Category: Friendships

As I continue this subset of animated friendships in literature for my series, New Year; New Types of Friends, I present another example that fits the bill of a book, cartoon, and even a recent movie. Winnie the Pooh and his friend Christoper Robin teach us several things about love,life, and friendship that apply to even into adulthood, especially that friendships stick together like honey. As Pooh often says, “A day without a friend is like a pot without a single drop of honey left inside.” The Value of Children’s Stories  Growing up, many of us have learned valuable lessons from classic children’s books. The stories of Christopher Robin and his imaginary friends: Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger, Owl, Rabbit, Kanga, and Roo teach us how to be kind and cherish the people we meet along our journey. Although only a child, Christopher Robin is much wiser and more mature than any

My next example of a quality friendship in my series, New Year; New Types of Friends qualifies as both printed literature and a cartoon. The Jungle Book was written as a book in 1894 by Rudyard Kipling about a boy named Mowgli, who grows up in the jungle among his animal friends. Kipling’s book became even more popular after the 1967 Disney animated movie which humanized the animals. In particular, the film features Baloo, the bear, who helps Mowgli learn the “bare necessities” of life. Baloo has stripped down the unnecessary complications to enjoy a life of simplicity. Baloo is a great example of a friend who helps us eliminate stress and find happiness; something every man needs.  About Rudyard Kipling  Joseph Rudyard Kipling (December 30, 1865 – January 18, 1936) was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of

As I continue my series, New Year; New Types of Friends, and specifically this subset of friendships from literature, I present Calvin and Hobbes to show how friends help stretch our imagination and expand our creativity. The strip also shows that we need a dose of reality sometimes. While some people do not consider comic strips part of serious literature, animated stories do have a message to convey to people. The definition of “comic strip” is a series of adjacent drawn images, usually arranged horizontally, that are designed to be read as a narrative or a chronological sequence. The comic strip is essentially a mass medium, printed in a magazine, a newspaper, or a book. Comic strips usually contain text inscribed within “balloons” inside the picture frame that tells an amusing story. But some comic strips aren’t always funny. Most are simply observations about life. While Calvin and Hobbes does not specifically represent one of the archetypes of