Digressions: My Life in 500 Words or Less
Updated: Aug 12, 2021
Yesterday, as I was doing some rearranging in my home, I came across a book I had bought probably some 20 years ago. I had searched for it and found it on Ebay after remembering how much I enjoyed it as a kid.
The book is “Curious Critters” by Patricia Lauber. It has a 1969 copyright date.
I remember flipping through the pages, fascinated by the imaginatively mythical creatures between the covers. I read about the elusive Argopelter and eternally sad Squonk, the camera-shy Club-tailed Glyptodont and the tourist-snatching Slide-rock Bolter.
Each entry in the catalogue of mysterious critters was illustrated and included a description of each beast’s characteristics. The entries read like tall tales told around a camp fire. As a kid, this was the kind of stuff I hungrily devoured.
Not so long after acquiring “Curious Critters” I decided to look for another childhood favorite book and ultimately acquired it, as well, thanks to my little sister. That book was “The Five Chinese Brothers” by Claire Huchet Bishop and Kurt Wiese.
I remember being entranced by the fantastic tale of siblings who each had an extraordinary ability. One was impervious to fire. Another had an iron neck. One could stretch his legs to any length, and another could hold his breath indefinitely. Yet another could swallow the sea. The story tells the tale of how they use their abilities to save one of the siblings from being executed following an accidental death.
Like “Curious Critters,” “The Five Chinese Brothers” sparked my imagination and fed my appetite to be transported to another world, a place where incredible beasts and astounding abilities exist without question. These books acknowledged the magic of the written word, and I loved them for giving me and others that gift.
As a writer, my fiction does not stretch to such fabulous lengths, but any work of fiction seeks to transport its readers, so the foundation is the same. I’ve rediscovered my admiration for those book and their stories.
They remind me that the sky is the limit.
They remind me writing can be magic.
