As we wait optimistically for sunny skies, warmer weather, and happier days to come, we look to February as the month of heart and hope. With this in mind, calm and clarity will surely come. Taking the time to focus on people and things we care about is a good way to do this.
As we have learned over the past months, people and pets have helped us to navigate our emotions, stresses, and difficulties. With this in mind, let’s explore some books can help us to reflect and connect.
It is often through the simplest things that we get clarity. Board books for young children are a great place to start. Through limited words and engaging illustrations they can touch our heart and make us smile. I Love You (Workman, New York, 2020, $6.95), by Richard Austin and featuring the Teacup Pigs of Pennywell Farm, will be quick to capture your heart. In these few pages we can see ourselves in the antics of these adorable little animals and it is easy to make connections between them and those we care about.
During our recent isolation, we have learned much about the importance of human touch to reassure and to show love and caring. I Love You So: A Book of Hugs (Silver Dolphin Books, San Diego, 2020, $7.99), by Patricia Hegarty and illustrated by Thomas Elliot, is a gentle board book with flaps that reveal surprises and reassurances for young children and their caregivers. As the young ones set off to explore the world, behind each flap is one who loves them and is always close by to watch over them and be ready to embrace them when they return. Knowing loving arms and intentions are there to protect them during these difficult times is essential for children (and adults) to thrive.
The adorable animal characters in the lift-the-flap board book You’re My Little Snuggle Bear (Silver Dolphin Books, San Diego, 2020, $8.99), written by Nicola Edwards and illustrated by Natalie Marshall, is another positive way to send messages to children that they will be loved and protected. Nothing is more reassuring to our little ones than knowing that someone who loves them is close by as they settle in the for the evening. As they release the busyness of their day and begin to drift off to sleep, little mouse, fox, bear, raccoon, and owl have a loving parent to watch over them and to cuddle with. The presence of protection and touch is another way to signal how much they are loved, and this book is perfect to share at the end of the day.
“I saw your sweet smile and I knew from the start, I’d love you forever with all of my heart.” These word begin With All My Heart (Silver Dolphin Books, San Diego, 2020, $15.99), written by Stephanie Stansbie and illustrated by Richard Smythe, and is a wonderful way to help children understand just how love happens. As years pass, seasons change, and memories are made, love grows deeper and stronger until, “Wherever you are, even when we’re apart… I’ll love you forever with all of my heart.” Whether read to a child or shared with relative, a friend or a partner, this reassuring book is perfect for expressing the power, importance, and endurance of a loving relationship.
Even though we have been physically kept apart from loved ones, the Internet has provided ways to connect. Through platforms such as Zoom or FaceTime we are able to see and share our lives with those whom we care about. While we may not be able to “reach out and touch someone,” we can send messages of love and caring online and with deliveries of cards, flowers, books, and other gifts of love.
Think about those you love, care for, and miss and the ways you might let them know you are thinking of them. Getting together on a screen or through a window to share a book, a card, memories, or thoughts might be the next best thing to a loving touch.
If you want to touch the past, touch a rock.
If you want to touch the present, touch a flower.
If you want to touch the future, touch a life…
— Author Unknown
Dr. Donna Phillips is an associate professor in the College of Education at Niagara University where her specialty is literacy and children’s literature. She lives on Grand Island, NY and is the mother of two adult children and the grandmother of one.