Just a Box?

By Goldie Taub Chernoff

Pictures by Margaret Hartelius

Copyright 1971

My children are in their twenties, yet we still have a playroom full of toys.  Some of these toys are homemade, some are gifts from Christmases and birthdays past, some are pre-loved toys we found at garage sales or flea markets, and some have now been enjoyed by two generations of children.  My Fisher Price Little People Schoolhouse and Mike’s box of Matchbox cars still sit out on the shelf.  These are all well-loved toys that come with happy memories.  Still, when we get together and talk about the “old days”, one of the best memories comes from an amazing two-story maze and fort fabricated from a set of huge cardboard boxes that kitchen cabinets were shipped in.  For a few months, the basement was taken over by this fort and many happy hours were spent literally getting lost in it.  

This book, Just a Box?, is from my personal childhood collection.  I can remember looking at it often, and trying a few of the ideas.  I’m sure I made a couple of the paper cup tepees, and I think I tried my hand at a puppet or two.   The idea is, of course, that a child doesn’t need expensive store bought toys when they have the chance to use her imagination.  

A cardboard box is a blank slate.  It can be anything you want it to be.  A Little Tykes play house is basically used only as a playhouse.  A plain box is a playhouse, a rocket ship, a train, a hiding place, a castle, or a cave.

We have some new neighbors next door – a family with several young children who like to play outside.  They have a whole row of store-bought toys lined up along the side of the yard.  What do they play with?  The sticks that they beg for from our yard.  I think we will save the next large box we get for them.  
 

The toy marketing industry tries to tell us otherwise, but we know the truth.  Children prefer playing with boxes than the toys that come in them.  A store bought toy has one use.  A cardboard box can be unlimited.

Arthur's Nose

By Marc Brown

Copyright 1976

If a person is caring for young children day in and day out, they will likely end up watching some PBS shows.  Way back in the sixties and seventies, the options were fairly limited.  I remember watching a lot of Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers, and then a little later, Electric Company and Zoom.  By the time my children were watching PBS, we had quite a few more options.  Barney, The Big Comfy Couch, and Thomas the Tank Engine had joined the mix.  While many children’s shows can drive an adult crazy with their goofy plots and silly songs, one show was actually a joy to watch.  Arthur, based on the books by Marc Brown, tells the story of 8-year-old Arthur the Aardvark and his diverse group of anthropomorphic animal friends and classmates.

This book, Arthur’s Nose, was the very first Arthur book ever written.  It is a story with a wonderful message for children:  you are fine just the way you are – don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.  The plot is simple. Arthur is teased by his friends for his huge, aardvark nose.  He decides to go to the doctor to get a new nose.  But, after checking out all of his choices, he decides to keep the nose he has.  His friends are happy about his decision, because it turns out that they like him just the way he is.

Over the course of our adult lives, we grow and transform in many ways.  Our natural talents develop and we begin look at things from different angles.  Marc Brown is no different.  Over the years, the way he depicted his characters developed and changed.  The irony in the story of Arthur’s Nose is that by the time the PBS show aired, Marc Brown had given Arthur a nose job.  His aardvark-like nose is completely gone and has been replaced by a pair of small nostrils.  

And so for me, the lesson in this story is not one of self-acceptance, but one of continual growth and change.  Just because things have always been a certain way doesn’t mean they should stay that way.  As we continue to learn and discover and develop our talents, we may find a better way of doing things – and that’s okay!

  

 

Peter Pan

by J. M. Barrie

this edition designed by MinaLima

2015

I read the novel Peter Pan for the first time last week.  Finding this irresistible new version with maps and pop-outs is what convinced me to give it a try.  I’ve seen the animated Disney Peter Pan multiple times, and I’m also familiar with the stage play.  The story was originally written as a stage play in 1904 and not until 1911 did J.M. Barrie turn it into a novel.  Both versions tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievous boy who refuses to grow up, Wendy Darling and her younger brothers John and Michael, and their adventures with the Lost Boys in Neverland.

What captured my attention most while reading the novel is the extra insight we get into the character of Tinker Bell.  In the play and movie, Tinker Bell’s voice is a delicate little bell ringing.  In the book, however, we get to hear the words she is saying, and it is often quite snarky.  In fact, her favorite insult for Peter is, “You silly ass.”  This is what she responds to Peter when he questions why she drank the poison that was meant for him.  Peter is so self-absorbed he is never aware of Tinker Bell’s love for him and doesn’t understand her selfless act.  

I love the explanation of the origin of fairies:  

“When the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies.”  And now each time a baby laughs for the first time, a new fairy is born. 

I also love Barrie’s reasoning behind Tinker Bell’s mood swings.  A fairy’s body is so small that there is only room for one emotion at a time.  Thus, she is all jealousy, all anger, or all love with no capability of tempering the emotions.  

 

According to the story of Peter Pan, fairies cannot exist unless people believe in them.  Likewise, people cannot fly without fairy dust.  What have I learned from reading Peter Pan?  Growing up is all well and good.  Peter, forever a boy, was selfish and lonely.  What is not good is losing your imagination.  We need to find the perfect balance:  Feet planted firmly on the ground, with the mind and spirit able to soar.

Grimms’ Fairy Tales

Illustrated by Fritz Kredel

Copyright 1945

Why do we read fairy tales to children?  The stories can be so frightening and brutal.  Then, somehow, no matter how hopeless the situation seems, a happily ever after usually follows. 

 

It is because we can’t shelter children from the cruelty that exists. 

 

Pain and loss and heartache are real.  Fairytales confirm this fact. A terrible curse, an evil witch, a cruel step-mother – the form of evil may change, but is usually present.  Compare that to war, natural disasters, bullies – unavoidable evils will always exist in the real world.

But there is also good – the good fairy, the kind prince, the helpful animals.   Compare to the kindness of friends or family, beauty in nature, selflessness of strangers.  The good can always be found.

This is why we read fairy tales to children. 

We can’t block the evil from their lives, but we can give them hope of a happily ever after.