Don't laugh, but when I was a child, maybe 8 or 9 years old...I believed in 'little people.' Ok, not real little people, but in my imagination I created little persons about as tall as my finger. On one occasion, my friend and I invented our "boss" who was a little person inside the center bolt of our monkey handle bars on our banana seat bikes. I could see a tiny screen with a 'real' man's face looking back at me giving me the 'orders' of our "secret" mission. (And they say mini-screens on a wristwatch is a new thing-hah!)
I believe to this day my imagination was sparked by a book that I just adored: The Borrowers by Mary Norton. It fascinated me that this family named the Clocks secretly lived under the floor of a house that belonged to big people, or as the fourteen-year-old Arrietty Clock's character called, the "human beans." (great play on words, right?)
I cared about these characters right from the start. They had to 'borrow' from the Big People in order to survive. However, in their 'borrowing' an assortment of items from the house like mini-playhouse items, they could never be seen by the owners. Of course, Arrietty, the curious and adventurous one, wanted to be older than she was so she could be allowed by her mother to go out 'borrowing' amongst the human bean world but she had to prove herself ready for the task.
She finally gets the chance to 'borrow' in the real world of bigness and writes in her diary about the experiences (including contact with a human bean, "The Boy") Arietty learns a lot through the adventures of growing up. She understands that people can be selfish and mean or kindhearted and accepting.
I can't give away the ending of course, but the remnants it left in my creative conscious was immeasurable and fantastical. Books have the power, especially when a child, to expand your malleable mind. You learn about the power of words and concepts which spark vivid imaginations. Like, wow, little people--really? How cool was that!
"Hold on...what's that boss? Ok, I'll be right there...over and out."
--**A 'BIG' surprise next week--! Come back for a guest posting.