Stories for children’s souls
December 12, 2004 | 12:00am
I love to read and my children love stories. But it isn’t easy to find good books for them. By good books I mean stories that enliven the imagination; not the kind that fill my children’s developing minds with empty or too-intellectual concepts. I also look for beautiful, soft illustrations that please the senses.
When I put my children in the Waldorf school, I became ever more aware of the kind of images young children should be exposed to and how it affects their soul life and overall development. So I became more careful about choosing books. Each time I traveled, I bought them books from Waldorf-affiliated bookstores and websites. These books always take into consideration age-appropriateness and the illustrations are almost always breathtaking.
My son and I are now reading Mary’s Little Donkey, which is a book of Advent stories about an unloved, lazy donkey that quickly blossoms into a hardworking, intelligent animal under Mary’s appreciation and affection. Then there’s the beautifully illustrated The Selfish Giant of Oscar Wilde; the story of a cold giant who is transformed and inwardly warmed by his encounter with the Christ Child. Another favorite is The Little Troll, which is a story about a troll who longs to be human. He begins by doing good deeds and helping humans, is cast out by his fellow trolls for becoming different, and is finally welcomed into the Christmas service by human beings. It is a beautiful story of every individual’s struggle to overcome his lower nature and meet his spiritual task. There is also a wonderful book on the alphabet called The Living Alphabet which is the opposite of the A=Apple formula. In this book, different objects that begin with specific letters are drawn into a cohesive picture. The objects are not labeled and are simply incorporated into a picture so that the child can have fun identifying them. In this way, he learns the alphabet in a living way and not just through a dead and one-dimensional intellectual process.
Then there are also the classics: Grimm’s Fairy Tales and Hans Christian Andersen. These stories have been translated and retold by so many, but there are some versions that remain true to the original. The illustrations are still alive. The more modern ones tend to be too cartoonish and the literary modifications take away from the spiritual symbolisms. In his book, The Wisdom of Fairy Tales, Rudolf Meyer says, "The characters in the fairy-tales led us to discover the treasures in our own souls. We became instinctively aware of the sorrows of life and the guidance of destiny. Through them we learned that faithfulness makes the soul beautiful; that purity is the soul’s highest joy and that only in poverty does its inmost radiance begin to shine. Through these characters we understood and accepted much against which our minds, blunted and mulish in later years, began to rebel." His words tell us that fairy tales are not just empty tales, but guiding stories that help us create inner pictures of higher soul qualities.
I love these stories because they speak deeply of spiritual realities in subtle but meaningful ways. They inspire my children to create soul pictures that are like seeds of wisdom and truth. When a story is simple but meaningful, my children are quiet even after the last word is uttered. It’s almost as if they are lingering in an after-image created within the soul. I never interrupt them when they are in this special place and give them all the time they need to stay there.
The market is flooded with children’s books but very few of them address the innocent, inner world of the child. Some of them are too intellectual and the images are, quite frankly, ugly and grotesque: children with giant eyes and teeth, sporting various unnatural facial expressions. There are too many silly stories that have little or no redeeming value that belong solely to the realm of superficial entertainment. Then there are stories that mean to teach values but are too literal and worse, they moralize. It is through creative pictures that we can best reach our young children, not through intellectual admonition. Stories that are flat and literal leave us feeling dissatisfied and empty. They give fixed pictures and do nothing to nourish a very important, higher level of cognition that, if left intact and undamaged by negative influences, is very much alive in children: the imagination.
In my unending quest for books for my children, I’ve decided to make it part of my task to make these and other similar books available to other parents and children. I also have books on parenting and child development and several other literary treasures for adults. These and other titles are currently available at Ink & Stone at the Podium and A Different Bookstore at Eastwood. They will be back at the Manila Waldorf School (#3 Vinzons St., Heroes Hills, Quezon City) every Friday after January 10.
A few days ago, my son and I were sorting book orders. He was diligently wiping each book with a soft rag and I couldn’t help but notice how carefully he handled them. Every few minutes he would open one and very quietly scan the pages. Suddenly, he exclaimed, "I love books!" The expression of pure delight on his face was precious. I looked at him on the floor, little rag in hand, working happily amid a sea of books and I thought, hey, I must be on to something good.
