Crackerjack
03-01-2006, 12:45 PM
Some of my favorite books happen also to be children's books. One of these is entitled Swan in Love by Eve Bunting. I often gave copies to good friends and significant others but never bought a copy for myself. Now it is out of print. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful. (Any children's book worth its salt had better have good illustrations!) The truths expressed in the story strike a deep chord, and certainly should for those in age gap relationships. Here's an excerpt:
Dora was a boat shaped like a swan.
Swan loved her.
"Doesn't he know she's different?" the other swans on the lake mutter to each other. Swan knows, but he knows that differences mean nothing to love. The frogs croak their disapproval and the fishes whisper it from below. Swan listens politely, but he knows love is never wrong. Even as the winters get longer and Dora's once sparkling paint begins to crack and peel, faithful Swan stays with her, certain that they must always be together.
Dora was a boat shaped like a swan.
Swan loved her.
"Doesn't he know she's different?" the other swans on the lake mutter to each other. Swan knows, but he knows that differences mean nothing to love. The frogs croak their disapproval and the fishes whisper it from below. Swan listens politely, but he knows love is never wrong. Even as the winters get longer and Dora's once sparkling paint begins to crack and peel, faithful Swan stays with her, certain that they must always be together.