Building a Bridge with Books
/By Troy Flint
Nostalgia is a hell of a drug. Nothing gives me a bigger high than when my daughter connects with some treasured artifact from my past. And when that connection involves reading, the thrill is multiplied. I was an obsessive reader as a child, so watching my daughter’s blossoming interest in books is nothing short of life-affirming.
O is nearly four now and although she can’t read yet, she is starting to recognize words and shows tremendous curiosity about letters. She “writes” letters and shopping lists and spends a significant amount of time sitting on the floor of her bedroom, surrounded by a crop circle of books. More and more, I have the sense that the house is too quiet, so I peek in her room, fearing disaster. Instead, I’m greeted by the vision of O turning the pages of a favorite book, reciting the words from memory or making up an entirely new story of her own. Occasionally, she’ll play the role of teacher reading to her baby brother. It’s enough to make the heart of this introverted only child swell with pride.
The joy I get from Ophelia’s love of reading is even more powerful when she adopts a book from my childhood. Lately, she’s been in a retro phase and digging the works of Ezra Jack Keats. When I was Ophelia’s age, Keats (not the Irish one) was a constant presence in my house. Keats was not only talented, he was also industrious, and he stayed pumping out the hits. Keats used a young black boy named Peter – and the everyday experiences of his friends – to paint a multicultural, urban experience long before that was fashionable in children’s literature. This was pre-Twitter and before “representation” and “seeing yourself” in art became part of the common vernacular. I could certainly see myself in Keats’ stories, and also see a world that was bigger than the one I knew. I hope Ophelia can do the same.
I have to thank my Mom for saving these books and moving them from place to place, even to apartments where there really wasn’t enough room to store them. As always, Ma found a way and gave me this gift of connecting to childhood and to my daughter through the power of literature. This has been a great and surprising development, because I was afraid that Ophelia would disdain these older stories for something shinier and new. Lord knows she has enough modern books of every description.
The Ezra Jack Keats books I loved are almost 40 years old now. They’re well-cared for, but slightly worn. The watercolor illustrations, done in the palette of the 1970s, look somewhat dated today. Still, I stuffed the books in O’s cubbies, hoping that she would discover them one day and deliver me from the plague of Dr. Seuss or the ode to abusive relationships that is The Giving Tree. Please forgive the Shel Silverstein slander. Shel is a legend and I read from his poetry books – shout out to A Light in the Attic and The Missing Piece – almost daily for years. Still, The Giving Tree probably has one of the most regrettable messages of any widely popular children’s book, a fact I’d forgotten until O received it as a birthday gift a couple years. It is now buried at the bottom of the pile along with Dr. Seuss entire oeuvre. There will be no more green eggs and ham.
In contrast, Ezra Jack Keats’ work still holds up. My daughter is fond of “A Letter to Amy” (the title alone is anachronistic) in which the main character Peter ***Spoiler Alert *** sends a letter to a girl named Amy, inviting her to his birthday party. On the way to the mailbox , hijinks ensure. I’m really not sure why O is so taken with it, but we’re rarely more bonded than when we’re turning those pages.
Of course, we like to keep things fresh, so we have other books in heavy rotation. In the spirit of the holiday season, we’ll share some of our faves with you. Any of these books would make great gifts for the kids in the 3-5 age range:
Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev and Taeeun Yoo
A lesson in the value of inclusiveness courtesy of a little boy and his tiny elephant.
Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees
A giraffe finds himself and learn to dance like nobody’s watching
Dream Big, Little One by Vashti Harrison
Portraits of black women who changed the world
Mustache Baby Meets his Match by Bridget Heos and Joy Ang
A young boy learns the value of healthy competition and gains a friend in the process
Rosie Revere the Engineer by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts
A precocious young inventor learns to push the fear of failure aside and embrace her ambition
The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson
The old classic about a young bull with a love for flowers and a distaste for violence
Hedgehugs & the Hattiepillar by Steve Wilson and Lucy Tapper
A pair of hedgehogs who appreciate life’s little things turn their passion into something beautiful
A Different Pond by Bao Phi and Thi Bui
A first generation Vietnamese-American and his immigrant father bond on an early morning fishing trip