting the importance of literacy and reading to our children, IBBY works tirelessly to promote Children’s Book and Authors, and organize events in schools and libraries all over the world to get children reading.

When my sons were small, one of my favorite times of the day was when one or both of them would crawl on my lap and want to read a book. And now as a grandmother, I am once again sharing my love of books with my grandchildren. I find my focus a bit different now as I often elaborate on the message inherent in the words I am reading. I am sure as a busy mom I did not do that.

Last week a friend, who is a librarian, posted something on social media that I found worth sharing. Here is just a sample of some of the whimsical but profound lines from some of our best known children’s books.

“Today was a difficult day; tomorrow will be better”…
Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes.

“I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship”…
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

“I knew who I was this morning, but I’ve changed a few times since then”…
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

“Sometimes,” said Pooh, “the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.”…
Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne

“It has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. My mom says some days are like that.”…

Alexander the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very
Bad Day by Judith Viorst

“The true courage is in facing danger when you are afraid “…
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum.

“In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun, and the job is a game”…
Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers.

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not”…
The Lorax by Dr. Seuss.

“Why did you do this for me?” he asked. “I don’t deserve it. I’ve never done anything for you”. “You’ve been my friend,” replied Charlotte, “that in itself is a tremendous thing”……….
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White.

“The moment where you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever being able to do it”……..
Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie.

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly”……..
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint –Exupery.

Piglet: “How do you spell love?” Pooh: ”You don’t spell it, you
feel it.”……
Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne

“A person’s a person, no matter how small”…….
Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss.

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted”…..
The Lion and the Mouse by Aesop

“If you have good thoughts, they will shine out of your face like sunbeams, and you will always look lovely”…….
The Twits by Roald Dahl.

“You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own, and you know what you know. And you are the one who’ll decide where to go”………
Oh the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss.

“Promise me you’ll remember, you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think”…….
Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne.

“Above all watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most likely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it”…….
The Minpins by Roald Dahl.

“Don’t try to comprehend with your mind. Your minds are very limited. Use your intuition”….
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world”….
The Hobbitt by J.R. Tolkein.

“It’s no use to go back to yesterday because I was a different
person then”……
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

And finally two of my favorites by Shel Silverstein:

“How much good inside a day? Depends how good you live’em. How much love inside a friend? Depends on how much you give ‘em”………A Light in the Attic.

“Listen to the music child. Listen to the don’t. Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me. Anything can happen, child, Anything can be”……..Where the Sidewalk Ends.

These whimsical, no-nonsense words often with a much deeper meaning might even change this crazy world we live in, if we would just stop and listen!

Mary, a former educator and Seniors Real Estate Specialist, is the author of four books: The West End Kid, Labor of Love; My Personal Journey through the World of Caregiving, Hotel Blackhawk; 100 years of Elegance, Ebenezer United Methodist Church; 150 years of Resiliency.