There are some life lessons from books that do come to use while we’re dealing with day-to-day life. There are some lessons we can only learn from children’s books.
It’s a rule.
Life teaches you all kinds of lessons and the books you read along the way provide you with very valuable insights into the real world too.
But there are still some things that the children’s books teach best.
This compiled post is a list of seven valuable life lessons from books for children that are actually really important and have long-lasting impact even on our adulthood.
If we just incorporated these seven most basic principles in our lives, we would—guaranteed enough—become better individuals and might just change the world. Let’s dive right in!
Life Lessons from Books
Table of Contents
#1 Kindness Changes The World
Common and simple. Ever seen children being unkind or hostile towards somebody else? No!
They’re all sweet little creatures who are always smiling and radiating bright rays of sunshine, even on grumpy adults. Children do change the world, you know, in their own little unintentional way.
One of the major, most-surfaced themes in many children’s books is the impact of kindness and selflessly helpful mindset on the world. Almost all the children’s books teach us this—to shape the children’s mindset at the very earliest to accommodate everyone and extend any simple act of kindness to whoever might need it. (Well, if only this behavior dragged on to adulthood, this world would be a better place).
But nevertheless, the first lesson we can learn from children and children’s books is to act kindly towards everyone. Just look at the kids, they’re good to everyone—elders, babies, animals.
A famous example of kindness can be found in the Chronicles of Narnia, by CS Lewis, where in The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe, we see the kindness that the youngest Lucy shows towards Mr Tumnus.
#2 Childhood Friendships Go A Long Way
One of the major life lessons from books that we learn are to keep our genuine friends close. The friends we make in childhood under times of danger are some of the strongest bonds we ever encounter in life. And if they carry on to adulthood, that’s the luckiest someone can be.
See how in children’s books, the kid faces a challenge and then comes out of it with the help of some friend? See how all the children’s books are of the view that if someone lends you a helping hand, accept it.
Same goes the other way too. If you see someone who might need a friend or maybe even just a companion, be that person.
In Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, we see the importance of having good, selfless friends in the climax as Ron and Hermione face the hurdles in the way to make way for Harry to reach the end where he defeats the professor Quirrell.
After that, all throughout the series, we see that bond only strengthening between them, proving our very point.
#3 Smile Even When You Don’t Feel Like It
Smile. Laugh.
Even if you don’t see a particularly good reason to, just smile for the sake of rejoicing in the beauty of life. Children are always smiling, even when life gets a little hard in their way or gives them too much stress too early on.
But children’s books show us how smiling even in the face of adversity is a sign of courageousness, or being brave and being confident in yourself and how you deal with things.
Okay, so I was scrolling through my Read list and one great book I came across in this was I Funny, by Chris Grabenstein and James Patterson.
I remember reading this book a long time ago, and laughing really hard at the really good, nice, also kinda cringey jokes it had. “Jamie Grimm”, the main character, plans to win the Planet’s Funniest Kid Comic Contest, wanting to become a stand-up comedian but being a sit-up one. You know, being on a wheelchair and all. He doesn’t let this get to him.
He’s amazing.
#4 Colour, Race And Religion Are No Barriers
Another one of the life lessons from books is that colour, race and religion don’t matter at all. Children really believe that superficial distinctions that we’ve made on the basis of race, color, religion, nationality, gender, social status etc. don’t matter at all.
So why do we have to think differently when we grow up? I could find a resemblance with this in one book I had read: Just A Drop Of Water, by Kerry O’Malley Cerra. It deals with the topic of religion and how in the light of the tragedy of the Two Towers on September 11, there arise negative opinions regarding the main character’s best friend Sam Madina for being an Arab Muslim.
Even though it’s the kids in his school itself who give Sam a hard time regarding this, we see towards the end how it becomes necessary to understand the true meaning of humanity and rise above the religious discrimination that divides us.
#5 Struggle Never Ends
School over. College stands ahead.
College over, a whole life stands ahead.
Even though children don’t actively face any major challenges of life until their later years, at least in most cases, there’s still a kind of optimism in them that says that whatever challenge comes their way, they’re going to deal with it.
Ever noticed how in adversities, it’s the children who’re giving the adults real hope? Just look at the main character “August” in Wonder by RJ Palacio.
He has got so many kids in school who make fun of him for the way he looks, but he’s truly a wonder because I fell in love with this kid and this book and this author by the time I finished reading it.
#6 Change Is The Only Constant
Whether it be a kindergarten best friend moving away to another country, or we ourselves shifting to a new environment, whether it be social, personal or work life—things are always in a constant cycle of change.
Every so often it happens that something in our life changes and pushes us out of our comfort zone, and this new area makes us feel excluded or uncomfortable.
We should learn from the children how to adapt to new ever-changing dynamic environments. Take the example of A Series of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket. The three Baudelaire orphans, all alone in the world moving from place to place and having no surety of what will come next show us how even amidst the scary change they remained fearless and together.
#7 Make Lemonade in Hot Summer
Life’s some time or the other going to hand you lemons. It’s inevitable.
What matters is how well you know how to make lemonade. We all know children are happy souls. They’re happy and positive and smiling and filling the world with their energy and joyfulness. By some unknown rule, it’s like they already are well aware how to not let the sourness of some things in life get to them, something that the adults supposedly lack.
Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery shows this in a really beautiful way, as Anne, orphaned at birth, still remains positive while experiencing life to its fullest. Her “kindred spirit” might just light up the whole world.
So, these were the 7 valuable life lessons from books that children will teach us best. Let me know how you liked this post. Do you have a suggestion, a life lesson I missed, or a children’s book that I should’ve mentioned? Comment below!
Want to learn more about writing these books, actually creating such masterpieces which can be referred to while searching for life lessons. Check out this collection on writing, which ranges from writing advice, to wriitng myths, to book recommendations. All in one place.
