Rating: ★★★★★
Beautiful and Heartbreaking
We meet Mr. Morris Lessmore who is constantly reading books and every day he imagines his life as a book and with every new day comes a new blank page for him to write his joys and sorrows. Then one day a storm comes blowing and destroys everything and takes Morris off to a parallel world where he sees a girl flying away with books and he's angry that his books aren't magical.
The girl witnesses this and sends one of her books to help him and sure enough he stumbles into what looks like a library and he can hear the books talking as though they are begging to be read and begins the mission to read every book available. The task is quite difficult and since the books are magical they tend to get out of alphabetical order but he as a loving human being takes care of them, reads every day, and fixes any damages that need repairing. In many ways he is the father that takes care of his children.
Everyone from adults to children come visit his library and soon he has found his place to call home. Soon the years come to past and we find Mr. Morris Lessmore become an old man with a crane. As the decades have gone by, he has written his life story into a book and realizes that death has arrived and he must leave.
It is heartbreaking to see him wish his books goodbye but he's always known that those books are not his and are meant for everyone. It is up to the next generation to come in and preserve these books so that way their stories will always be told. The books are sad that he has left them but they understand why and luckily for them he left them a little goodbye present.
Disney has adapted this book and made it into a short animated film that won the Oscar which I am happy to discover because he definitely deserves all the awards! The illustrations are simply beautiful and there aren't enough words to describe how phenomenal of story it is and I highly recommend everyone to read it or watch the short film.
It's a universal story that can resonate with everyone and I realize that now that one of the reasons why I collect books now is because when I am no longer roaming this earth I want my children and future generations to be able to discover the books I read throughout my life and expand my collection with the books they discover in their lifetime. It connects both the past, the present, and the future and unites them to make the impact that books will live forever.
Books will be around after we die and it is important for us to leave a legacy for future generations to hold the torch with literature and the preservation of the written word. I find it marvelous to believe that besides the memories I share with my family and loved ones, my favorite books are a deep connection for those who want to remember me or want to bond when I am no longer around.
