Marcella was bored: A children’s story that adults should read

by Camila Chaves

What happens when someone’s life is plenty of material things, games, and extra curricular activities? Well, the time has come. He or she must face the truth. As Rockefeller once said “if you do not have very good friends and relatives who matter to you, life will be really empty and sad and material things cease to be important”. Although Rockefeller did not write Marcella was bored, his phrase fits this story perfectly.

Marcella is a female cat who does not lack of material things. Actually, her life is full of them. One day, her boredom leads her to a lonely experience to find the truth about life. This experience makes her realize that her relatives and friends are important and that she has to value what life has to offer her. This story perfectly shows us that although we can have a lot of material things, more than that is needed to be completely happy.

The emptiness that Marcella gets from every action she does brings Rockefeller’s phrase to our minds. The first action that Marcella performs occurs when she turns on the television. She changes the channels but still she does not find TV attractive enough to sit down and watch it. Then, she looks through a new book of hers, but she finds it boring. She also goes into the kitchen for a snack, but she doesn’t like what she eats. This kind of actions repeats and she decides to walk. Being alone, she realizes that people who surround her are important, and she expresses this by saying: “I wish there were someone to talk to”. At this point, she figures out that her possessions mean nothing without her relatives and friends next to her.

Robert Byrd’s book is not just telling the readers that, as the title says, “Marcella was bored”. In this story, a simple feeling means the beginning of the road to find a truth: material things do not make happiness. Marcella was bored is a book for children which should be also read to adults. Most adults spend their whole lives searching for the things they think they want and they ignore what they have around them. How long will it take us to realize that, as someone once said “Happiness is only real when it is shared?”

Let’s Learn Some Stuff Down the Road

by Julián Riobó

Children have everything to learn. Kids need to be educated with certain values and manners which will help them become civilised human beings as they grow up. As a kid myself, I thought that everything that would make me laugh was correct, even if that meant another person’s shame or worse, pain. Did not all of us rejoice at someone else falling onto the floor at least once because we thought it was funny? I will leave that to your conscience.

Having said that, there are many ways of educating children, and stories written for them can always come in handy. Not only do they provide a kid with entertainment, but also with some didactic elements which, in some cases, prove amazingly interesting for them. Many didactic texts show children how and why to follow adult rules. These texts operate under the premise that rules are for the child's own good. These rules need to be explicitly stated so as not to confuse children. Down the Road, a children’s story by Celia Berridge, might constitute a clear instance of this.

The little girl and her mum, the most important characters in the story, go for a walk down the road. The infant is visiting a friend and on her way all her adventure begins. She leaves her house, gets on her pram and learns a lot of new things about the world in which she lives. Simple rules which are new for her are shown in the story. “The red light tells the cars to stop. Our light turns green. Now we can cross safely”. Children, after reading the story, may associate this with real life next time they see the light turning green on the traffic lights. Moreover, their reaction might even be deduced as they would probably say something like: “Mummy, the light is green. We can cross. Like in the story!”

If we look up the word didactic in the dictionary, one of the definitions will probably read: intended to convey instruction and information as well as pleasure and entertainment. Undoubtedly, Down the Road, does honour to that definition of the word. The inquisitive little girl points her pudgy finger at everything she sees looking for an explanation. She spots dustmen, men fixing and paving the roads and a fire engine and its siren sounding. She learns that each of them plays a different role in society. The fine drawings do not fail to show what these people are doing, making it even easier for a child to picture them performing their actions.

It can be stated that, Down the Road, might very well be included as an example of what it is didactic and amusing for a child. As mentioned before, this type of stories can be extremely useful for children to start acquiring some basic knowledge of the world that surrounds them. Simple rules that are for their own good are explained pleasantly, which is the right thing to do when it comes to addressing children.

“Old hat, new hat”: the epitome of anti-consumerist literature for children

by M.A.

Need: to require sth/sb because they are essential or very important, not just because you would like to have them. (Oxford Advanced Learner’s dictionary)

Before reading this paper, please have a look at all the things you have around you. Ready? Now, how many of them are really “essential”? Of course, the meaning of the word “essential” may be very subjective, but it is no coincidence that the spectrum of what is essential has widened significantly during the last decades. Undoubtedly, we owe this widening to capitalism and its emphasis on consumerism, which makes us consider indispensable certain products that, in fact, are not. At the same time, the concept of “need”, not only as a verb, but also as a noun, has also been affected by it. What is actually needed? What is a need? The answer seems to be simple: what the market makes you believe it is. The problem is that not only adults are victims of this monstruous system of economy called capitalism, but also children. Fortunately, there are still some minds which strive against it, and also against consumerism. But, what is remarkable about that, is that their artistic productions in literature, music, and the like try to pass on children a message that utterly opposes it. This is the case of the children’s story “Old hat, new hat” by Stan and Jan Berenstain.