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When I put my children in the Waldorf school, I became ever more aware of the kind of images young children should be exposed to and how it affects their soul life and overall development. So I became more careful about choosing books. Each time I traveled, I bought them books from Waldorf-affiliated bookstores and websites. These books always take into consideration age-appropriateness and the illustrations are almost always breathtaking.
My son and I are now reading Mary’s Little Donkey, which is a book of Advent stories about an unloved, lazy donkey that quickly blossoms into a hardworking, intelligent animal under Mary’s appreciation and affection. Then there’s the beautifully illustrated The Selfish Giant of Oscar Wilde; the story of a cold giant who is transformed and inwardly warmed by his encounter with the Christ Child. Another favorite is The Little Troll, which is a story about a troll who longs to be human. He begins by doing good deeds and helping humans, is cast out by his fellow trolls for becoming different, and is finally welcomed into the Christmas service by human beings. It is a beautiful story of every individual’s struggle to overcome his lower nature and meet his spiritual task. There is also a wonderful book on the alphabet called The Living Alphabet which is the opposite of the A=Apple formula. In this book, different objects that begin with specific letters are drawn into a cohesive picture. The objects are not labeled and are simply incorporated into a picture so that the child can have fun identifying them. In this way, he learns the alphabet in a living way and not just through a dead and one-dimensional intellectual process.
Then there are also the classics: Grimm’s Fairy Tales and Hans Christian Andersen. These stories have been translated and retold by so many, but there are some versions that remain true to the original. The illustrations are still alive. The more modern ones tend to be too cartoonish and the literary modifications take away from the spiritual symbolisms. In his book, The Wisdom of Fairy Tales, Rudolf Meyer says, "The characters in the fairy-tales led us to discover the treasures in our own souls. We became instinctively aware of the sorrows of life and the guidance of destiny. Through them we learned that faithfulness makes the soul beautiful; that purity is the soul’s highest joy and that only in poverty does its inmost radiance begin to shine. Through these characters we understood and accepted much against which our minds, blunted and mulish in later years, began to rebel." His words tell us that fairy tales are not just empty tales, but guiding stories that help us create inner pictures of higher soul qualities.
I love these stories because they speak deeply of spiritual realities in subtle but meaningful ways. They inspire my children to create soul pictures that are like seeds of wisdom and truth. When a story is simple but meaningful, my children are quiet even after the last word is uttered. It’s almost as if they are lingering in an after-image created within the soul. I never interrupt them when they are in this special place and give them all the time they need to stay there.
The market is flooded with children’s books but very few of them address the innocent, inner world of the child. Some of them are too intellectual and the images are, quite frankly, ugly and grotesque: children with giant eyes and teeth, sporting various unnatural facial expressions. There are too many silly stories that have little or no redeeming value that belong solely to the realm of superficial entertainment. Then there are stories that mean to teach values but are too literal and worse, they moralize. It is through creative pictures that we can best reach our young children, not through intellectual admonition. Stories that are flat and literal leave us feeling dissatisfied and empty. They give fixed pictures and do nothing to nourish a very important, higher level of cognition that, if left intact and undamaged by negative influences, is very much alive in children: the imagination.
In my unending quest for books for my children, I’ve decided to make it part of my task to make these and other similar books available to other parents and children. I also have books on parenting and child development and several other literary treasures for adults. These and other titles are currently available at Ink & Stone at the Podium and A Different Bookstore at Eastwood. They will be back at the Manila Waldorf School (#3 Vinzons St., Heroes Hills, Quezon City) every Friday after January 10.
A few days ago, my son and I were sorting book orders. He was diligently wiping each book with a soft rag and I couldn’t help but notice how carefully he handled them. Every few minutes he would open one and very quietly scan the pages. Suddenly, he exclaimed, "I love books!" The expression of pure delight on his face was precious. I looked at him on the floor, little rag in hand, working happily amid a sea of books and I thought, hey, I must be on to something good.
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