There is no more simple, uncomplicated pleasure in my life right now than reading picture books. It is simple, just go to the library, pick up a stack, come home, grab a child, sit on the couch with a mug to tea and dive in. Some picture books are fun but forgettable, others are not easily forgotten. They touch you deeply. With their text and illustrations, picture books can state truth, take you on a journey, teach you about far away times or make you laugh. They are also a quick way to mend a little one that is out of sorts.
Yesterday was one of those such days when my little one just seem to be amiss. Nothing settled well with him. He was just dragging. School work was not even in his horizon. I suggested to fix a cup of tea and seat down and just read. It was wonderful! We discovered a new author: Allen Say. My favorite was Grandfather's Journey It made me cry. I could so much identify with the Grandfather. I too know what is like to miss the land you were born in just to go back and find out that you don't quite fit there anymore. Then you come back to the land you now call home and face the reality that you will probably never be a perfect fit. And you reconcile yourself with the idea of permanently living straddle between two worlds.
Other Allen Say picture books we have enjoyed:
Kamishibai Man
Tree of Cranes
Tea with Milk
The Bicycle Man
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