Children are perfect targets of consumerism. They are constantly bombarded with TV ads, which encouarge them to ask their parents to buy new things for them all the time. “Old hat, new hat” perfectly portrays the kind of bombardment customers suffer at shops. The story is set at a hat’s shop, where the main character of the story, a little bear, is assisted by a shop assistant, who offers him a huge variety of hats to try on. It does not matter whether the little bear likes the hats or not; what the shop assistant wants him to do is buy. In fact, pictures play an important role in the story. They show that as the customer enters the shop, the shop assistant is well disposed to him. But problems arise when the customer does not make a choice easily. At that moment, the shop assistant’s attitude towards him changes completely. He gets angry and forces him to choose one hat. This is one of the reasons why we may consider this story a useful tool to raise awareness in children of the pressures that market exerts on people, and encourage them to reject capitalist bombardment.

On the other hand, the end of the story, in which the little mouse realises that the best choice was his own old hat, conveys an important message: needs in capitalist world are created. Eventually, the little mouse grasps that he does not really need a new hat, and that is the moment in which he values his own. This is another instance of the anti-consumerist message that the tale conveys.

Eric Hoffer, a well-known American social writer, once said that people can never get enough of what they don’t need to make them happy. This phrase must sound familiar to all of us, since it portrays the feelings that are abundant in consumerist minds. What we must endeavour to do is to discourage the development of these feelings from children. And I am sure that stories such as “Old hat, new hat” can really help. In fact, I believe that they are the epitome of what children born in the capitalist era urgently need.

“The great, big, enormous turnip”: Inhumanity in a children's tale

by Valeria Niell

We help old ladies to cross the street, we carry our grandmother's shopping bags and we go visit them in order to get cookies. Only a cruel beast makes them work and hurt their fragile bones by pulling great, big, enormous things.

The great, big, enormous turnip, a short story about an old farmer and his adventure with a massive, titanic turnip, is an example of how inhumanity can be turned into a children's tale.

The above mentioned old man planted a turnip, and he fed it with water and greed: “Grow, grow little turnip, grow strong”. But he did not know that we have to be careful with our wishes, because they may come true. He tried to pull up the turnip using his brute force, but he could not pull it up. Therefore, he decided to turn to a helpless old lady. Of course they could not pull it up! Grannies are delicate and weak due a long life of hard work. Consequently, the old lady had to call her granddaughter to help her with such a great, big, enormous effort. Did the man say anything like “No, sweetie, that’s OK. I will just bring a shovel”? No. However, the three of them were unable to carry out the man’s duty.

But the story does not end. The man, seeing his goal not accomplished, accepted the help of three innocent animals. They all pulled and pulled again and could finally get the huge turnip.

This could be a story about the value of team work. However, the farmer could have used the help of a policeman, a fireman or any other person at the service of the weak. He could even have used the same shovel employed to plant the turnip seed. But he resolved to use the strength of an old lady, a frail girl and three little pets.

Reading this story, children may think that it is OK to abuse of weaker living beings in order to achieve one’s goal. I’m not against team working, but I would never ask my grandma to help me pull a great, big, enormous and colossal turnip!

Giving the right message?

by Jésica Torres

´When an elephant walks’ intends, as the author says, to show children that everyone gets scared. But is the story message as simple as that? Or it hides more complex matters as regards society and human relationship? Even a strong and big animal like an elephant may be afraid of something. However, I think that the writer goes beyond her original focus and says more than that. The story, in fact, shows how society stigmatizes and judges people because of their appearance and how fear prevents us from being helpful.

It’s widely known that the strongest animals are the ones that survive in the jungle and this conception is somewhat reflected in the story. Big and strong animals fright smaller ones. No matter they are carnivorous or not, their life may be in danger or not, they just get scared because of the big size or the physical appearance of these animals. The bear gets scared when he sees an elephant walking, the crocodile gets scared when he sees the bear running, the racoon gets scared when she sees the wild hot dashing, the mouse gets scared when he sees the racoon running and the elephant, at last, gets scared when he sees the ugly little mouse running away. The story does not encourage children not to feel scared because of other person’s size or appearance; an elephant would never hurt a bear, as a bear wouldn’t be a threat to a crocodile. However, the bear as well as the crocodile get scared when they notice that the other animals are bigger than them. The same happens with the elephant and the mouse; how is it that an elephant gets scared of such a small and insignificant animal? Easy to answer! Mice are so ugly animals that you should be scared of them. Not because they may be dangerous, but because of their repulsive appearance.

How fear works against solidarity is another issue that this story portrays. None of the animals ask the other why they are scared or if they need help. They just run away because they feel frightened. Individualism and not solidarity is then transmitted to children. All the animals run away when they see that the other may be in danger. They don´t care if the other needs help and they don´t even ask the reason of the scaring. They don´t offer their help and no one, of course, helps them. They all want to save themselves without worrying about the others.

We have all once got scared of something, that’s true, but we have to ask ourselves if we are giving children the right message. Do we want children to be afraid of someone because of his/her appearance and not to react generously, or do we want kids to be capable of overcoming their fears and managing difficult situations?

