Sunday, November 8, 2009

Christina Katerina and the Box


There are some of you who will be a little confused by the title of this entry, but I am confident there are others (ahem...Jennifer?...Mom?) who will immediately smile with recognition. This is the name of a wondeful children's picture book (by Patricia Lee Gauch) that I remember fondly from my childhood.

In it, the main character, Christina, lives out every child's fantasy of using and reusing (again and again and again!) an enormous BOX that delivers her mother's washer/dryer (or refrigerator or some other such appliance that comes in a ridiculously gigantic cardboard box--the kind that all children dream of having delivered to their homes!) As a child, I LOVED this book for many reasons...not the least of which was for Christina's ability to imagine (and then realize) so many of the endless possibilities that such a box has in her imaginary world!

And now, as a parent, all I have to do is look at Elizabeth's little face lighting up with joy as she squeezes herself into the empty Pamper's box...and I am instantly reminded that a box is NOT a box at all...it's a racecar, or a roller coaster, or a plane, or a Mo house, or any other thing that is limited only by her imagination!



Isn't childhood fantastic??

3 comments:

Jennifer said...

OMG I cannot believe you remembered the NAME of that book. I remember the book and have often wanted to look it up and now I can! Yea you! That book was awesome! And my kids need to own it, even though they're way too old for it now, b/c they're NOT way too old for fun-with-a-box and I think they'd agree that the box is often the best part of a new purchase!

Purple's Mom said...

Hmmmmm...trying to think of a good way to tell you that I am in possession of said book from our childhood without you killing me! heehee! ;-)

Carrie said...

I always LOVED playing with boxes and making stuff out of them. It's the best way to let kids be creative!