Whimsical Inspiration from Children’s Books—a Pictorial
ILLUSTRATIONS BY NATALIIA MAROZ
“It is our choices, Harry, that
show what we truly are, far
more than our abilities.”
—J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter
and the Chamber of Secrets
FEW WILL DENY THAT THIS HAS BEEN AN INTENSE YEAR, with unprecedented fires, hurricanes, and mass shootings—not to mention political turmoil. As we usher in 2018 we thought the whimsical wisdom found in children’s books might provide a much-needed pause.
Common Ground is pleased to present a fantasy pictorial with the art of Nataliia Maroz, a Kiev-based illustrator. We earnestly hope you’re whisked into a relaxing reverie of childlike innocence. We wish you glad tidings for the New Year, with many prayers and blessings.
“If you are kind to helpless things, you don’t
need a Wishing Tree to make things come true.”
—William Faulkner, The Wishing Tree
“We all can dance,” he said, “if we
find the music that we love.”
—Giles Andreae, Giraffes Can’t Dance
“Generally, by the time you
are Real, most of your hair has
been loved off, and your eyes
drop out and you get loose in
the joints and very shabby. But
these things don’t matter at all,
because once you are Real you
can’t be ugly, except to people
who don’t understand.”
—Margery Williams,
The Velveteen Rabbit
“But the children knew, as
I’m sure you know, that
the worst surroundings in
the world can be tolerated
if the people in them are
interesting and kind.”
—Lemony Snicket,
The Bad Beginning
“UNLESS someone like you cares
a whole awful lot, nothing is
going to get better. It’s not.”
—Dr. Seuss, The Lorax
“I think I can. I think I can.
I think I can. I know I can.”
—Watty Piper, The Little Engine That Could
“Promise me you’ll
remember, you are
braver than you
believe, stronger than
you seem, smarter
than you think.”
—A. A. Milne,
Winnie the Pooh
“The moment you
doubt whether you
can fly, you cease
forever to be able to
do it.”
—J. M. Barrie,
Peter Pan
“Here is my secret. It is very
simple. It is only with the heart
that one can see rightly; what is
essential is invisible to the eye.”
—Antoine de Saint-Exupery,
The Little Prince
“If you look the right way, you can
see that the whole world is a garden.”
—Frances Hodgson Burnett,
The Secret Garden
“You’re mad, bonkers,
completely off your
head. But I’ll tell you
a secret. All the best
people are.”
—Lewis Carroll,
Alice in Wonderland
“I don’t understand
it any more than
you do, but one
thing I’ve learned is
that you don’t have
to understand things
for them to be.”
—Madeleine
L’Engle, A Wrinkle
in Time
“And so for a time it looked as if
all the adventures were coming to
an end; but that was not to be.”
—C. S. Lewis, The Lion,
the Witch, and the Wardrobe