Home from Europe after two amazing, fun-filled weeks in Spain and London. A delight for my senses while immersed in new adventures. There is profound beauty in diverse cultures; art, music, food, worship, buildings, museums, history, and much more. Yet, with the many differences, I realize much is the same.
For the love of literacy
Bookstores beckon me! It's true here in America and in other countries, as well. We stumbled on an adorable corner store one afternoon in Granada, Spain. Immediately I rushed to the display of children's books— treasures of brightly colored covers filled with Spanish. And that's when I saw El Monstruo de Colores by @annallenas. I opened it up and flipped thru the pages; yes, this was the one. I purchased and tucked it into my bag before heading to the Alhambra Palace. (see photos)
An evening read
In Spain, dinner is after 8 p.m., allowing one to cool off, enjoy a tinto de verano, and relax before the evening meal. It also creates time for something leisurely like reading a book. El Monstruo de Colores, in this instance. Eager to share my book with my daughter, in my very best Spanish, I proceeded to read and translate the story. The emotional creativity in this story is endearing, and I admit I shed a few tears as I read. An adorable monster has his colorful emotions mixed up, but his sweet little friend helps him get it all sorted out. I love happy endings!
Emotions translated
I finished the story with an epiphany. The language of emotion always translates the same way!
In any language:
joy is joy
fear is fear
anger is anger
sadness is sadness
tranquility is tranquility
excitement is excitement
LOVE is LOVE
Lasting lesson
Children's books are great for teaching lessons! Many essential life learnings are made beautifully simple in kids' stories. That's one reason I'm an advocate of reading to littles. But there are also important things for adults to glean. My wonderfully diverse experiences in Europe reinforced my belief that we are more alike than different. I hope you believe so, too!