If you've stumbled upon this guide in the middle of an online shopping spree for corduroy pants, we regret to inform you that you're in the wrong place.

However, if you're looking for a guide to Don Freeman's classic children's book, pull up a chair and stay a while.

We realize there's not a lot of overlap between the people who will read this guide and the target audience for the book itself, given that the target audience is generally more concerned with figuring out yet another way to avoid eating lima beans than the theme of perseverance in a beloved story. That said, we hope this guide will be a valuable resource for teachers, parents, and anyone else who wants to dig a little deeper into this seemingly simple story.

Corduroy was written and illustrated by Don Freeman, and it first hit bookshelves all the way back in 1968. That year, Apollo 8 became the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon, Mel Brooks directed his first film, and The Beatles released "Hey Jude," their first single from their own record label.

For all intents and purposes, a sweet story about teddy bear's midnight escapades in a department store shouldn't have been that groundbreaking—but it was. Corduroy was one of the first mainstream children's books to feature a Black girl as its heroine.

It was published on the tail end of the civil rights movement, just six years after author Ezra Jack Keats broke the "color barrier" in children's books with his story The Snowy Day. Books with minority characters were still rare, but Corduroy and Lisa's innocent, heartwarming story transcended race and appealed to everyone.

Of course, when a preschooler asks their grandma to read Corduroy for the eighteenth time in a row, we're pretty sure they're not concerned with the societal ramifications of the story. This book has everything little kids love: a cuddly hero, a crazy adventure, and—spoiler alert—a happy ending.

Did we mention it's set in a department store after hours, a.k.a. the recurring dream of children everywhere? The only way this book could be more kid-friendly is if Lisa's room was full of juice boxes and unlimited Legos. It's a classic for a reason.

Oh, come on now, sport. Don't even try to act like you don't care about this book. Corduroy consistently makes every list of top children's books of all time, so no matter what obstacles life has thrown at your now-jaded heart, we know there's a place deep down for this adorable, adventurous bear.

As it turns out, Corduroy knows a little something about overcoming obstacles too. When the book begins, he's just passively waiting on a shelf (as stuffed animals often do), hoping somebody will bring him home. However, the moment Lisa's mother rejects him due to his missing button, our hero decides to channel his inner Fur-dinand Magellan and sets out on a quest to find it.

It's no wonder that he's eventually "adopted" by a girl with an enterprising spirit of her own. Not only does Lisa use her own hard-earned money to purchase Corduroy, but she also makes quick work of fixing that missing button.

It may be a simple story, but Corduroy teaches kids about curiosity, acceptance, and the power of taking your life into your own...paws.