The Official SCBWI Blog: My First Picture Book Memory or The Magic and Power of Picture Books

I have loved picture books since my mom read the first board books to me as a toddler. They made me laugh, giggle, and feel instantly connected. From then on, picture books have been constant, reliable companions throughout my life; weaving in and out at times. I always cherished and treasured them because they were a source of comfort and a way to stay in touch with, and quietly nourish, the small child inside me.

Born and raised in a small town in Southern Germany, I still remember my excitement for preschool, especially when Miss Beate read to us. We were completely, hopelessly in love with her and obsessed with her long brown hair. It was so shiny and beautiful. She let us comb it, braid it, and occasionally create unique hairstyles you could call avant-garde-ish.

The real magic began when she opened a book. Miss Beate wasn’t just patient and kind; she was also a wonderful storyteller. The moment she said, “Who wants to see what book I brought today…?” the entire class joined her. We pretzeled our legs and all eyes were on her and the book. Once she settled into the Lesesessel (big, cozy reading chair), we couldn’t wait for the magic to happen. We were ready to be transported to enchanted forests, pirate ships, and countries far away. We lived for that moment every day.

My favorite picture book back then was Die bunte Flaschenpost, written by Lore Lehner and illustrated by Hetty Krist. First published by Herder Verlag in 1968, the book was reissued by Kerle Verlag in 2003 under the title Flaschenpost, schwimm übers Meer, this time with fresh, contemporary illustrations by Astrid Krömer.

The author, Lore Lehner (1935–2017), lived and worked in Germany, where she built a career bridging academic research and children’s literature. She earned her doctorate at the Ludwig‑Maximilians‑Universität München (my alma mater). When she became a mother, she turned her attention to writing for young readers. Die bunte Flaschenpost remains one of her best‑known titles, cherished both in its original 1968 edition and its later reinterpretation. Lehner continued to write and contribute to literary and scholarly life until her passing in 2017.

I have a very vivid memory of the original Flaschenpost, even though we read it so many years ago. It’s a rhyming picture book, a gentle, hopeful story of children connecting across the world via a message in a bottle. I never forgot the cover.

Jens and his father, a lighthouse keeper, live on a small island in the Baltic Sea. He is very lonely and wants to find friends, so he sends a message in a bottle to children around the world.

His message is simple.

“Who wants to be friends?

All the best, Jens.”

He rolls up the paper, sticks it in the bottle, puts a cork in it, and tosses it in the Baltic Sea.

The bottle travels to the Island of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). A boy named Kim finds it at the beach and is very excited about the letter and the drawing of the boy inside. It is the first letter he ever received!

He adds himself to the drawing, seals it in the bottle, and throws it back into the ocean.

As the bottle travels around the world, Zaty from Madagascar, Nai-Ming from China, and Pepe from Mexico discover it on a beach near their homes, and the list of friends becomes longer and longer.

Somewhere in the ocean, an old whale swallows the bottle but has to spit it out because it’s too hard to digest. That’s when the Inuit boy Navsak finds it. He, too, draws himself and places the letter back in the bottle, seals it, and sends it on its way.

Guess what! The bottle actually comes back to Jens. He can’t believe how lucky he is to have so many new friends around the world now! You can feel his happiness radiating from the page.

I couldn’t get enough of this story. Intrigued by how strongly the drawings resembled my own, I drew countless messages, stuck them in a bottle, and, for quite a while, my friends and I imagined ourselves to be Jens and his friends from around the world. Pretend play was our favorite activity in Kindergarten. This book has stayed close to my heart all these years. It unlocked new worlds, cultures, animals, and ways of living. It also gave me something to hold on to when I felt alone. After we moved far from my beloved preschool and the friends I thought I’d grow up with, I was lost and heartbroken. It took me a long time to find my footing again. This story didn’t fix everything, but it steadied me and gave me hope when everything felt unfamiliar.

Life went on, and after graduating from high school, I completed my Bachelor of Science in Education in Germany before moving to the United States. Within a year, I obtained my Texas Teaching Certificate and began teaching second grade at a magnet school focused on math and science. I was so lucky! We developed our own literacy-based curriculum, and I was instantly immersed in American picture books and kidlit. I started collecting books for my own growing PB library. You can pretend it’s a classroom library, but deep inside, you know who those books are really for. Creating and working with this amazing team of teachers, writing this curriculum together became its own reading adventure, leading me to fall in love with more books. It opened my eyes to a whole new world.

When I became a parent, and my kids were little, I never missed the weekly story times at the local library or Barnes & Noble. I became friends with June, the woman who led the read-aloud on Tuesdays at the bookstore. Our family spent almost every Saturday at the library, reading, browsing for books, and schlepping home at least 15 new children’s books. What a wonderful way to spend family time and nourish a love for books and reading. I also enjoyed discovering more children’s books through my kids’ eyes and evolving interests and perspectives.

When the kids were older, I became a Reading Partners Tutor. The read‑aloud portion is, without question, my favorite part of the entire program. Those first 10 minutes spent together with a picture book, reading while checking in, laughing, having fun discussing the story, and learning and getting to know the students are special and invaluable.

Picture books are magical and powerful. They make a meaningful, positive difference and are amazing tools. Life is full of issues and emotions that can be tough to handle. Sometimes we can’t even express what we feel when everything seems unfair, sad, or we feel unseen, unimportant, disrespected, or overlooked. Reading a book can reveal and gently open a conversation that otherwise seems tough to start. It encourages problem-solving and helps address confusing feelings in a way that makes these issues easier to face. A main character, engaging words, and illustrations help to remove the problem just enough to make it approachable. Books can offer solutions, humor, comic relief, and a sense of familiarity, whether read alone or with someone else. What a great bonding opportunity for parents or teachers!

Do you have a favorite picture book?

If you are curious about my favorite or would like to hear a German read-aloud of my beloved Die Bunte Flaschenpost, you can watch the entire story on YouTube.