Heart to soul...good snippets of thoughts.

books:


	• What the Dormouse Said: Lessons for Grown-ups from Children's Books Algonquin Books, 2004 - 160 pages average customer review:based on 12 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Excellent!

This is a really awesome idea. There are truly so many gems out there. Most of them you will remember reading too. I would like to see an even more indepth version with more children's books. But, what an awesome start. This could start the next great "Chicken Soup..." or "...for Dummies" movement in books.

Universal Truths for Readers of All Ages

Children's books are often dismissed as a lesser form of literature when compared to books aimed at adult audiences. However, children's literature often contains universal truths that can benefit readers of all ages.

What the Dormouse Said: Lessons for Grown-ups from Children's Books, is a charming collection of literary quotations. Amy Gash first became interested in children's books after the birth of her son. She began to seek out good children's books after her son was old enough to request the same story over and over again. This was an act of self-preservation, one to which many parents can relate. Ms. Gash soon found that not only was she reading children's books to her son; she was also reading them for her own enjoyment. Along the way, she was able to glean wisdom for adult living from these tales intended for children.

The book covers subjects such as love and friendship, imagination, wisdom, courage, acceptance, nature, character and individuality, growing old and hidden truths. The quotations are from a wide variety of sources: Charlotte's Web, Mary Poppins, The Water-Babies, Ella Enchanted, The Little Prince, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Goodnight Moon, The Velveteen Rabbit, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Sarah, Plain and Tall; just to name a few. There are wonderful illustrations by Pierre Le-Tan interspersed throughout the book.

I read many of the books quoted in What the Dormouse Said as a child, more of them as an adult, and have discovered many titles that were new to me that I will seek out in the future. It's a delightful book for anyone who enjoys children's literature.

I'd like to close my review by sharing some of my favorite quotations from What the Dormouse Said with you:

"Each thing she learned became part of herself, to be used over and over in new adventures." -Gypsy, Kate Seredy

"Grownups sure do a lot of pretending and call it politeness." -Miss Charity Comes to Stay, Alberta Wilson Constant

"You saved me once, and what is given is always returned. We are in this world to help one another." -The Adventures of Pinocchio, C. Collodi

"The Dormouse sulkily remarked, `If you can't be civil, you'd better finish the story for yourself.'" -Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll

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treasure this

this is a book to treasure. Ms. Gash has done a remarkable job compiling it. I've purchased this book for at least a dozen of my male friends, and they're not even gay. Don't let this one fall between the cracks. The lessons are inspirational on many levels; Gash's selections, geared to adults, from the greatest children's books are consistently entertaining and thought-provoking, no small feat in these crazy, meaning-challenged times. I can't say enough about this unique, compelling book, unless I already have.

A Nice Little Book

A good concept & a nice little book. I'd like to see this idea expanded into a larger work, with more children's books used as sources, & with subject & title indices. It'd be even better then!

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Heart to soul...good snippets of thoughts.

Yes, you can go back home. Most of these quotes come from books that either I remember reading as a young girl or that I read to my sons when they were growing up. As an adult/grown-up they have an entirely new meaning and perception that is heartrendering at times and at others very up lifting. I liked it and have purchased another to pass along.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3

This one-of-a-kind collection reminds weary adults not to lose sight of the values and virtues they learned as kids. Here are over three hundred quotations from over two hundred well-loved children's books, such as Charlotte's Web, Peter Pan, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Eloise, Sounder, Number the Stars, and Goodnight Moon, organized by topic, among them Acceptance, Goodness, Family Woes, and Growing Old. On Silence: "I assure you that you can pick up more information when you are listening than when you are talking."--E. B.White, The Trumpet of the Swan. On Reverence: "Dying's part of the wheel, right there next to being born. . . . Being part of the whole thing, that's the blessing."--Natalie Babbitt, Tuck Everlasting.

With clever illustrations from Pierre Le-Tan, here is a book to share with a friend or keep by your own bedside. It's the perfect gift for your sister, your mother, your brother, your nephew, your kid's teacher, your daughter away at college, your son in the Navy, your mailman, your priest, for the old lady next door, or for the baby just born. Most importantly, give it to yourself. It will help you remember why you loved reading in the first place.

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