My little guy hardly looks like a “sensitive outsider” in this picture, and he’s not really. He’s as cheeky as they come.

So I suppose this book could really be for anyone who has ever felt they have something to offer, but no one around them seems to appreciate or understand.

Frederick, by Leo Lionni, is the story of a mouse who is a bit out of place in his family, but finds transcendence through words and imagination when he and his family face hunger during a long winter.

The other day, my three-year-old found it, and when I read it to him, I couldn’t stop crying. It’s one of those books where the words are very simple, very straightforward. And yet, as you read it, you know the story is speaking volumes between its pages. It resonates, and you believe that somehow, it will leave you better off for having read it.

What books resonate for you like that?

5 Responses to “frederick, a universal story for the sensitive outsider”

1. Tanya says:

   2 August 2009 at 12:08 pm

   Love you forever Gets me everytime!
2. Connie (the write one) says:

   2 August 2009 at 8:34 pm

   For me, it’s Corduroy. It’s the only book my mother never got tired of reading to me when I was little, and we wore the cover off. When my nephew, the oldest grandchild, was born, I bought a new copy for my mom and she sat in her rocking chair holding him and reading, while I sat across the room and watched my family grow.

   By the way, if Charlie gets any cuter….
3. Elia@feedyoursister says:

   11 November 2010 at 3:07 pm

   I love the book “Love You Forever” It gets me every time, and because I’m a teacher for young children I know they love it too, and they really understand the meaning of love!! I’ll have to read Frederick soon!
4. amelia says:

   1 September 2011 at 5:04 pm

   i sat in a bookstore and read Oh the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seusse, and it touched me just like you say. maybe it was the place i was in at the time. i don’t know…

   there are also all those Max Lucado books, with the gorgeous illustrations.
5. Jaime {sophistimom} says:

   6 September 2011 at 9:40 am

   Thanks for your comment, Amelia. Those are good books. I was reading a great one the other day, but now I can’t remember what it was!