Real women are not reflected in “The Doorbell Rang”

by Julieta Acevedo

“No one makes cookies like Grandma” is the phrase which is repeated over and over along the story “The Doorbell Rang”. But let´s think a bit deeper, what is hidden behind that? What type of belief is concealed in such words? This story is about a mother who has made some cookies for her children. Then, the bell rings and rings and many kids appear. Even though in this story the value of sharing is important, the typical housewife role of the woman which differs very much from nowadays reality is as well prominent.

The mother of this story represents the ordinary middle class housewife. Throughout the text she is shown doing housework since she is making cookies for their kids and she is washing the floor. And of course she is taking care of their kids, which is another activity performed by traditional housewives. The role of the mother depicted in the story does not coincide with the actual role of a woman due to the fact that, nowadays, they not only do housework but they also perform different activities outside the house.

The other woman who appears in the story is grandma. Even though she is mentioned a lot of times during the story, she only appears at the end. The only thing that is highlighted about her is her cooking ability since it is mentioned plenty of times during the story and since finally she appears at the door of the house with a huge plate full of cookies. Nowadays grannies are not only fond of cooking for their grandchildren; they are as well interested in going to the hairdresser’s, going on travel and playing cards with friends.

Women in this story perform activities such as cleaning, cooking and taking care of their children. Nowadays women do these things but they also work, go to the gym, and do activities which do not involve housework. Furthermore, actual mothers even share housework with their husbands. The role of the women in nowadays society differs enormously from the traditional one and it should be considered when writing for children in order to be closer to their reality.

As the doorbell rang, mum was mopping the floor

by Natalia Brucciamonti

Look carefully at the woman holding the mop. Who do you think the lady is? Was your answer “the mother”? Well, then you would probably find the following lines interesting.

In recent years, it is possible to recognize a breakdown of the traditional family, where the man is the one who works and the woman stays at home looking after their children. Nowadays, women not only sweep the floor and look after the kids, but they also get degrees and have excellent jobs. The role of women has changed considerably. However, stereotypes and gender role discrimination still exists. The book “As the Doorbell Rang”, by Pat Hutchins, is a clear example of it.

Sociologists explain that gender roles are a social construct and that they are based on physical differences upon men and women. As men have physical advantages over women and the latest have a biological capacity for reproduction and child bearing, in the past, the woman was supposed to do domestic labor while the man was supposed to work outside to provide the family with the necessary food, clothes, etc. In the book, there’s a very clear example of this. The mother is in the kitchen, mopping the floor and baking cookies for their children. It isn’t possible to see a male character (one who isn’t a child) cooking or cleaning the house.

Researchers of gender roles also argue that there is a hierarchy inside gender distinction. This means that if you are a man, you have more power or social acceptance if you are more experienced in the work you perform. The same happens among women. If they are older, they are thought to be better. An instance of this is the character of the grandmother. Throughout the pages you can read “nobody makes cookies like Grandma”. This assertion implies that no matter what a good cook the mother is, her cookies aren’t (and won’t be) as tasty as the ones of the most experienced woman.

Although we are aware of the changes produced in the roles that people perform, it’s still very difficult to de-internalize the obsolete stereotypes that we were taught as socially correct. This is the reason why contemporary writers like Hutchins still show on their books the stereotypes which they have been brought up with.

“Old Hat, New Hat”: Fight against Capitalism in a Story for Children

by Viola Gonzalo

“Old Hat, New Hat”, a short story written by Stan and Jan Berenstain seems sure to confirm itself as a story that rebels against contemporary consumerism In today’s society, the liberal prevailing motto is “your are what you have”. In this way, the liberal market tries to force people to get new possessions for the sake of large company’s wealth. Therefore, the unconsciously transmitted message is “buy something new to cope with the latest trend, otherwise you are old-fashioned and not being up to the latest tendency is not right”. This is a direct message given by the invasive information people receive all the time, which psychologically affects children’s behaviour in such a way that makes them compulsive shoppers by asking their parents for new toys all the time. They grow up with a subconscious message printed in their minds: that of buying new items without really taking into account whether they are necessary or not.

In the story for children “Old Hat, New Hat”, a rat is walking on the street he suddenly spots a notice that reads “New Hat”. At that very moment, he shows an urgent desire to replace his old hat for a new one. He enters the shop and tries different models but is not satisfied with any of them. From the moment this little rat enters the shop, he is totally excited about the idea of getting a new hat. His excitement is so intense that he forgets his old one. Finally, he sees his old patched hat which he had left on a chair, and realizes he doesn't need a new hat, his old one will do.

What is really important in this story is the fact that it helps children not to have their minds receiving consumerist information all the time, as it teaches that you do not need to spend your money on something unnecessary to be happy; you can still be satisfied with something you have, no matter how old or bad-looking it is.

Therefore, the reading of this story to transmit some ideas that go against neoconservatism in a world that is intoxicated with commercial and marketing purposes is clearly demonstrated.

