The first book is "The Berenstain Bears Learn about Strangers"
In the story Mama and Papa Bear teach Brother and Sister Bear about strangers. After the discussion, Sister Bear, who normally has a sunshiny disposition toward everyone, starts to see everyone as suspicious or dangerous. In a discussion about people with Mama Bear, Sister Bear learns that you can't always tell whether a person is good or bad from their appearances, it's what is on the inside that determines whether a person is a good apple or bad apple. Later Brother Bear abandons caution when a man offers to take him to a field to show Brother Bear his remote control airplane. Sister Bear intervenes and the man leaves; later, Sister Bear tells Mama and Papa what happened and more discussion ensues about being cautious and following the rules about strangers. The book ends with the "Brother and Sister's Rules for Cubs." It is a great book to teach children about stranger awareness, but that isn't what I learned.
Every time I heard or read the story I found myself fascincated by the discussion between Mama and Sister about good and bad apples and how you can't always determine the kind of person someone is from the way they look. It resonated within me, this idea that things aren't always what they seem, that there is always more to person than how they look on the outside, and that it is what is on the inside, in the heart the determines who a person is. Because of this lesson and outlook, I have often found that my friends and those I associate with come from a wide variety of backgrounds, interests, and belief systems. The attractiveness of a person lies in who they are and what is in their heart rather than who they appeared to be on the outside. This awareness also encouraged a compassion that helped me see past the exterior and learn that everyone struggles with something, no one has it all put together one-hundred percent of the time.
It was one little book intent on teaching children stranger awareness, for me it opened me to a world of people and possibilities.
The other book that left a lasting impression is "Junk Day on Juniper Street"
The only copy of this book I have ever seen is the one my grandparents gave me. The book is a collection of stories, all of them a little bit different than any other children's stories I had read, but it was the first one, "Junk Day on Juniper Street," that left the lasting impression. The story starts with all the neighbors on Juniper Street deciding to have a big cleaning day where everyone cleans out all the junk from their house. The junk from each house is placed on the curb in front of a house awaiting the trash man to pick it up. As one of the neighbor kids is walking down the street he sees something in a neighbor's junk pile that he really wants, so he takes it home; this sets off a chain reaction and soon neighbors are going through each other's piles and taking home new-to-them treasures. By the time the trash man arrives the only thing left is an oversized rocking chair, which happens to be the exact right size for the trash man.
This story left a huge impact on me in a way that has stayed with me my whole life. Long before it was popular and chic to renovate, DIY, and refurbish, before the days of Pinterest and blogs that taught ushered in the era of turning old into new, this book taught me the value of "one man's trash is another man's treasure." I am a dumpster diver at heart, and, according to my recent connection with extended family, it is an inherited trait. Imagine the thrill and delight I felt when I learned that my great aunt, who is well over 70, broke her rib dumpster diving just a few years ago. I also learned that her daughters, my second cousins, were expert trash-into-treasure makers and dumpster divers as well. This book not only awoke a life-long passion but also connected me to my past. That's a lot for a silly little children's story!
So the next time you sit down to read a story to a child, perhaps ask them what they love about the book, they just may surprise you with their unique perspective.
