Excerpt
from Free to Be...You and Me (The 35th Anniverary Edition, Hardcover)
by Marlo Thomas and New Friends
Free To Be . . . You and Me Forward
Dear You,
Well, hello! How
marvelous to see you (again).
If you are a grown-up who first
read this book 34 years ago -- and are now opening to this page,
possibly with your own child snuggled on your lap -- welcome back!
You look fabulous.
And if you are a child cracking open Free
to Be . . . You and Me for the very first time, I'll tell you
what I told those original readers: I want you to make a wreck of
this book. Bend back the corners on the pages you like best. Write
your name on the inside cover or any other place you like. Maybe even
put a few stickers on the back. A year from now I want to know that
you've touched this book -- lived it, loved it, cared for it, and
shared it -- the way I hope it touches you.
Free to Be . .
. You and Me first began with my niece, Dionne, when she was only
five years old. Dionne had asked me to read her a bedtime story, and
going though her book shelf I was shocked to discover that most of
her storybooks were written to do just that: put her -- and her mind
-- to sleep!
What also surprised me about Dionne's storybooks
was that all of the characters in them were so . . . perfect. They
talked alike and acted alike, and practically all of the girls
married a prince and the boys slayed a dragon and, of course, lived
happily ever after.
But what I was most shocked to see was
that all of the books talked about what girls and boys should be,
instead of what they could be. That's never a good thing. "Should"
is a small and bossy word. "Could" is as big and beautiful
as the sky.
So my friends and I got together to create a
different kind of book -- "a party of a book," we called it
-- for all of the Dionnes in the world, and all the Donnys, too. We
wanted a book that would show every child how special they are. And
we wanted to let them know that each of their Happily Ever Afters
could and would be different.
And exciting.
And their
own.
As you'll soon discover (or rediscover), each of the
stories and songs and poems in this book is a little adventure -- and
the adventure is yours. You can stop and start them whenever you
want, or replay them a million times. Sort of like the DVD in your
house -- only it doesn't plug in. And the best thing is, even when
you're not holding the book, you can still play it in your
head.
You'll also notice that, even though the characters in
this book have names that are different from yours, they're really
all about you. That's right -- each story, each sentence, each word
in Free to Be . . . You and Me was written to remind you that
you're the hero of your own life adventure, and that you can write
your story any way that you dream it can be.
I often hear from
grown ups who were children when they first read Free to Be,
and, to my delight, they tell me that they now share this book with
their own kids (including Dionne who now has two little Free to Be
boys of her own!). Which brings me to the one thing we have changed
in this new edition: the look of the book. Don't get me wrong -- we
liked the illustrations plenty in the original version, but back then
we didn't have things like laptops and Photoshop and 3-D animation --
and the only thing you could do with a "mouse" was run away
from it and scream.
So my friends and I thought it was time to
make the book look a little more like the world you live in today. We
contacted some of the best artists in the world -- maybe even a few
who have illustrated some of your favorite books -- and asked
them to retell the stories and poems in their own special way, using
their favorite colored pencils and paint brushes and drawing
programs. And, just like you, they all had their very own ideas of
what a story is all about.
We're thrilled with the images
they came up with, and we know you will be, too.
OK, so enough
talking. Let's go inside the book -- and we'll do it the same way we
did it the first time around. Ready? Alright . . . Take a giant
step.
May I?
Yes, you may.
Yes, we certainly
hope you will.
Lots of Love,
Me (Marlo Thomas)
P.S.
Now it's you and me.