Children's books that forever changed my life.
Today's recommendation is wildly popular and yet so intimately meaningful that if I could, I would plant it in everyone's home with a carefree toss from my open hand.
A gift to my baby when she was barely born, from a faithful and nearly lifelong friend, this book delivered a set of emphatic instructions for my own life.
Miss Rumphius
Story and Pictures by Barbara Cooney
"When I grow up, I too will go to faraway places and come home to live by the sea."
"That is all very well, little Alice," says my aunt, "but there is a third thing you must do."
"What is that?" I ask.
"You must do something to make the world more beautiful."
"All right," I say.
But I do not know yet what that can be.
My goodness! All the passion and discovery, all the trial and error, all the heart and truth and promise in that simple "I do not know." It is my wish and recommendation for you.
More favorites all this week, and see my first choice for your library here.
10.20.2008
Make the world more beautiful
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
i almost bought this one at the library book sale last month, but decided to wait until next year to read it to satch. it IS really beautiful! xo
oh this is certainly a favourite around here!
once, while my father was up visiting he read it to my daughter at bedtime. he came downstairs afterward and commented on what a beautiful book it was and how he thought he should scatter some lupines in the field behind his home.
our next visit we arrived home with a bag full of seeds...and they set about on a little adventure just the two of them ;-)
Oh that sounds wonderful. I'm enjoying my son's books so much, and whenever I'm in the bookstore, I am beginning to enjoy browsing the children's section more than the adult section!
Also - thanks so much for pointing me in the direction of some good apple recipes!
I was looking for a book for a newborn to stick in the basket this sounds wonderful!!!! Thanks!
Oh, I love this one! Those lupins!
Thanks for these recommendations...I live in a literary black hole (well, for English books anyway) so am always appreciative of good tips on meaningful books for the kiddies.
And thank goodness for Amazon.com!
Another one to check out is Hope For the Flowers. A story of caterpillars turning into butterflies. Beautiful. I photocopied a few pages of it to paste into my reading journal and comment on how applicable its truths are to my life as an adult, seeking to crawl into a cocoon and emerge and the butterfly I was born to be.
this is one of our/my favorites as well.
Post a Comment