We talked a bit last week about how Little Black Sambo seemed to have this “familiarity” to it and I feel the same can be said for The Pasteboard Bandit. As I was reading I found myself remembering the book (but honestly, mostly its movie adaptation) The Indian in the Cupboard, and how its central fantastical theme was this idea of bringing inanimate objects to life. In psychology there’s this term known as “animalistic thinking”, which denotes that children within a certain age frame believe that inanimate objects are real. This theme is rampant when it comes to children’s entertainment, especially when we consider television and movies (Barney, Toy Story). We can reach a little further with this idea when it comes to myths and legends. When we are told as children that Santa Claus exists and that the Boogieman lives under our bed, we, as children, are quick to believe it, even with no proof. This resonated with me as I read “The Land Behind The Sun” within The Brownies Book, and remembering my irrational fear of something living in my closet just because my older cousin told me it did.

Obviously, as we get older we realize the folly of our thought processes as children, but we never forget what it was like to believe outlandish and fantastical ideas. I honestly believe that if this was not the case, that literature and entertainment of the more ‘imaginative” sort would not be possible. Having moments in life in which you believe the impossible is possible, whether it’s believing that the tooth fairy exists or that your dolls or figures are real, is a requirement to having, let alone developing, an imagination.