This story does attempt to create awareness of the psychological brainwash children are exposed to. This so-called brainwash is clearly seen when the character enters in a state of trance by the spotting a new and luxurious object which does not allow him to realize he is about to waste money on a needless item he already has. At the end of the story, the character realizes he does not need a new hat to be happy. At this point, the character rebels against modern-day commercial promotion and consumerism.

In conclusion, the idea behind this story is to transmit anti-consumerism values telling a simple story for children. Most of today’s stories aim at making children compulsive buyers. A story like this one shows a rebellion against standards of marketing, trying to place focus on anti-capitalism.

Competition between brothers and sisters: Is there a winner?

by Cintia López

When I was a child, I used to quarrel with my little sister about who had the bigger piece of cake or who had the most beautiful doll. One day, our mother told us that we should stop quarrelling because competition between sisters was pointless. “You shouldn’t compete, you should work as a team,” our mother said.

At those times, I did not realize the importance of the issue; I just stop quarrelling with my sister because my mother said so. Nowadays, I can understand it. Brothers and sisters are more than just people to play with. They are the ones that stay by your side in good or bad times. And it is important that parents make that clear.

I remembered this particular moment of my childhood when I read a children’s story called “Two greedy bears”, written by Mirra Ginsburg. The story is about two bear cubs that start exploring the world by themselves and when they are hungry and thirsty, they contend for food and water. It is similar to my childhood story, except for the absence of a mother telling the two bear cubs that quarrelling for water or food is wrong. Instead, there is a fox that teaches them a hard lesson, that being greedy is no good. This is the moral the author tries to transmit in the tale.

The author focuses on the problem of greediness but she ignores the importance of fraternity. Although competition is a typical characteristic in the animal kingdom and in the humans’ world, it is not appropriate for a tale as it sends the wrong message to young readers. Competition is something you should have in mind when you play a sport not when you spend time with your sister or brother.

Despite the fact that the moral of the story transmits a specific message, readers should pay attention to other values that are ignored by Guinsburg. When reading this story to children, parents should clarify the situation and explain them that brothers and sisters must work together and that sharing is better than competing.

Are you my mother? I can’t remember your face

by Marisa Gallardo

“Are you my mother?” What would you do if your children make this question when you return from your job? Nowadays it seems to be acceptable that women work and try to be as men. But, does society really accept women outside home? Do men really accept that women leave the home to go to work? In the story “Are you my mother?” P.O.Eastman, the author, seems not to be too convinced. It is easy to notice a clear point of view: women were made for attending housework and taking care of their children.

Through lovely pictures, the story creates a sweet mental image of a careful mother bird which is incubating her egg and waiting for the moment in which her baby bird comes out. She is ready to protect and look after him. This should be her only concern. Even the kerchief that the mother bird wears around her head may be associated with women who only take care of their home. Some years ago it was commonly watched on television advertisements about cleaning products which showed a housewife wore a kerchief around her head and an apron. The housewife claimed that these products were her best allies in the household cleaning because they not only simplified the task but left her more time to take care of children.

Another detail that seems to reveal the true role that society imposed on women is the absence of a father bird. It is considered correct that men are those who are away from home, either working or with friends, but never at home looking after children. Who better than women to deal with this? If not look what happens with the baby bird, when his mother leaves the nest to go for food. The vulnerable baby bird has to overcome many dangerous situations to find his mother and none of these would have happened if his mother would have stayed in the nest.

Despite the fact that, nowadays women play an important role in society, chauvinistic beliefs insist on positioning women only serving the needs of the home and waiting for the arrival of their protector men. It is not a coincidence that the rescue of the baby bird in the story is made by a snort, a machine that is usually controlled by men.

Material things are not bad or good

by Betina Ricchezza

When your children say that they are bored because there is nothing to do, what do you do? Do you ignore their moan? Do you help them to find a way out of boredom? Or do you think: “How these children can be bored if they have a room full of whatever they want?” Today our children own and enjoy a lot of things: big screen televisions, computers and mobile phones to name a few. But, do all these things prevent them from boredom? Or do they make children happier?

Marcella, the main character from Robert Byrd´s book “Marcella was bored”, is a clear example of a consumer girl. Although she has a room full of things, she is bored with life and everything it offers, including dance lessons, music, books, food, television and including playing with friends.

Consumerism promotes neither happiness nor entertainment. Pressure on children to have the most fashionable trainers or computer games make them feel miserable. Consumerism promotes unhappiness because it is based on material things and takes time away from things that are really important, such as relationships with family and friends. Marcella is bored of listening her grandpa´s stories. She does not enjoy playing with her brothers and when she meets her friends she thinks that jumping rope with them is a waste of time. When children organize their life around extrinsic goals, such as product acquisition or image, they report greater unhappiness in relationships and more psychological problems. Consumerism offers short term satisfaction. Even though Marcella has a room full of things she does not find anything amusing or interesting to do. Psychologists say that materialistic values are linked to lower life satisfaction.

