Author: Oliver Jeffers
Ages: 6+ years ( but is known to have touched more adults!)
Once there was a little girl like any other, whose head was filled with all the wonder in the world...
Thus begins this beautiful story of a little girl who locked her heart away when she encounters the loss of her beloved father figure. Whether it is Dad, Granddad or a close relative is up to the reader to imagine, but the little girl adores him and looks up to him a lot. But one day she finds an empty chair, Pa gone missing.
The loss hurts her very much and so, unable to come to terms with grief, she locks away her heart in a bottle hung on her neck and thus postpones tackling her sadness. But as time goes by, the weight of the bottle bears down on her. Although she imagines that now her heart is locked inside, it is safe from any more hurtful feelings, the awkward weight of the bottle nags her.
One day, a curious little girlie comes running to her with a question about the world. Had she been like before, she would have known the answer, but now that her heart is in the bottle, she is clueless. That is when she decides to get her heart out. But try as she might, she simply does not succeed in breaking the bottle.
Finally, it is the little girlie with the curious mind who succeeds to get it out of the bottle and instantly the big girl realises how much she has actually missed all along! She starts to follow her heart again and explores the wonders of the world, just like her Pa.
This story could have been anybody's. The loss could have been a loved one, love, a dream, a job, temper, just anything. What do we do when faced with the loss? The immediate need to retreat in a shell of pity and sadness is almost always the easiest way out. It is certainly soothing, and the fear of getting hurt if we break out feels very real and threatening. For that moment at least. But it is not the solution. And the more we linger inside, the harder it becomes to break out of it.
There is life outside of it, if we only care to open up. Perhaps it needs a little help from someone. A nudge, a chiding, long talks, a healing, a hug, whatever it takes. But when we do break out, we will see that there is always something else to live for, to love, to laugh about and to share with. And if we could only see that we can never protect the heart from hurt in this world, not even if we bottle it up, maybe we would try to give up all our inner fights and start feeling peace and happiness in everything that comes our way.
Oliver Jeffers has again created magic with his simple drawings, simple text and a great uplifting storyline. We had the lovely opportunity of meeting him in a book signing and for once in all my life, I got this book signed for myself, with my name ( and a cute bottle doodle that he drew underneath!). And he is as sweet as his books :o)
Here is a Youtube version.
And here is a nice little video about Oliver Jeffers.
Ages: 6+ years ( but is known to have touched more adults!)
Once there was a little girl like any other, whose head was filled with all the wonder in the world...
Thus begins this beautiful story of a little girl who locked her heart away when she encounters the loss of her beloved father figure. Whether it is Dad, Granddad or a close relative is up to the reader to imagine, but the little girl adores him and looks up to him a lot. But one day she finds an empty chair, Pa gone missing.
The loss hurts her very much and so, unable to come to terms with grief, she locks away her heart in a bottle hung on her neck and thus postpones tackling her sadness. But as time goes by, the weight of the bottle bears down on her. Although she imagines that now her heart is locked inside, it is safe from any more hurtful feelings, the awkward weight of the bottle nags her.
One day, a curious little girlie comes running to her with a question about the world. Had she been like before, she would have known the answer, but now that her heart is in the bottle, she is clueless. That is when she decides to get her heart out. But try as she might, she simply does not succeed in breaking the bottle.
Finally, it is the little girlie with the curious mind who succeeds to get it out of the bottle and instantly the big girl realises how much she has actually missed all along! She starts to follow her heart again and explores the wonders of the world, just like her Pa.
This story could have been anybody's. The loss could have been a loved one, love, a dream, a job, temper, just anything. What do we do when faced with the loss? The immediate need to retreat in a shell of pity and sadness is almost always the easiest way out. It is certainly soothing, and the fear of getting hurt if we break out feels very real and threatening. For that moment at least. But it is not the solution. And the more we linger inside, the harder it becomes to break out of it.
There is life outside of it, if we only care to open up. Perhaps it needs a little help from someone. A nudge, a chiding, long talks, a healing, a hug, whatever it takes. But when we do break out, we will see that there is always something else to live for, to love, to laugh about and to share with. And if we could only see that we can never protect the heart from hurt in this world, not even if we bottle it up, maybe we would try to give up all our inner fights and start feeling peace and happiness in everything that comes our way.
Oliver Jeffers has again created magic with his simple drawings, simple text and a great uplifting storyline. We had the lovely opportunity of meeting him in a book signing and for once in all my life, I got this book signed for myself, with my name ( and a cute bottle doodle that he drew underneath!). And he is as sweet as his books :o)
Here is a Youtube version.
And here is a nice little video about Oliver Jeffers.
