On the Children's Shelf: Connecting Through Books

I have been thinking a lot about the idea of connections through books. In her author talk, Kate DiCamillo talked about the connections within books, between readers and characters, and because of books. This message has stayed with me, and I continue to think about it.

I feel such a strong connection with so many characters in so many different books. I've wandered the streets of New Orleans with Ignatius J. Riley and his hotdog cart. I watched Charlotte spin her web with the perfect word included. I have sat in a cage in a shopping mall with Ivan. I have spent times on the plains of Nebraska with Antonia. I waited for the great pumpkin to rise out of the pumpkin patch with Linus. I helped Nancy solve the mystery of the hidden staircase. I have a connection to these characters. Some are my friends. Some were my companions on journeys through books, friends I might not have otherwise chosen but because of my shared bookish experience with them, we have a connection.

I have a connection to my bookish friends because of books. We've shared favorite books. We recommend books to each other. We send texts with photos of pages in the book we are currently reading because of a profound passage. Our bond grows because of our shared loved of reading.

As I continued to think about the connections we have because of stories, I realized how those connections aren't held by distance or time. I look at the beautiful copy of "Anne of Green Gables" a friend sent my children years ago, and when I look at that book, the many many miles between us disappear. I took out my beloved copy of "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" that my mom bought me when I was small, and somehow it brings me back to being that little person waiting in the pumpkin patch with Linus. I remember family and friends who are no longer with us through memories of them reading to me or telling me stories, and I feel them with me when I share those same stories with my children.

My hope is someday, many years from now when my children open a beloved book we read together or share a story, they will feel a connection to me. They will remember that book as part of their childhood, and whether I'm still here or not, I will be there in that moment because of a story.