Consumerism does not rescue children from boredom. Instead of a room full of things, they have to learn how to entertain themselves. Creative ideas come out of boredom. When Marcella walks away from her home she discovers that jumping from rock to rock and seeing some frogs in a pond is entertaining. Children have to learn to focus their attention on more important things than video games, computers or huge screen televisions. It will help them to promote a more sensible way of living.

Marcella is a consumer girl who has more things than she really needs. She learns to appreciate them when she takes distance from her home. But she also realizes that she misses her family. She wishes there were someone to talk to or to play with. She also learns to estimate her family and friends. That is what really matter.

Material things are not bad or good. But the place that children give them in their life is relevant. Material things do not give them happiness and at last children get bored of them. Children have to appreciate what they have and look after what really matter, family and friends.

The more you have, the less you care

by Paola Vellere

Toys and entertaining stuff are all over your house. A repetitive complain: Mum I’m bored. Does it sound familiar? Your children have a million toys and they are still bored. Toys can be part of the most amusing moments of childhood, but they also can be part of children’s boredom.

“Marcela was bored”, a short story for children, portrays a clear example of a young child who has too many belongings: toys and devices that provide a comfort life. She is a girly cat who complains about being bored the entire day. She does not even care to have fun spending time with the members of her family and her friends. Every single thing she has got at home is bored for her. Marcela’s problem is what we can observe in most of children nowadays. The more toys children have the more easily bored they get. If they have plenty of options to play with, the lack of interest in any activity increases.

Children are born into a world of consumerism and start to develop consumer personalities at a very early age. On the one hand, they learn from their parent’s behaviour and on the other hand, they are increasingly influenced by mass media and their peers. Since kids are babies they are related to materialistic life style asking parents to buy them things just because they want it. There is no fulfillment, their happiness and enjoyment seems to be ephemeral because they have a new pray to hunt and therefore they know that they will get it. Parents consent to the kid’s insistent and tireless begging, and that’s why the endless circle never stops. Some members of Marcela’s family offer her activities to do and several options to play with, but they don’t help her to reflect about his obstinate and apathetic attitude. The family’s stance increases Marcela’s lack of interest. Adults should reconsider what kind of person they would like to rise and take into account that the excessive exposure to materialism life s

tyle will be reflected in their kid’s personality. But the main problem seems to recognize that first of all they are the consumer model their kids are following.

Mass media and kid’s environment, such us the school or recreation areas, play another important role. Commercials in television are made for catching children’s attention without any scruple; in fact they are conceived to sell. Cartoons and advertisements are full of colour images and catchy songs, therefore children can not differentiate one from the other. However, it’s adult’s duty to monitor how much time children are exposed to television. Adults spending time with their kids are the ones who can show them the importance of having fun without sophisticated toys or electronic devices.

Marcela, the little cat, discovers how significant are her family and her belongings at the moment she gets lost in the city, and is left with nothing but herself. The moment when people think that their things are worth is when they are left with nothing. A simple conclusion: the less you have, the more you love it.

Bored Kids: Give them something to do

by Gisela Méndez

One of the biggest tensions between parents and kids is that sometimes kids do not have enough to do. It’s difficult not to feel powerless when our child complains about being bored. We live in a society where children are used to being entertained. We, as parents, tend to believe that if our children do different activities they will be busy and in consequence happy. However, most children may seem not interested in anything we offer them to do. Have parents ever thought that children do not need lots of things to do to avoid getting bored?

The children’s book “Marcela was bored”, by Robert Byrd, depicts children’ boredom such as it was real life. Many parents may be familiar with most of the situations described in the book. Marcella is a cat, who is bored with her usual activities. So she decides to run away from home. Many of us may perceive that the cat stands in for the usual portrait of dissatisfied children.

Children today are so over programmed that they don't know how to actually play .As Marcella is tired of her dance classes, many children complain about their physical activities.

Another characteristic of dissatisfied children is that boredom modifies their willing to eat. Marcella, as most of bored children, rejects food. When she goes to the kitchen, she grumbles “everything always tastes the same”. Forcing kids to eat when they are bored will destroy their sense of hunger. Children will and do eat when they are hungry.

Boredom also affects relationships. Marcella complains about her brothers, her grandpa, and her friends. When children says they are bored, it would be okay to remind them once that it is their job to find something to entertain themselves. Once in a while, they need to learn how to entertain themselves. When children feel secure again he will probably pull away from you and go back off on his own again.

At the end of her adventure, Marcella discovers that she loves her life. Taking into account this, we can realize that it is important to find a balance between children`s everyday and free time activities to let our children enjoy their routine.

Is imagination more important than knowledge for human development?

by Nadina González

What is more important: Imagination or knowledge? Although these two things are the most important ones and make us have a bright future, most students might think that only imagination is really necessary to be successful in life. This may be the reason why children are going through lack of interest during their formal education.

