How to Tell Time

a Little Golden Book 

By Jane Werner Watson

Pictures by Eleanor Dart

copyright 1957

A recent trip to the local Savers thrift store resulted in a wave of nostalgia.  I found a copy of the same book that I used as a young child learning to tell time.  This was, of course, before the days of digital clocks and watches.  The real excitement about this book is the movable plastic hands inside the front cover.  

The book tells the story of Tommy O’Toole, nicknamed Tommy-Too-Late by his family.  One day, Tommy’s father brought home a gift for his son.  It was a watch, just like Daddy’s!  Now, Tommy could learn how to tell time so he would never be late again.

 

What I remember most about reading this book, other than being able to move the little clock hands, is the dawning realization that different families lived differently than mine.  I can recall asking my mother why Tommy left for school at 8:00 every morning, came home at 3:00, and went to bed at 7:00 in the evening.  Silly!  That wasn’t how my family lived!  It may have been my first step in accepting the many differences in the way people live their lives. 

Later on, during my grade school years, there were many more opportunities to experience different lifestyles.  I would go to a friend’s house for the first time and be offered a food that I had never had before but was commonplace in their home.  “What are those orange things?” I asked.  My friend laughed at me and said they were sweet potatoes, of course.  I would invite someone to my house and wonder why they were surprised to see my many siblings coming and going.  I was used to having many other brothers and sisters, but to some it could be overwhelming.  

For some reason, I remember one incident very clearly.  When seeing a school friend’s bedroom for the first time I was flabbergasted at the large number of pairs of shorts in her dresser drawer.  You mean some people owned more than two pairs of shorts?  I had no idea! I thought one for gym class and one for play was all anyone ever needed.

What did I learn from these little lessons?  We may have many, many differences in our home lives and daily routines.  But deep down, those differences don’t matter.  We are all the same in the ways that really matter!