“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirates' loot on Treasure Island and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day of your life.”
That quote, comes from Walt Disney, who was born on this day in 1901.
To say that I am a fan of Disney’s would be an understatement. Full disclosure…prior to my time at Scholastic, I spent 7 years as a Disney Cast Member, have a collection of Disney films rivaled only by my library of picture books and to this day, my family’s preferred vacation spot is Walt Disney World. (We’ll be going next week…)
It’s more than theme parks and movies, though. Walt Disney’s creativity was rooted in literature. From Pinocchio to Mary Poppins, many of Disney’s films were based on books. His interpretation of the words on the page has spilled out onto movie screens and theme parks, bringing them to life in a way no one else had. We can all see his vision of Neverland and Sleeping Beauty’s castle with just one glance at a screen or stroll into Fantasyland.
I think, though, that the quote above suggests that Walt Disney understood books were the ticket to something much bigger than a 4 minute ride. Reading allows you to have a Fantasyland of your own. Just as Walt created worlds, every time you open a book, you craft something in your head that is uniquely yours. Authors give us the gift of their words but also that spark of our imagination so that we all have a theme park based on the books we’ve read.
…operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
...no ticket needed, just a bookmark!
