The Power of the Picture Book: Aliza Werner

When I was born, a pink-cheeked rag doll wearing sky blue overalls was placed in my crib. Her blue bonnet circled her face, and her blue eyes had a permanent twinkle in them. She unsurprisingly was formally named Blue Doll, but went by her nickname, Bluie. For years, she never left my side.

She was there for every car ride, vacation, and bedtime.

She was my plaything, my confidant, my friend, and my security.

I soothed my fears and blotted my tears, chewing on the tip of her bonnet.

She’s traveled the world and gone to college.

After many years of love and hugs and an unfortunate incident that had her on the spin cycle in the washing machine, her fabric has faded, her legs are precariously attached, and a hole the size of my worries gapes in her bonnet. No one brought me more comfort, knew more of my secrets, or was more of a friend to her introverted person than Bluie. A doll made of no more than fabric, cotton stuffing, and a bit of rubber was, and still is, priceless to me. Despite the Fisher Price product tag dangling from her leg, I knew then, as I do now, that there is only one Bluie in the world. Many people do not know this, but I do…

she

is

real.

The world may think she is just a worn out rag doll. To me, she has always been real.

Last year, I read a picture book that perfectly described how a child’s doll or imaginary friend can exist in a space that blurs imagination and reality. It defies definition. In Henry & Leo by Pamela Zagarenski, a young boy, Henry, loses his stuffed lion, Leo, one day in the woods. As his mother tucks him into bed, he worries:

“Leo will be scared,” Henry told his mother.

“Henry, Leo is not real. He is real only in your imagination,” said Mama…

Henry knew that his family just didn’t understand what it truly meant to be real. To Henry, Leo was as real as his mother, his father, and his sister. As real as a tree, a cloud, the sun, the moon, the stars, and the wind. As real as a flower, a bee, a bird, a fox, a pebble, a brook, an ocean, or a whale. Leo was his best friend. Like a brother. They loved each other. They took care of each other. That’s real.

This resonated within me like a heartbeat. As adults, we read fantasies and fairy tales to our children, all of us aware of their fiction. But the undeniable magic of picture books transpires when we recognize that fictional characters ignite authentic feelings in readers.

Picture books transcend their fiction when a reader’s emotional response is very, very real.

Picture books are not just good for our imaginations, they are necessary for our hearts.

Picture books are a rehearsal for life. They give children a chance to experience feelings of joy, loss, and wonder in a safe space, before trying them out in the world.

We read to children about...

Elephants and piggies, so they understand the dynamics of friendship.

Mice with purple plastic purses, so they know tomorrow is another day.

Jabari jumping off the diving board, so they can face their fears.

Most people, so they realize there is more good than evil in this world.

Each kindness, so they see that words and inaction have consequences.

Worms loving other worms, so they recognize that love is love.

A bus on Market Street, so they are grateful for the beauty in everyday moments.

Dennis and Joy, so they learn how to be a friend.

Keyana loving her hair, so they have mirrors of their lives and windows to others’.

Land narwhals and sea unicorns, so they can smash labels and be their true selves.

Ten good things about Barney, so they discover that loss and death is a part of life.

Humpty Dumpty after his fall, so they witness resilience.

Knights who slay dragons, so they can slay their own dragons someday.

The child who loses his stuffed lion, so they believe that he is worth finding.

There is a moment in Dan Santat’s The Adventures of Beekle when Beekle is finally imagined by his human friend Alice. Through their play and adventures “the world began to feel a little less strange”. And isn’t that what we want for all of our children? To say the world can be overwhelming and immense and intimidating, but it can also be big and wide and wonderful. So, hold tight to your Bluie, your Beekle, your Leo.

Let’s practice facing and embracing the world together.

Let’s read a picture book.

“Real isn't how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.” -The Velveteen Rabbit

*****

Aliza Werner (@alizateach) is a 3rd grade teacher in Southeastern Wisconsin. She serves on the Wisconsin State Reading Association’s Children’s Literature Committee. Aliza is a Curriculum Writer at Milwaukee Film, and also does year-round work on their Youth Education and Children’s Film Screening Committees. You can read more of her writing on her collaborative blog Classroom Communities. She is passionate about building diverse classroom libraries that provide all children with windows and mirrors, and she is a fierce advocate for choice, access, and time to read. World traveler, reader, photographer, dog mom, and wife.