One of the great unexpected pleasures of becoming a father has been that I get to revisit (and remember) all of my old favorite children’s books. It is incredible to me how deeply embedded the memories are. I can pick up a book I literally have not seen for almost three decades and remember nearly all of it by the sight of the cover.

Like Mr Strong. This is one of the books in Roger Hargreaves’ wonderful series of Mr. Men and Little Misses books. There were a lot of them. Each book focused on one character, and each character had a specific trait that the artwork and stories drew attention to. For example, Mr. Funny woke up every morning and had a glass of toast for breakfast. That still makes me laugh. My son loves it too and I have no doubt that 25 years from now the memories will come flooding back in like they have with me.

Back to Mr Strong: in the story he has a problem because he is so strong that he winds up breaking just about anything he touches. I will not spoil the ending for you, but like all of Hargreaves’ books, Mr. Strong’s talent ends up saving the day and solving problems for others. The morals of the stories are truly wonderful, like any of the great books for children.

These books teach fantastic lessons for children. It is okay to be yourself. It is okay to be silly. There is nothing wrong with being different, which is a good thing, since different can mean a lot of different things! These books taught me that the things I am good at might be exactly what someone else needs to solve their problems. That it is sometimes better to think of others than ourselves.

Wow, I could go on all day, but I won’t. Read these books if you have children. You will not regret it, especially if you’re simply rediscovering it as an adult.