#6 Lessons Baby Boomers Learned from Classic Children’s Books

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6 Lessons Baby Boomers Learned from Classic Children’s Books

6 Lessons Baby Boomers Learned from Classic Children’s Books

Were you a reader as a child? Did you snuggle up in a chair or under the covers at bedtime while an adult read to you? If so, chances are you were impacted by the wisdom found in children’s books.

Reading helps us to understand ourselves, the world around us and other people. Reading also allows us to experience things we could not experience personally.

Some children’s books, especially those…

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1. I do not make my bed expect when I change the sheets. What’s the point if I’m going to take frequent naps everyday. I can only sleep for 3 hours at a time for one reason or another.🤷🏻‍♀️ it sucks getting old.😂

2. My favorite number is 13. I know. I’m odd.😂

3. My job is wife, mother to six children and grandmother to soon to be 16 grandchildren in October.

4. Go back to school? My whole life has been a school classroom of learning. Isn’t that what reading is for…to learn?

5. I can parallel park and drive a standard shifting vehicle including a nine passenger van with no power steering or power brakes.

6. A job that I had that would surprise people? Paid or unpaid job? Paid-Group Ticket Sales at a big amusement park that is not Disney plus Data Entry there too. Unpaid jobs were Choir Director, Librarian, Adult Leader at Girls Camp to name just a few.

7. Are Aliens real? 🤷🏻‍♀️ Aren’t we all aliens in some way?😂

8. See question number 5.

9. My guilty pleasure is great food and Tumblr.

10. Tattoos? I have permanent eyeliner and eyebrows which are tattooed on. I never got around to having my lips done. It does save time now that I am older.

11. Favorite color(s) in order of preference are blue, rose pink, and coral/pinky peach.

12. Things that people do that drive me crazy? With family it’s LOTS of things. They know the buttons to push especially Hubs. Probably not putting things back in their place at home in my kitchen. I don’t freak out much in the rest of the house but I do draw the line at wet items being thrown in random places like on the floor or furniture that are not the bathroom, kitchen or laundry rooms. Those rooms have tile floors, waterproof counters and furniture that can have water left on it without much damage done. Though water on the floor will cause me or others to slip and fall, getting injured. If it’s a small puddle of water on the floor I’m gonna think that the dog did it.😂

13. Phobias? I’m Claustrophobic and I can’t stand snakes. I live in Texas. Water Moccasins are real, along with other poisonous snakes. 

14. Favorite childhood sport? I was on a volleyball team in 5th and 6th grades in elementary school. We had district tournaments which were really fun. In Physical Education in Junior High School which was 7th, 8th and 9th grades I played volleyball too. We did not have district tournaments which made me a little bit sad.🤷🏻‍♀️

15. Yes, “I talk to myself and we laugh and laugh.”🤣🤣🤣 I saw a shirt with that saying on it.

16. What movie do I adore? Lots of them but “Somewhere in Time” is my top favorite and I bought the book that it was based on called “Bid Time Return.” I find watching the movie first is better than reading the book first that way I’m not disappointed when things that I thought were great are deleted. It’s like “OH, there’s more wonderful stuff in this book to enjoy.”

17. Puzzles are fun!

18. Favorite Music? Almost anything besides “Rap Crap” as my hubs calls it. I’m not talking about people like Will Smith type of rapping. I like classic rock like Dean Winchester and classic symphony or the greats like Mozart, Beethoven, Bach and everything in between like Sam Winchester of Supernatural. I love music and I love singing. I can read music because I took years of piano lessons.

19. I do not like coffee or tea unless it’s an herbal tea with no black tea, green tea or white tea in it which I think are from the same plant.🤷🏻‍♀️ I’m could be wrong. I prefer juice, Dr. Pepper, milk, water. I’ve always referred to Dr. Pepper as my strong or stiff drink.

20. The first thing that I wanted to be when I grew up? A Wife and Mother to which I have accomplished. (I’m a baby boomer) And to travel across the USA and other countries which I have done too. I went on a month long big family vacation with my hub’s family driving from Texas to Nicaragua after we had been married only five days, I’ve been on a family vacation in Europe with my children and three oldest grandchildren who were toddlers at the time, been to Canada with my family, I’ve been to Madrid, Spain for 2 weeks with my hubs which I enjoyed doing.

