Picture Books and the Parent-Child Relationship - Essay Example

Parent-child relationship The imaginative world of the child is distinct from the adult world of realism. Children identify best with characters out of nature, such as animals and plants, which Nakov refers to as the “deeply felt animism of childhood” (Nakov, 2002:28). As the child grows up, there is a conflict that is experienced with its need to remain connected and protected by its parents, while at the same time experiencing the need for separation in order to develop its own distinct identity. The most important aspect that may be revealed through children’s stories for parents, is the need to recognize the world of the child, yet to also allow the child to develop its own identity as a separate individual, by allowing the child to experience and survive in the world. Children’s story books often use pastoral imagery and poetic inspiration as the means by which to expose the corruption of the world as viewed through the innocent eyes of the child. “If you run away, I will run after you,” says a mother bunny to her baby when he threatens to run away. The story of the Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown demonstrates the all encompassing warmth and protection of a mother’s love towards her baby and her need to protect her innocent child from the cruelties of the world. At the end of the story, the baby realizes how cherished and protected it is in its mother’s love. When the bunny grows up, the mother will have to let it go free and be independent and live its own life. But at a very young stage, children may need to be protected from the harsh realities of the world. As they grow up and learn more about the world, the protective hold of the parent on the child needs to slowly be withdrawn, even as the child slowly steps out from the world of fantasy and imagination into the reality of the world. This story is expressive of the needs of the child when it is very young, for a parent’s protective love and affection and for that connection with its parent, as reflected in the mother bunny always seeking out her child and bringing it back. Yet at the same time, by the constant act of running away, the baby rabbit also seeks to develop its own identity and expresses its need for individuation. Natov discusses the use of the body of the mother as a source for the aesthetic experiences that a child has as he or she experiences the world and learns to exist as a distinct, separate individual, experiencing the conflicts between the need for connection and the need for individuation (Natov 2002: 63-71). The mother serves as the steady base from which the child sets out on its adventures into the world, returning each time to the protective fold of the mother but venturing out further each time. The story of “The Velveteen Rabbit” by Margery Williams tells the story from a toy’s point of view, but also deals with the theme of love. It is the love of a child that makes the velveteen bunny “real” so that at the end of the story, he is transformed into a real bunny by a fairy. The need of a child for connection and love is expressed through this story of the rabbit’s yearning to be “real”, while at the same time, the child needs to be an individual, separate and distinct as its own person, which is what the rabbit becomes at the end of the story when it is no longer completely dependent upon the love of the child. “The Amazing bone” by William Steig on the other hand, reveals the existing split between the child’s world of imagination as it grows up and the grown up world of reality. This is an expression of the deepening conflict between the child’s needs for individuation and connection. The protagonist Pearl guesses that “she would tell about the talking bone, her mother would say ‘you’re only imagining it’, her father would agree, and then the bone would flabbergast them both by talking.” The concept of the talking bone is in itself a representation of the surreal, imaginative world of the child. Pearl seeks to express her separation from her parents and reveal her own identity when she fantasizes about how her parents, who belong to the world of all knowing grown ups, will have to accept her version of the truth when they hear the talking bone. The element of the pastoral in the literature of child is also demonstrated through this story, with the growing awareness of the child that the adult world is different from that of the child’s world of imagination and innocence. One of the best examples of the element of fantasy that runs through a child’s life is the story “In the Night kitchen”, in which the young boy Mickey floats down the stairs into the kitchen and accidentally falls into a magic cake that is being baked. He almost gets baked into it, but gets out in the nick of time, pouring some milk down to the bakers to make up for the deficiency in the batter from his absence in it. This story is a pure fantasy and illustrates how anything is possible in a child’s world. There is an unreal, dreamy quality about the entire story, as Mickey floats down to the kitchen and into the cake, and later floats up in an airplane to send the milk down to the bakers before falling into his bed. The story further expresses the child’s need for individuation, the need to set off on its own and explore the world. Mickey is a little boy, therefore in the real world, he is handicapped and cannot withdraw too far away from the protective base of his parents. But in a dream, he is able to survive quite well by himself, despite not having any clothes on and almost getting baked! According to Nakov, it is the child figure who is in touch with his innermost primal and truest feelings and the memories of childhood are often linked to these.(Nakov, 2002: 28). Almost all the stories mentioned above share the common thread of love which the child eagerly seeks and needs, yet demonstrate its need to also exist as a separate individual. References: * Natov, Roni, 2002. “The poetics of childhood.” New York and London: Routledge Read More