C.S. Lewis once said, “No book is worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally — and often far more — worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond.”  Lewis’ observation rang true for me while revisiting the Don Camillo books of Italian writer Giavannino Guareschi. I first read them at 13, but this rereading left me wondering what I got from him the first time. So much seemed new and insightful.

Guareschi was a journalist, writer, and cartoonist with a storied life. Born in 1908 in Northern Italy, he was unable to finish university because of his family’s financial difficulties. He worked for a newspaper, and as a gifted humorist, eventually wrote and edited for humor magazines.