Why Childhood Stories Still Resonate With Us

There is a little book that I read when I was little called You are Special by Max Lucado. It is a simple story about a town of wooden people who are made by a carpenter. The main character is named Punchinello and he is rejected by others because he doesn’t seem to be attractive, athletic, or talented in any way. The story goes on, but I’ll just say that it was a beautiful story about knowing your worth as a person no matter what others say about you. As a little girl I loved reading it, not only because it had cool drawings of wooden people in it but also because it left me feeling loved at the end. Even now I still get emotional about the story.

I thought about that book, and other books I had read when I was little, and I noticed that certain books felt more important to me than others. Some stories resonate with me even now, but other stories do not. I decided to ask a few of my friends to get their thoughts on the books that they still love from their childhood. I asked them two questions: What is an example of a children’s story or book that still resonates with you and why does it still stick with you even now? Their responses are recorded below:

“A children’s story that I really love is The Velveteen Rabbit [written by Margery Williams]. It resonates with me because it speaks about the persistence of childhood and laments the loss of it. It does a great job of showing that adulthood is good but puts emphasis on being happy with the time you have and not growing up too quickly.” -–Sophia

“This might sound a little silly, but my favorite children’s book was Chicka Chicka Boom Boom [written by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault], a story about alphabet letters claiming a palm tree and then falling down and hurting themselves. I don’t know why I liked it so much, but that was my fav actual children’s book…I love them [referring to her favorite childhood books] because of nostalgia, really.” ––Kamama

Serena’s choice was “The Spiffiest Giant in Town [written by Julia Donaldson], a story about a giant in a fairy tale world who wants to be fancy and esteemed and buys a brand new suit. But bit by bit he gives parts of it away to help people, and in the end he finds out that he doesn’t need to be fancy to be loved. Just kind.”

“This may be a classic answer, but I immediately thought of The Chronicles of Narnia. Thinking about why these stories have stuck with me was harder, but I came to the conclusion that it has to do with Truth. There's a reason these stories are so well-loved: they are brimming with Truth and Light. C. S. Lewis beautifully weaves themes of sin, sacrifice, and redemption into a masterful story. Those truths are portrayed simply and in a manner that a child can understand them, and yet there's still depth and meaning in them for someone much older, because the stories are, in a sense, true.” ––Auriel

“When I was little, about 5 or so, my mom would always read me a book called Goody O'Grumpity [by Carol Ryrie Brink]. It's a story about a 17th-century colonial woman making a spice cake, and the little children that live in her village follow her around watching her make the cake. Every time I read it, or it was read to me, I could almost smell the cake being made, and it was just such a feel good book to me. It had beautiful little illustrations and was just my all around favorite book as a child. I guess it still sticks with me because to this day I can open it and all the warm and happy memories come back. It's definitely a ‘feel good’ and ‘comfy’ book for me.” ––Bella

When I read these responses, I saw a few different things that made the children’s story resonate with each person. Kamama, for example, mentioned that nostalgia was the biggest reason why she loved her children’s stories. I think that nostalgia is such a big factor when we go back to these books because they remind us of the happiness, wonder, and simplicity of when we were little. We might think back on how we felt at the time or how we loved it when our parents or siblings read to us. Bella mentioned how she loved her book because of the beautiful illustrations and the charming way that the story was told. Also, like Kamama, she loves reliving the warm, happy memories that she had.

Another important theme that I saw was the importance of the message of the story. When a story is well done and touches something in us, I believe that it stays with us even when we get older. Themes of enjoying childhood, knowing you are loved when others reject you, understanding that kindness is more important than things, seeing how brokenness can be redeemed, etc. help children know how to navigate the world as they grow and give them something to hold onto when they get older.

Children’s stories should be full of all of these things. When a little one gets old enough to understand, I believe that a children’s book should make a difference in how they think and should speak the truth. These stories affect little ones more than people might think, and even if they cannot put it into words, they love the good stories with truth and wonder in them. But children are children, and they also need fun illustrations or funny dialogue to make them giggle or feel warm inside. It won’t grab their attention if you simply read to them––they want to see and touch something. So, whether you read to your siblings, or want to have kids one day, or even want to write children’s books, choose to make or read stories that are both engaging and meaningful. Stories have the power to sink deeply into a little one’s heart just like You Are Special did for me.

~Evelyn Knight