I’m going to be honest with you — I occasionally feel tearful when I read to my kids at bedtime, because some of the books we’ve been gifted are just so darn moving.
(I’ve also been known to cry on a dime over a sentimental TV commercial… Call me a sensitive soul!)
But perhaps there’s more to it than that. What if, when we read, our inner child is listening, too?
I often have a few books going at once, and sometimes there’s some unintentional overlap. A summer or so ago, I happened to be reading Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka while also reading and working through Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way.
In her book, Julia Cameron introduces us to the idea that our inner artist is a child, and having this framework helps us nurture our creativity. As I was enlightened to this concept, I was also learning about nurturing our actual spirited children (those wonderful kiddos who feel it all and love to live out loud).
Somewhere from within this parallel, it dawned on me:
Parenting books aren’t just supporting me in understanding and nurturing my children — they’re also supporting me in understanding and nurturing my own inner artist child.
This post isn’t about those books, though. Today, I thought I’d share some of our favourite children’s books.
They really do make beautiful gifts for the children in your life — summer is birthday season for us, so this has been on my mind a fair bit!
But I really wanted to share these to explore the idea that when we read with our children, maybe we’re also reading with our own inner child. In that sense, these are the children’s books that inspire my inner artist to notice, to wonder, to dream, and to believe.
May you find some inspiration here!
Outside In
I spend a lot of time indoors — more time than I like to admit — reading, painting, puzzling, and writing on my computer. I’m also an overthinker, so I’m often consumed by whatever new knot is unravelling in my mind.
But I’ve been absolutely enchanted by the call of nature lately, which is why this book has become so moving. The natural world has helped me pause, quiet my mind, and notice the magic that surrounds us.
“I’m here, Outside says. I miss you.
Outside is waiting—
the most patient playmate,
the most generous friend,
the most creative inventor.”
It was this book that recently inspired me to write this post, which captures some of the magic that Outside has brought in: Magic That Grows When You’re Not Even Looking
I don’t think I could describe it better than has already been done in the jacket cover:
“In lyrical language, best-selling author Deborah Underwood reminds us that very little separates us from Outside, and that we are all part of a much greater universe. Together with Cindy Derby’s emotive illustrations, Outside In evokes the beauty, simplicity, and wonder that awaits us all…
Outside.”
Outside is the steady presence that nurtures, that inspires, and that is always there to hold us — even when we’re so preoccupied with our busy lives that we forget it’s there.
“Outside waits… And we answer.”
Maybe
This book gets me every time. And actually, it brings to mind the James Allen quote, “The oak sleeps in the acorn, the bird waits in the egg, and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities.”
And our magical children absolutely vibrate with the potential of their greatest dreams.
Again, the book is described beautifully by its jacket cover:
“This is a story for everything you will do and everything you could be. It’s for who you are right now, and it’s for all the magical, unbounded potential you hold inside.”
As an adult reading this book to my kids, I’m always so moved. I also sense a contrast.
There’s the joy, the hope, the inspiration that I so deeply wish to pour into my daughters, and my innate desire to support them in their beautiful becoming.
There’s also the weight of duty, responsibility, and the pull to be palatable that adulthood ushered in for my own inner artist child to contend with. This book pulls me back to the moments before she felt like she had to grow up.
And encourages her to dream.
“Maybe, just maybe, you will exceed your wildest dreams…”
Do You Wonder?
Children are full of wonder and why’s, and if by chance you’ve forgotten what that was like, this book will remind you.
I feel like for some of us, there comes a point where we stop wondering because we just start having to know. So we become studious, or we fake it and withhold our questions, or we start overthinking everything to create a sense of security… Until there’s no room left to wonder.
But there’s room here. From the back cover:
“From the magic in a starry sky to a heart-lifting song, from frustration to friendship, and from everyday joys to life’s great mysteries, Wallace Edwards’s witty, absorbing art and words invite wonder, wondering and plenty of smiles.”
Possibly the most beautiful part of the book is actually quite subtle.
It’s the relationship between parent and child.
In the beginning of the book, a young raccoon stands with their parent, wondering about the mysteries of the sky. But in the following pages, we don’t see them — just the images crafted by the wandering imagination of a child, as though transported into other worlds.
It’s only on the final page that we return to the parent and child in a warm embrace.
It brings to mind how cultivating a safe, secure attachment with our children is actually what helps them take space from us to explore the world, curiously and confidently. As parents, we become not the figure of attachment, but the safe, reliable home base that a child knows they can return to.
And therefore it also reminds me of how cultivating safety within ourselves helps our creativity thrive and expand — it’s how we become limitless. That sense of internal safety is what helps the inner artist child flourish.
Sydney and Taylor
We’ll wrap it up on a fun one!
This series includes:
Sydney and Taylor Explore the Whole Wide World
Sydney and Taylor and the Great Friend Expedition
Sydney and Taylor Explore Take a Flying Leap
I love this series about an unlikely but long-time best-friendship between a rather contented skunk and an inventive and imaginative hedgehog. (My kids love this series too, of course — shockingly, my oldest has memorized entire chapters of these books.)
Sydney is typically reluctant to leave the coziness of their burrow (relatable, my guy), but Taylor frequently comes up with Big Ideas that stretch the pair out of their comfort zone.
When Sydney sees how important these Big Ideas are to Taylor, he eventually comes around, using his grounded planning and organizational skills to support Taylor in his ambitious ideas, even — and especially — when fear starts to set in.
(Does this sound like anyone else’s inner creative dialogue, or is it just me?)
Taylor’s enthusiasm paired with Sydney’s steadfast support takes them on adventures to accomplish the unfathomable: exploring the world, making new friends, and even… learning to fly?
The series beautifully explores what true friendship, self-acceptance, and moving through fear to chase big dreams really look like. They’re fun adventures full of lessons I’m more than happy to impart upon my daughters, and a great big hug for the creative mind.
But for me, personally? Sydney is my inner accountant who likes the status quo, procedures, and safety. Taylor is like my inner creative, always ideating, wondering, but sometimes afraid to try new things — especially when the accountant just wants to stay home.
Somehow over the last few years, the two have indeed become friendly and learned to lean into their strengths to support each other. The creative pushes past fear, the accountant steps outside the comfort zone, and together they get to experience what dream chasing is really like.
Thank you for reading — this was a fun one to write! Now I’m curious…
Have you read any of these?
Do you ever feel like your inner child is listening too?
If you have any favourite books you’d like to add, please feel free to share them here!
Originally published on Substack.
