I work at a public library in my hometown, and this has been my part-time job for three years now. One joyful, and sometimes painful, experience of working at a library you frequented as a child, is that you experience a large amount of nostalgia. I spend my days staring at the nooks and crannies I crammed my budding body into as a youngster. Now checking in and out the books my mother once read to me growing up, and meeting the teachers and parents who, now only slightly more grey, bring up memories of years washed away.
The other day, I was checking in some books downstairs at the children's desk, and one of the barcodes I scanned brought up the title of a heavy influence throughout my adolescent life: "Calvin and Hobbes." I had never read this anthology before, though, one titled "The Days Are Just Packed," and I decided to check it out.
For me, Bill Watterson's "Calvin and Hobbes" was a book that I spent many rainy days, and sunny days, inside reading: becoming a part of Mr. Watterson's imaginative world which overflowed with the adventures of a young boy, Calvin, and his stuffed Tiger, Hobbes. I began reading this book, and found myself laughing aloud to the book—the familiarity of something that, even though I had never read this copy, stirred something inside me.
So, to honor that yearning for a familiar enjoyment, here are ten of the most important moral points that I think "Calvin and Hobbes, The Days Are Just Packed," teaches readers:
1: How to relax:
2: Great advice for artists.
4: How to prioritize your questions:
5: Teaching us to contemplate the meaning of life:
6: Teaching us one of many beautiful meanings of life:
7: Showing us how to be model citizens:
8: Reminding us to be persistent in our artistic pursuits:
10: And teaching us how to be humble winners:
I would like to thank Bill Watterson for all of his many years of incredible comic strip making, and wonderful, persistent wit and humor in the face of difficult topics.
NOTE: None of the comic strip material is mine: it belongs solely to Bill Watterson, from his collection of Calvin and Hobbes titled, "The Days Are Just Packed." Here's a where you can find Bill's work and biography.
