Gardens, gifts, treasures and ships
Published 8:35 pm Thursday, October 22, 2026
The poet in me loves metaphors. The fresh, thoughtful comparison of something ordinary to something unexpected shows a creativity that I appreciate.
For instance, if we call Aunt Lucy “the queen of Saturday night bingo,” that gives us a vivid mental picture of her–complete with crown, robe and scepter–turning the drum to mix up all those little balls and then calling out, in her most regal voice, “B-4!” We find that interesting partly because the bingo hall is about the furthest thing possible from a palace. So we chuckle at that irony and think of Aunt Lucy in a fun, memorable new way.
Recently, when I happened on a list of “Quotable Quotations” about reading, I couldn’t help but notice how many of them use metaphor to compare books to other unlikely things. One of those, a Chinese proverb, calls a book “a garden, carried in the pocket.” What a great thought–that printed words are somehow like seeds that take root in our minds and accompany us wherever we go.
Scottish poet Robert Louis Stevenson uses the same metaphor, naming his book of kids’ poems “A Child’s Garden of Verses.” Even as an adult, I continue to harvest Stevenson’s crop of creative ideas in my own mind. After all these years I still remember “My Shadow” well enough to recite it.
Garrison Keillor, of “Lake Wobegon” fame, notes that “A book is a gift you can open again and again.” A quick thought to Christmas and birthdays will remind you that there is nothing the kid in all of us loves more than presents. Forget the turkey and trimmings. Forget the cake with however many candles. Every kid I have ever known wants to cut through the red tape of family tradition and go right to the bows and gift wrap. To think of a book as a gift acknowledges it as something born of love and freely given.
But books are even better than most gifts that come with Christmas trees and birthday cakes. They are not the kind of things that will break or run out of battery power. Unique among gifts, books have the potential, as Keillor says, to be opened numerous times, offering a richness that often compounds with subsequent readings.
Although he made his fortune in film rather than the print media, the great Walt Disney was quick to recognize the value inherent in books. “There is more treasure in books,” he says, “than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” In Disney’s view, books become treasure chests to be plundered and explored, and you don’t have to be a pirate to experience that kind of wonder.
Even the poet Emily Dickinson, who lived her life as a literary recluse, begins a poem with these lines: “There is no frigate like a book / To take us lands away.” Here, a book becomes a vessel that transports us. It becomes a ship whereby we leave familiar land to sail to new places of adventure and imagination. Dickinson may have experienced the world of Amherst, Mass., mostly from her upstairs window, but she knew the power of books to take her anywhere she wanted to go.
Garden. Gift. Treasure chest. Ship. A book can be all of these things and more. Readers can be gardeners, Santas, fortune hunters, or sailors. They can plant seeds, unwrap presents, dig for treasure and sail away. Stevenson, Keillor, Disney and Dickinson use thought-provoking metaphors to describe the magic of books. They inspire me to offer a metaphor of my own.
Books are boxes of Cracker Jacks. I mean the old-time snack-size boxes—where the little boy in a blue sailor suit appears on the front with his dog. I mean the ones containing a yummy combo of caramel corn and candied peanuts just the right size for an afternoon snack. And for many years, the best part was a small white package with a toy surprise buried deep inside.
Books are unique treats that, speaking figuratively, you can sink your teeth into or inhale with your whole being. When you open a book, the tidbits you find can be sweet, nutty, or anything in between. But there is one thing you can count on: there is always a prize inside.
Debbie Noland writes on topics related to reading, writing and language. She can be reached at debgary42@gmail.com.