Most people might think that knowledge comes from imagination. It is true that people grow interests in things they do not know about, and that those interests may provoke something inside us, a feeling towards those things we do not have enough information about. The problem is that this feeling is not imagination. In fact, it is curiosity what occurs inside us the moment we face something we do not know about. And there is no doubt that curiosity is a powerful motivation for knowledge.

A very good example of the importance of knowledge in developing imagination can be found in children’s literature. ‘Sitting in My Box’ written by Dee Lillegard shows in a very clear way that imagination comes from the knowledge we acquire from books.

Reading a book about wild animals, the little boy of the story submerges himself in a wonderful world full of incredible animals, which he imagines thanks to the visual aids he receives from the book. This is perceived from the very beginning of the story when the child imagines the different animals he watches in the book. His brain only needs to catch some information about the physical appearance of a giraffe to make this fascinating animal appear. Not only does he get knowledge about a giraffe, he also learns about an elephant, a monkey, a lion, a hippo and a flea. Therefore, he is able to imagine them as well.

Another indicator of the importance of knowledge is what happens with the flea, which is seen as the bad character of the story because of the fright it provokes the animals in the box to leave the place. It is very clear that the child has learnt that although fleas are so tiny, they scare animals. Therefore, he makes use of this knowledge to make the animals leave the box. So, due to the evidence the story shows, ‘Sitting in My Box’ is a good example of the fact that previous knowledge is needed to let imagination take place.

There is no doubt that the more powerful imagination, the more interesting chances to make a success of our lives we will have. Since imagination comes from knowledge, it would be great to make students know about this fact. In this way, I think, their lack of interest in studying will be reduced. Although they might know that imagination helps them to succeed in life, they might not know where imagination is derived from. It would be a fantastic idea to persuade students to read more books in order to make their knowledge and imagination increase.

Sid, the Science Kid

Julián M. Riobó & Marina Amartino

“Science is the desire to know causes” (William Hazlitt, English essayist)

This quote describes with simplicity what science is about: the desire to know causes. Now, is it necessary to be a professional scientist to wonder about the world in which we live? Undoubtedly, it is not. Children constitute the embodiment of that desire to know causes. In fact, this has been a relevant topic for psychological research throughout history. According to Erikson, a famous German developmental psychologist and psychoanalist, children during preschool years experience a sense of initiative that makes them explore the world around them. At the same time, it fosters the development of basic educational skills and learning competence. This appears to have been perfectly understood by the creators of “Sid, the science kid”. Combining good content about science and great songs, this TV programme is an appealing approach for young children to have their first encounter with science.  

In each episode of “Sid the science kid”, Sid, the main character, deals with a particular scientific concept, such as what vaccination is about, why the water boils or even how it is that trees are so essential in the cycle of life. Naturally, the list goes on. As mentioned before, in one of the episodes the “science kid” explains why vaccination is not a bad thing in a very simple way. “You get one shot, it hurts just a little bit, you create anti-bodies and stay healthy for a long time”.

The use of catchy songs, whose lyrics are linked entirely to the subject in question, makes the episode more pleasant and engrossing when it comes to children. After putting forward all the reasons why vaccination does not have to be something to be afraid of, Sid wraps up this episode by conveying a message with a concise phrase that goes: “Don’t forget! When you think like a scientist, getting a vaccination is a really good thing. And I think like a scientist because I’m Sid, the science kid!”  

On the other hand, Sid asks questions aiming at finding out explanations for everything that goes on around him. One of the most exciting areas for Sid to dispel his doubts is the “super laboratory”, the   place where he and his little chums investigate and explore, and above all, the place where they have fun and learn at the same time.  The comprehensibility with which scientific facts are explained make children find this TV programme a very interesting way of clarifying their own queries and have a closer contact with science from a very early age.   

Sir Cyril Herman Hinshelwood, English chemist Nobel Prize 1956, once said that science is an imaginative adventure of the mind seeking truth in a world of mystery. “Sid, the Science Kid” shows that “investigation, exploration and discovery” are the necessary steps to seek some truth and to shed light in the world of mystery that surrounds children. What is more, it also demonstrates that learning about science may perfectly go hand in hand with amusement and adventure.

Cars: Successfully Rich vs. Successfully Happy

Brucciamonti Vena, Natalia Paula

What does “success” imply for you? Having the latest things available in the market? Belonging to a specific social class? Producing large sums of money? Having economical power? For Lightening McQueen, the main character from the movie “Cars”, success means all this and much more.

Since the last two or three decades, a capitalist thinking has been introducing deeper and deeper in people’s minds. That’s the reason why probably, nowadays, you don’t consider things as you did in past years. The previously mentioned animated movie reflects the way in which capitalism provoked a change in the value assigned to success. 

According to the foundations of capitalism, the more money you produce, the more success you have. One of the factors that affect production is time. For any business to be profitable, it’s necessary to produce the largest amount possible in the shortest time. The movie shows this relation between time and money in different scenes. An example of this is Route 66. The route was disregarded by the cars when the highway was built. They preferred to shorten the travelling time in order to get faster to their homes, works, etc, than to simply enjoy the trip.

