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Self Esteem cultivated by bedtime stories

I've been searching for this book FOREVER

By Wendy SandersPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
5
Self Esteem cultivated by bedtime stories
Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash

I grew up in the 1980's. My mom was a single mom trying to raise me in a very expensive part of southern California. She had to work very long hours to support us. The most cherished time of my childhood was story time before bed. It was a special time for more than just the time I got to spend with my mother and have her undivided attention. She hated to read.

When she was a child, one of her worst fears was being called on in class to read aloud. The fact that she would take the time she would have probably liked to have to herself, she gave to me, doing something she really didn't enjoy doing. I didn't understand her selflessness until I was much older. But it made this time she gave to me so much more special.

Like every young kid, I had that ONE favorite book. The book that every parent who reads to their kids will read thousands of times until it literally begins to succumb to the elements and biodegrade. This book was designed to develop self esteem and empathy in children by making them the hero in every story. The book had a blank line to write your child's name in the story every time it was needed.

The cover was a watercolor illustration, with a man in a long coat, looking at the night sky through a telescope (I'm fairly certain). It was a paper back. In each story, there was some kind of lesson embedded that taught children how to cope with negative emotions, become empathetic, kind, and strong individuals. Its was AMAZING. However, I can't for the life of me remember the title. I have searched google hundreds of times trying to find it with no luck.

My favorite story in the book was about a monster, who I think was meant to represent fear, anxiety, anger, and maybe even sadness. The monster is big and scary in the beginning, as most monsters can be. The hero (me), discovers that this monster doesn't like pepper because it makes them sneeze. Each time it sneezes, it gets smaller and less scary. When I make this discovery, I save the day by getting some pepper, and I blow it into it's face like pixie dust. Sure enough, the monster sneezes and gets smaller. I continue to blow the pepper in the monster's face, it continues to sneeze and shrink until it's not a monster at all. It's just a frightened little creature that only wants to be loved and cared for. It want's me to become it's friend. Realizing that this monster is just like me when I am scared, sad or lonely makes me empathetic to the monster, and I take its hand to comfort it. In the end we become friends and everyone is saved, hooray.

This book was my life from before I could read myself until my mom threw it out with a bunch of stuff she thought was junk, including a first edition, hand illustrated copy of The Night Before Christmas from 1932, (which I still haven't entirely forgiven her for). I have wanted to rewrite this book for the children of today, but I before I do, I want to get my hands on a copy of this book which was largely responsible for molding me into the person I am today.

Is there ANYONE out there who may have had a copy of this book? I was born in 1980, and I cannot remember a moment in my early childhood where I did not have this book in my life. It baffles me that I cannot remember the title of this book to save my life, but I can see the cover of the book in my mind in every detail. It was rectangular long ways, meaning wider than it was tall. Pastel colors on the cover. One man (or person) gazing at the night sky. They were standing on a grassy hill. I think they had a telescope (no tripod but hand held).

Unfortunately that one story and the cover of the book is all I can remember at this time. If anyone who reads this knows this book, PLEASE share it on my twitter page @MissWendy1980. I would be forever grateful. Although the book was a children's book, I think some adults could benefit from the lessons it imparts. It was truly and might always be my most favorite and treasured book, and I think about it quite often.

As always, thank you for reading. Until next time, take care of yourself and be kind to one another. If you enjoyed this piece, give it a heart if you like, a tip if you're feeling generous. Tips are always appreciated but never expected. Truly, the best tip or reward for writing this would be finding someone who knows what book this is and where I can find it. For that reason alone, I would be overjoyed if you shared this story with as many people as possible. Hopefully someone out there might be able to reunite me with this favorite book of mine. Again, thank you for reading, and take care.

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About the Creator

Wendy Sanders

I was born to create. I am an artist and writer from the central coast of California with a dash of the Deep South and a pinch of the pacific northwest for extra flavor. Follow me @MissWendy1980 on twitter

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