10. "The Twits" by Roald Dahl.
"A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely."
For those times when we are feeling tired, ugly, and discouraged, and for reminding us that thinking positively is what can turn us around.
9. "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle.
"On Saturday, he ate through one piece of chocolate cake, one ice-cream cone, one pickle, one slice of Swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one sausage, one cupcake, and one slice of watermelon."
For the very hungry adult in all of us.
8. "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak.
"And now,' Max cried, 'Let the wild rumpus start!'"
For our inner wild thing, and as a reminder not to lose our imagination. (And to remind us to partake in some wild rumpus every now and then).
7. "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein.
"And she loved a little boy very, very much - even more than she loved herself."
To remind us to love ourselves and others, but also to remind us that we too, are loved.
6. "Winnie-the-Pooh" by A.A. Milne.
"You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.”
To remind ourselves to take risks and have adventures, but to remember the corner of the Forest that you call your comfortable home.
5. "The Lorax" by Dr. Suess.
"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."
To remind ourselves that we only have one home, and it is our responsibility to protect it. Also, to encourage us to be the first one to work towards a change, even when we feel powerless.
4. "The Rainbow Fish" by Marcus Pfister.
“The Rainbow Fish shared his scales left and right. And the more he gave away, the more delighted he became."
To remind ourselves that sharing and supporting other people is just as important as encouraging yourself.
3. "The Velveteen Rabbit" by Margery Williams.
"Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse. 'It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, then you become Real.'"
To show that often, the things we love the most are the things that have grown with us, and that no price tag can be put on real love.
2. "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" by Judith Viorst.
“It has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. My mom said some days are like that.”
To remember that bad days will happen, that sometimes, there is nothing we can do, and to listen to our mothers.
1. "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
“You - you alone will have the stars as no one else has them...in one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night....You - only you - will have stars that can laugh.”
To remind us to look at the stars, to laugh, and to know that you are never alone.