In a capitalist society, being famous is a synonym of being successful. This is shown in the movie through the character of Hudson Hornet. He was a famous racing car in the 50’s. Everybody loved him and he was surrounded by people who were in a high economical position. Because of this, he was considered a successful car. When Hudson had a crash in 1954, he had to be absent from the piston cup. Little by little, people stopped supporting him and they finally forgot him. He was no longer famous, in consequence he wasn’t able to produce big amounts of money, so he was considered unsuccessful.

The previous paragraphs are only two examples taken from the movie, about the way capitalism became the dominant ideology that surrounds the value of success. If you’ve seen “Cars”, probably you could think about many more instances where the main character reflects his capitalist conception of success.  However, in the final minutes of the film, there is a change in Lightening McQueen’s ideas. The final message of the movie is that, to be successful, it isn’t necessary to have a lot of money, to be famous or to relate with people who have economical power. The most important thing that we need to have success in life is enjoying the little things that life gifts us with. In simpler words, if you are happy without the need of money, just by enjoying every moment and person present in your life, you can be considered successful. 

Let me ask you a question: are you happy?

Perseverance and friendship underwater

Julieta Acevedo & Marisa Gallardo

“Finding Nemo” has won the Academy Award for the best animated feature in 2003, has earned $868 millions dollars and has been seen all over the world. It was written by Andrew Staton and produced by Pixar. It tells the story of clownfish Marlin who looks for his son, Nemo, who has been caught by a boat. Values such as friendship and perseverance are shown during this adventure. They make this movie unique for children as nowadays they live in a society where values are not taken into account. 

Marlin is helped by Doris, a regal tang, during his journey. She becomes a great support for him and doesn’t doubt in leaving her life aside and accompanying him in his search for his son. Meanwhile, Nemo is caught in a fishbowl where he meets several friends. Gill, a Moorish idol, tries by all means to help him to escape. Eventually, with the help of his new friends, Nemo finds his way out and meets his father. Through this situation children may learn the real importance of friendship.

Children can easily notice the value of being perseverant when watching the film. In order to find his son, Marlin has to tackle many obstacles such as sharks and jellyfish. No matter the difficulties, he continues his long trip to Sydney in a real act of perseverance and courage. This attitude can be also noticed in Nemo. Due to the attack he suffered when he was still inside his egg, he has a smaller fin.  In spite of the fact that he is handicapped he never gives up in his commitment to be with his father again. 

There are also more values such as cooperation and solidarity reflected in the help that Nemo and Marlin receive during the movie and they are as significant as the previous ones. In our society, where values are most of the times discredited, we can find a movie like Nemo that teaches children the importance of friendship and perseverance.

Immutable Monsters

CHAVES, Camila

Haven’t you ever wondered why Pixar’s movies are so acclaimed? Do you know what the secret underneath Pixar’s success is?

It is taken for granted that Pixar has always found the key to get universal critical acclaim from its movies for children. Since 1995, when Toy Story appeared, the studio has won 26 Academy Awards and its productions have made over $6 billion worldwide. Monsters, Inc is one of Pixar’s movies that has been so successful and popular all over the world that it has forced the filmmakers to speculate about its sequel. The film received extremely positive reviews around the world and it achieved over 50 award nominations, including the Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Film.

However, success does not necessarily go hand in hand with innovation, and surely the filmmakers took this into account when they invented these creatures. Everything the audience see on the surface, such as monsters as the main characters of the film and a whole company which employs them to scare children, makes them think that this popular creation will surprise them with innovation. However, what Monsters, Inc offers them is a traditional stereotyping plot.

An illustration of the traditional plot the story presents lays on the film's main figure. The fact that Sulley is a monster is not enough to differentiate him from all the classic heroes that existed before him. He is good and generous, and he tries to defend innocent people and fair causes. He is the typical strong hero that society has been dealing with since DC’s Batman. Coincidentally or not, as the superhero from Gotham City does, Sulley has an assistant who is always by his side, Mike Wazowski. Traditionally, the hero’s partner is always one step behind him. In the case of Monsters, Inc, apart from the fact that Wazowski lacks one eye, he is smaller and weaker than Sulley. 

Monsters, Inc’s traditional plot also reflects the classic conception of good and evil that almost all children’s movies have kept intact throughout time. In every children’s movie there is always a good character and a bad character, and of course, Monsters, Inc has its good and evil representatives. Typically, the good character differentiates from the bad one by means of physical appearance. It is simply a matter of turning nice into a synonym of good and ugly into a synonym of bad. Here, Sulley is the soft and nice monster that looks like a teddy bear. His antithesis is Randall, a repulsive monster which can be easily compared with a snake. 

In addition, as regards the personality of the film’s characters, Monsters, Inc follows the traditional conception of good and bad present in almost all children’s movies: the good guy is humble and the bad one tends to be egoistic. Here, Sulley is caring and fair and he does not claim for social recognition. As regards Randall, he is cold and cruel and he only thinks about winning at any cost.