2020 20 fact game

1. Do you make your bed? almost never… unless I wanna impress my hubs for sex

2. What is your favorite number? 8

3. What’s your job? Stay at home mom, for now.

4. If you could, would you go back to school?  I’ve been giving this a lot of thought.  I want to get my license, but have had delusions about getting my PHD, then I could be Dr. Myin.  Anyone have a kink?

5. Can you parallel park?  YES!  And its not even a requirement on the driver test in my state.

6. A job you had that would surprise people?  bartender?

7. Do you think aliens are real? no 

8. Can you drive a standard car? YES!!! In fact. this is the first car that I have owned that isn’t a standard.

9. What’s your guilty pleasure?  writing porn here…

10. Tattoos? None

11. Favorite Color? purple

12. Things people do that drive you crazy?  singing the wrong words to songs on purpose

13. Any phobias? SPIDERS!!!!  

14. Favorite Childhood Sport? Volleyball

15. Do you talk to yourself? Constantly.

16. What movie do you adore? (A lot)  Cabin in the Woods.

17. Do you like doing puzzles?  yea, until my neck is sore

18. Favorite kind of music?  Classic Rock 

19. Tea or coffee? Tea. Fuck Coffee

20. The first thing you remember you wanted to be when you grew up? a doctor (of medicine)

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Were you a reader as a child? Did you snuggle up in a chair or under the covers at bedtime while an adult read to you? If so, chances are you were impacted by the wisdom found in children’s books.

Reading helps us to understand ourselves, the world around us and other people. Reading also allows us to experience things we could not experience personally.

Some children’s books, especially those written in the 18th and 19th centuries were thinly veiled attempts at imparting morals and manners to children.

Later books were more focused on entertaining children, though lessons seeped through like water in a sieve, impacting us – even if we were not consciously aware of what we were learning.

I still remember my mother reading aloud the novel Heidi, one chapter at a time. My sister and I anxiously perched on the bed, waiting to hear about Heidi, Peter, Grandfather and the goats.

We imagined the far away setting in the Alps, almost breathing in the fresh air as Heidi did. From Heidi, I learned compassion, feeling homesick along with the little orphan girl and her wheelchair bound friend Clara.

Compassion is just one of the many lessons I learned while reading classic children’s novels. Here are six other lessons we may have unconsciously learned as we read and reread the beloved stories of our youth.

We Can Be Independent

Part of the work of childhood is gradually growing into people who are independent from our parents and caregivers. Children’s books are full of stories of children who take the reins and control their own destiny.

Remember Nancy Drew? She was very independent, driving around in her blue roadster with only the slightest supervision from her father. The Boxcar Children successfully lived alone in an abandoned box car, working to get money for food and taking care of each other.

The children of Narnia managed quite well in their adopted fantasy land, conquering foes with little adult help. Pippi Longstocking lived in Villa Villakkulla with nary an adult in sight.

Children’s stories helped us to imagine living independently without actually leaving the safety of our homes. We could escape our everyday lives and live in a tree like Sam, the young boy in My Side of the Mountain, who runs away, adopts a falcon and survives on his own in the Catskill mountains.

These characters and others like them taught us that with resourcefulness and hard work we can take care of ourselves.

Pluck and Grit Will Take You Far

Remember Laura Ingalls Wilder? The child of the Little House on the Prairie series was known for her spirit. Other young pioneers such as tomboy Caddie Woodlawn, Jody in The Yearling, and Travis of Old Yeller were also courageous and not afraid to act.

Creating a home in a new and untamed land is one recipe for developing kids with pluck and grit, but clearly not the only one.

Young Ramona in the Beverly Cleary books is gutsy, audacious and bold. Velvet, of National Velvet, is strong-willed and determined.

Homer Price manages to foil bank robbers and control a situation with a donut machine gone berserk. These are characters who persevere and tenaciously deal with life’s challenges.

