Children's Books

I've been a bookworm for as long as I can remember. As a kid, every night I would snuggle up with my blanket and a shiny hardcover picture-book. The books felt much more important and grown-up than my plastic blocks. Before I could read, I absorbed the pictures while my parents read out loud to me. These big, colorful pictures are some of the most important parts of children's books because they're the first kids' eyes are drawn to. Similar to cartoons on TV, the illustrations give children a visual of the action and direct reader's attention to important aspects of the story. 

I recently re-read a favorite children's book of mine, "I Lost my Bear" by Jules Feiffer, and was surprised how the pictures portrayed each character. Large, watercolor illustrations take up most of each page and dialogue is hand-written in speech bubbles. The artwork isn't highly polished like textbook drawings, rather they are supposed to be the story told from the main character's hand. The young girl telling her story to other young kids makes her experiences more relatable.

The main conflict in this story is that the main character, a girl of about five years old, lost her favorite stuffed bear. She asks her parents and sister for help, but ultimately they tell her to think hard and find it herself. The girl, although the narrator, is drawn to scale to the other characters and is the shortest. Most of the illustrations focus on the setting (rooms in the house) and bright solid colors (walls, floors, etc). The girl eventually finds her bear on her own, so this story teaches kids about power structures within families. Because her parents and older sister tell her to find the bear on her own, it shows that kids should listen to their elders, but not completely depend on them. The girl's perseverance to find the bear pays off. Although she doesn't find her bear at first, she does enjoy playing with other newly-found toys along the way. This also teaches kids to appreciate the many material possessions they have and not obsess over any single one. 

The girl's many stuffed animals shows the aspect of children's books that children are close to nature. The animals are not real, but the girl shows more affection towards her stuffed animals than any of her family. She's deeply distressed about not being able to find her lost bear, but not how her family is unhelpful. This shows the infallibility of humans and modern lifestyles (dad absorbed in the newspaper, mom washing dishes etc.) but still regards animals worthy of children's time. 

I have no memory of this book consciously affecting my actions (I received it when I was three), but the fact that I can remember it fourteen years later proves that I at least absorbed it. I surely identified with the main character because I had many beloved stuffed animals that got upset over misplacing. My grandparents who gave me the book wanted to teach me that I should at least look for lost toys before pestering my parents. Children much more likely absorb a message from colorful books than chiding adults.