What Children’s Books Can Teach Adults

(Photo by just.K)

Winnie the Pooh, the Bernstein Bears, Clifford, Dr. Seuss, Harold and the Purple Crayon, all of these are some of the most recognized and widespread stories that are read in an effort to get the children down for bed because its sex night at your residence.

Jokes aside, children books play an integral role in our society. They are used as stepping stones for children to learn, spark their imaginations, and ultimately help sculpt them into the people they will be in the future. But what happens after you’re too old for Winnie the Pooh? Does the idea of Harry Potter and some daring male vampire who runs around feasting on blood and making out with teenagers get your own, or your children’s juices flowing? Probably not (though I am sure it might get some other juices flowing for some of you sickos 😉 ).

Where am I going with this? The bottom line is that children’s books are often times more deep, creative, and insightful than that stack of Encyclopedia Britannica’s that you got form your Grandma when you were 12 and never opened even once, unless it was to lookup the word “sex”. As we age we cast aside these books, only to revive them at the pitter patter of our own children running around the household causing a ruckus.

But just what can a children’s book teach a old, educated, well rounded, cocky sob like you or me?

Every children book, movie, story, etc, has some kind of moral to the story. The moral might wrap around some basic concept like sharing or the alphabet or learning your ABCs, but often times they go way deeper than that and leave even my 23 year old self rethinking the meaning of life at some of their quotes (okay maybe not that intense 😉 )

Winnie the Pooh

One of the classics, who doesn’t love a bear that run’s around trying to grab as much honey as humanly possible while dragging along a zebra/pig mut, a cracked out tiger, a kangaroo, and a donkey who is best friends with a rain cloud? Let’s take a moment to check out some of the insight that good ol’ Pooh had for us.

Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.

Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.

You can’t help respecting anybody who can spell TUESDAY, even if he doesn’t spell it right; but spelling isn’t everything. There are days when spelling Tuesday simply doesn’t count.

A bear, however hard he tries, grows tubby without exercise.

You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.

People who don’t think probably don’t have brains; rather, they have grey fluff that’s blown into their heads by mistake.

Wow. Now if you are going to sit at your screen right now and tell me that at least one of those quotes didn’t offer more insight to your day then your bosses ramblings or some bullshit article your read on Facebook, let me direct you to the close button at the top right of your web browser. Personally I am very fond of the first quote as it reminds me to love the simple things in life and not want so much of the external crap (material or otherwise) and appreciate all the things that are going on in this very moment.

Dr. Seuss

Now everyone is familiar with my friend Seuss and his acid induced adventures involving a plethora of crazy and ridiculous characters that I could not even begin to name here. Whether you think his books are a direct result of a drug induced haze or raw creative potential unleashed, you cannot help but love his books even If you are two feet into the grave. Here are a few insights from the doctor on life, happiness, and general amazing randomness (free trip to Dr. Feelgood not included)

Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.

Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.

From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself, any direction you choose.

Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So… get on your way.

Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try.

You’re on your own, and you know what you know. And you will be the guy who’ll decide where you’ll go. Oh the places you’ll go.

Full awesome, Dr. Seuss might be my all time favorite for children books as not only are his writings insightful, his drawings and creativity is unmatched in a lot of ways (plus he rhymes lots of things, who the hell doesn’t love rhyming?) If I had to pick a few favorites here it would undoubtedly be the last one and the second one. I always find it important to find joy in each moment and of course you all know how I feel about decisions and doing what you love in life (with no bullshit excuses).

So there you have it, a little taste of children’s books and the powerful thoughts they can give us even late into our adulthood. Hopefully you will decide to brush the dust off a few of these, give your mom a call to find them, or at least appreciate how the simplest things in life, like a children’s book that is on a 3 year old reading level, can have a impact on your life. Hopefully that dash of insight will get your wheels running for future adventures

After all, “Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.”

Gabriel