Author and publisher Anita Silvey has long enjoyed children’s books. However, it wasn’t until she dove headlong into the true meaning of how vital children’s books can be that she gained a real appreciation for the power of reading as a youth.

Silvey’s recently published book, Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children’s Book, saw her interview a number of highly successful Americans to explore the impact of their reading experience as a child. What she found astounded her. She presented her findings to a group of teachers and parents at a seminar at Hiland High School Thursday, March 3.

“This was perhaps the best 15 months of my life,” said Silvey of her one year-plus process in which she interviewed 110 esteemed business people, renowned authors, dignitaries, famous athletes, actors and a number of influential people.

After she was approached about the idea of interviewing people about their most memorable children’s books, Silvey made a master list of 500 people to whom she wanted to talk, knowing full well that some or many of them would say no thanks. She wasn’t sure when she began that anyone would want to participate.

Much to her joy, she never had to go outside the initial list of 500, as the people she had hoped to get were more than willing to open up and discuss their childhood memories of reading.

“I wanted to write something profound that would make a difference to people who read it,” said Silvey of the book. “I wanted it to be something that would be inspirational to others and that would spur other people to explore the books that made a difference to them.”

At both the youth day at Hiland High School and during the evening session with teachers and parents, Silvey spoke about all of the research that went into the book, the process she followed in interviewing the participants and getting their stories down in writing, and the excitement and joy they shared as they opened up to her.

Silvey said that she has always had great faith in the power of books in a child’s hands, but what she found was that these children’s books had an even greater effect on these people’s lives than she had ever imagined.

“About halfway through this project, I realized that I didn’t have enough faith in books and the power they have to make a positive impact in our lives,” said Silvey. “This was nothing like I expected it would be. These people were so willing to open up and share with me about the way these books had transformed their lives.”

That finding alone led to Silvey’s most astounding discovery. Out of all of the famous, successful people she interviewed, half of them chose a children’s book that eventually helped to define the very career path they had chosen to follow.

“It goes to show you how much we connect and identify with the books we read,” said Silvey.

Over the course of interviewing her 110 subjects, Silvey went through a vast array of emotions. Her interviewees laughed, they sobbed and remembering how much they enjoyed their favorite book as a child elicited fond memories. Doing the interviews also gave Silvey a greater appreciation for the books, since she got to do the interviews and then go back and read the books again, finding new meaning in each.

“Hearing their voices and understanding their meaning in these books allowed me to appreciate them so much more,” said Silvey.

During her evening seminar, Silvey discussed a number of the successful people she had interviewed for her book, and explored the meaning behind their affinity for that particular book. She also shared several stories of authors who endured some real hardships in getting their books published.

Did you know that Theodore Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, nearly had his career as one of the world’s most beloved authors derailed when 27 publishers turned down his initial entry, And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street. Only a chance meeting with an old school chum saved him from burning his copy and perhaps forever changing the landscape of children’s literature.

Or perhaps you weren’t aware that Margaret and H.A. Rey, authors of the delightful Curious George series, were nearly detained in war-torn Europe before they ever had a chance to get their adorable monkey in print? Only the help of a kindly German border patrolman who read their manuscript and was touched by it allowed them to spread Curious George and his antics to children worldwide.

Whether it is Curious George, Richard Scarry’s host of animal characters, Percy Jackson, Harry Potter or Beatrice, children’s books have a way of touching lives at a young age in ways that are vital to the growth in a child’s mind and character.

“These books are all testimonies of the idea of finding the right book, for the right child, at the right time, that can make all the difference in the world,” said Silvey. “If we put our faith in books, they can change and alter lives in a very positive way.”

One of Silvey’s more memorable interviews was with Robert Ballard, the Naval commander and oceanographer who raised the Titanic. As a youngster, Ballard was captivated by Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and wanted to explore the ocean because of it. He was encouraged by his parents, and through that found his true passion in life.

Silvey quoted Ballard, who said during his interview, “All children have dreams. We should encourage them in their dreams, We should not laugh at those dreams, but encourage them like my parents encouraged me. Because of their support, I am just a modern day Captain Nemo, living out my childhood dream.”

That, said Silvey, is exactly what children’s books are designed to do.