Imagination

I had a special moment in my job as a Librarian last night, it may not seem much to anyone else perhaps, but for me it will be one of those memories that will be lasting. This little moment happened because it was a rare quiet moment in the library.

A little boy came up to me to show me that there were two books the same…

I explained that we do this so that lots of people can read the same book, it was then he started to talk to me about why he thought this book was very good.  The joy on his face was priceless, the excitement in his voice couldn’t be replicated and the chat we had will never be forgotten.

His reason for loving the book so much is because of the hidden secret places that are shown, like the underground and up inside trees.

He found this particularly page quite amusing, mainly because of the toilet and the pooh underneath it..the giggles were funny.  We got to talk about the plants growing on the roof and how plants and grass do grow on real life roofs to keep the house warm and cool.  He was quick to point out though that the roof in the book was different because the carrots hung down into the house so the rabbits could easily pick their produce.

He delighted in telling me that the snake on this page went over three pages, and how the magpie was a wanted criminal, but he was most delighted in the watch that looked like a big clock for the bird.  We then had a chat about the pigeon and about the reason why he had a map of the word, a suitcase and a letter. All interesting little details that I may have missed myself if I had been reading this book.

The joy in his face and words didn’t stop.  He would get so excited about so many details about the book.  Constantly pointing to what delighted him most in the book. He and I had never met before, yet he was not afraid to share his happiness with me.

To be honest, had he not shared his love about this book with me I may never had looked at it this closely.  I have picked this book up several times when I have been shelving picture books to consider reviewing it and each time put it straight back down.

So thank you to Marianne Dubuc for so beautiful writing and illustrating this book so that it captured the mind and imagination of my new little friend at work. I now feel like I can look at books not only through my eyes but through the eyes of a child. Going to that place where your imagination helps you see what a child sees when they open a book.

If there is one thing you can get out of this blog post is that there are many ways that you can use  books.  This little boy didn’t want to actually read the book as such, he just wanted to share his excitement about his discoveries, that gave him joy with someone that wanted to share in that with him.

I hope you, my readers have an experience like this where you can discover a book through the heart of a child.  There is nothing quite like it.