“Karly had a magical life. Every day she laughed and played with her special friend, Natasha. They pretended to jump on clouds and walk on the moon. They bounced on the bed like kangaroos. And sometimes they even rolled around like leaves blowing in the wind.” – From Inside Out
With whimsical, lavish illustrations from Roberta Collier-Morales, Inside Out by Wendy Stoffan Halley tells the story of a little girl named Karly and her spirit friend Natasha. Playing with Natasha was Karly’s favorite thing in the world.
One day, Natasha helps Karly understand that she, too, is a spirit. In fact, we are all shiny spirits who decided to come to Earth to be born as a human!
Karly is amazed and excited to discover that her real self is a spirit made of love and light. Natasha tells Karly that “Your spirit helps you love yourself and everyone around you, but it’s easy to be distracted by the outside world and forget who you really are.”
Karly assures Natasha that she will NEVER forget who she really is, and so Natasha says it is time for her to leave and go back to her home in the stars—but promises Karly that she will come back if she ever needs her.
At first, Karly missed Natasha terribly, but then it became harder and harder to remember her invisible friend. The kids at school teased her for being quiet, and sometimes taunted her for no reason. Her heart felt heavy and the magic that once filled her life was gone.
Sobbing in her room, Karly felt a whoosh near the window: Natasha was back! They began to dance around the room, fluttering like butterflies. Karly confides that she forgot about Natasha AND her spirit…and asks how she can get it back.
Natasha holds up a mirror, and Karly realizes that her spirit is still there! As she realizes it, her spirit glows brighter and brighter. Just then, Karly gets the idea to “live inside out”. She concludes, “Since my spirit lives inside my heart, I want it to always shine through to the outside.” To help remember, Karly takes off her shoes and turns her socks inside out—vowing to wear her socks like this always as a visual reminder to “live inside out”.
Inside Out is an extraordinary book conveying the idea that each of us chose the perfect parents (for us) to be born to, and that coming to Earth was a conscious decision on our part. This book also reminds us that our true nature is love and light, and our core Being can encourage, sustain and comfort us no matter where we are or what we encounter in life.
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