Many of us also devoured biographies. The Childhood of Famous Americans series, little blue and orange books, were wildly popular in the 1950s and 1960s.

The books, which were later deemed to be more fictional than reality, focused on the lives of courageous children who grew up to be heroes. These and other biographies inspired us to do worthy things.

Be Open to Adventure

Children’s stories are full of characters who have adventures. What would The Adventures of Tom Sawyer have been like if Tom, Huck and Becky had stayed home and played board games all day?

Think of Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys and the Tollivers solving mysteries. Young Jim Hawkins has his map of Treasure Island and goes out to sea. The children of the Melendy family have a new adventure every Saturday.

Travel appeared in children’s books before it became mainstream for many people. Donna Parker goes to Hollywood, making us long for the world of glamour and movie stars.

Nancy Drew travels to France, Nairobi and Austria. The Bobbsey Twins visited Plymouth Rock and Colonial Williamsburg, imparting history lessons along the way.

Children in books also traveled across time and place. Tolly in the Greene Knowe series meets children from the past. Charlotte in Charlotte Sometimes travels via magical bed to an English boarding school in 1918. In children’s books, time travel – with all of its adventurous possibilities – is an option.

You Need Friends

We all need a sidekick or two. Friends help us out of sticky situations and encourage us to be our best. They provide laughter and help us to find insight just when we need it.

Charlotte had Wilbur. Betsy had Tacy. Nancy Drew had Bess and George. Donna Parker had Ricky West, and Trixie Beldon had Honey Wheeler. The two sets of Bobbsey twins had each other.

Anne of Green Gables had her bosom buddy, Diana. Like Anne, many of us had or longed for a friend who was our steadfast companion and kindred spirit. If we lacked such a friend in our lives, characters from the novels we read often became our friends.

It’s Fun to Stretch Your Imagination

The fun and fantasy of children’s books enriched us by stretching our imaginations. We love to suspend willing disbelief in order to accept the magical.

Remember Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle? She was a little old lady whose husband was a pirate. She lived in an upside-down house and imparted ‘cures’ to children who misbehaved. What fun it was to imagine playing in an upside-down house or digging up treasure in the back yard.

Fantasy could take us on adventures. We could step through a wardrobe in England and walk into Narnia, where we could meet witches and battle evil. We traveled to Oz with Dorothy and had fun believing that lands like Oz, with all of its magical creatures, exist.

Mythology and folklore also gave us fantastic tales. We imagined what it would be like to be a giant like Paul Bunyan and have a big blue ox for a pet. We could also have dragons for pets or ride one conquering the air. We soured across the skies and into the oceans with Greek gods and goddesses.

Some fantasies were closer to home. The adventures of a lowly house painter, Mr. Popper and his twelve penguins, kept us laughing. We imagined what fun it would be to have such amazing creatures in our own homes.

Believing in the impossible opened us up to creativity, which feeds our souls and helps us to solve problems.

Kindness Matters

Children’s books often bring out the simple theme that kindness matters. In the beginning of Charlotte’s Web, Fern saves a runt pig, Wilbur, from her father’s ax. Saving Wilbur’s life allows friendship in the barnyard to blossom.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, we learn the hard way from the story of Wanda, a young girl who is ridiculed for wearing the same dress every day.

When she proclaims that she has a hundred dresses, the other girls laugh. Her bullies eventually learn the truth, too late for Wanda but in time to teach them – and us – a lesson about kindness.

In children’s books we also learn to love and care for animals. Books such as Bambi, Lassie and the horse stories of Marguerite Henry gave us insight into the lives of animals. Many children experienced the love of animals they met through books.

The books we read as children often shape us. What books did you love as a child? What do you think you learned from them? We would love to hear your experiences and memories in the comments below.

Michele Meier Vosberg, Ph.D. is a writer and freelance educator. She left her career of over thirty years in order to create the life of her dreams. She is passionate about helping others understand their unique personality and gifts and design their best lives. Michele is married, has two grown daughters and lives in Madison, Wisconsin. Connect with Michele at liferedesign101.com

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