Kids often have a favorite storybook. It may even be the one they want to hear at night before they go to bed. After the book has seen the child tucked in many nights, heard their bedtime prayers, and felt their warm embraces, well, sometimes the cover just comes right off. It becomes so “well-loved” that it falls to pieces– a tattered version of its former self. I, for one, find great joy at the sight of a well-loved book. When I was teaching middle school, some library books were really popular. The students would quite literally read them to pieces. It was awesome.
My brother and I had such a book; one that was reduced to near shreds by frequent use. Our dad read it to us over and over again (we liked it because he did the voices and made faces). The story was a “Little Golden Book” called The Monster at the End of This Book. We awaited the reading of that book just as if we had never heard it before. It was new . . .every . . . single . . . time!
The best part about The Monster at the End of This Book was the time spent together reading it. That seemingly trivial story about a loveable blue monster who is afraid of what is on the next page has meant so much more over the years. Maybe it is one of those stories whose meaning changes the older that you get, too. Maybe, the purpose of Grover’s whimsical little episode was to teach us to “turn the pages” in our lives without fearing the “monsters.” Whatever the case, I am very thankful for that one tattered cover on a Little Golden Book.
~ Don't forget to join me next week for a special book trailer and the COVER REVEAL for Dunnigan!
