The Reluctant Dragon

"Rules always come right if you wait quietly."

25 years ago Michael Hague illustrated Kenneth Grahame's (The Wind in the Willows) The Reluctant Dragon. Even Middle School kids enjoy this fable if you read it well.

Family valued

"In an age in which one can be sure of only one thing-change-the family circle gives the child an anchor of stability and security in the midst of spatial geographic bounds, technological innovations, and social upheavals. It is important that some children's literature emphasize family unity since a child usually is neither consciously aware of, nor appreciative of, the feeling of togetherness in his own family. If the young reader unfortunately is not a member of a closeknit family in his own environment, it might motivate him to value and desire strong family interrelationship when he, in his turn, is an adult and has children of his own."
Julie Carson, writing about her mother's books for children in 1968. Quoted in Hoffman, Authors and Illustrators of Children's Books.

What about you? Did hearing or reading children's books that featured strong family relationships help you to value them in your own life?