Gone is the innovation in Monsters, Inc’s characters’ attributes. This movie does not take the risk of changing the characters’ classical characteristics. The basis of the creativeness of Monsters, Inc’s filmmakers is found in almost all children’s movies. It looks as if the surface of this movie attracts the audience due to the fact that it seems to deal with monsters in a different way. However, in this movie, the key of success is the static conception of characters developed in all children’s movies’ plots.

Zamba; a new alternative on TV for Argentinean children

Jésica Torres & Daniela Pugliese

Children spend a great amount of their time in front of the TV screen. A number of TV channels for children offer their program schedules generating a market directed to young consumers. Argentinean children are everyday exposed to consume television from other countries. They watch cartoons and advertisements that show a reality that does not represent our culture, reality and history.

Within this context, an interesting alternative has been created by the Ministry of Education; Channel Paka Paka. This new TV channel, which is not transmitted in some cable servers and therefore, it is not available for all Argentinean children, contains programs which invite young viewers to discover and participate in the children’s world with educational and cultural contents. In this channel we find “Zamba”, a cartoon of four episodes that entertains and educates Argentinean kids within our culture and history. 

One of the principal characteristics of this cartoon, different from those transmitted in Disney Channel or Discovery Kids, is that it is developed in an Argentinean context. For the first time, our children can watch a cartoon in which the main character is a boy from Formosa called José, nicknamed Zamba.  He goes to a state-run school and wears a white overall. At the begging of each episode, he goes into a school trip with his teacher and partners to different parts of Argentina, where he learns about our history. He visits El Museo del Cabildo, Yapeyú, Casa de Tucumán and La casa de Sarmiento.

In fact, the main aim of the cartoon is to show the audience our origins in an entertaining way bringing back national heroes. Zamba travels to the past. He witnesses and takes part of important events of our history such as the May Revolution and the Independence Day. He meets the protagonists and interacts with them. What is more, Zamba’s idol is not one of the “American Heroes” but a national one as San Martin. The boy demonstrates great admiration for him all along the show and at the end of each program, Zamba and San Martin reflect on what they have learned and they clear up doubts, if any. 

Zamba does not only give value to our culture and identity, but also to our national animation and musical production. The characters on the cartoon speak Spanish with an Argentinean accent, the music used is national, like the zamba, chacarera and tango, and they eat autochthonous food, as chipa. The music played on the show is made by Argentinean musicians such as Soledad Pastoruti and Fito Paez. The animation and scripts are also made and written by national illustrators and writers.

Paka Paka and Zamba do not see our children as the targets of consumption marketing; they do not contain advertisements and their major aim is to educate. Children and parents have now another alternative on TV. Even if children spend their time in front of the TV screen, they won’t be consuming foreign product, but educating themselves in the Argentinean culture and history. However, the channel is not available for all Argentinean children yet. Do kids deserve to have a channel in which the producers are breaking the model of stereotypes imposed by foreign cultures? We proudly say they do

Olivia’s cartoon

Ricchezza, Betina & Vellere, Paola

Nowadays children have contact with technology at a very early age. Most of them usually use computers better than adults. Technology provides with everything they want. Is technology going to replace the traditional games?

Olivia is a sweet piglet girl whose imagination plays an important role in a cartoon which carries her name. Although Olivia’s games are based on imagination, little children, who are usually accustomed to technology and not to imagination games, can identify with her. Olivia, a model for all preschoolers, promotes creativity, confidence and independent thinking.

In every episode Olivia share with her peers role play activities created by her imagination making all her dreams come true, such as being “owner of a restaurant”. Olivia and her friends experiment real-life situations. Simple and every day actions among adults, like ordering a meal, helping a customer or paying bills, are part of the social skills develop through imaginative games by children.

While interactive and electronic games promote strategic and critical thinking allowing children’s intellectual growing, this technology does not help social relationships among them. Throughout the use of devices such as cell phones or computers, children do not have to spend much time in face to face conversations, thus they can not learn good social skills outside their technological life. Technology avoids children’s imagination because everything seems to have already been thought. Playing video games children gain problem solving abilities, memory, quick thinking and valuable information about the surrounding world. However, the technology tools do not provide them a real life environment

Adults who were imaginative children became creative and independent thinkers. Cartoons like “Olivia”, which promotes creative thinking, increase confidence and self-esteem preparing children to become problem solvers in interpersonal situations. Free play is active and physical. It also creates new worlds and portrays real situations. Children who can take part in real-life games will be able to take part in society as adults.

Preschool children are in the pre-operational stage. At this point, in free play, they develop their imagination, ideas, and images. They learn symbols to represent objects in daily life. Anger and fear need to be resolved and imaginative play provides a safe means for this. Olivia is an accurate model of any preschooler despite the fact that children in today’s society are more related to technology than to imaginative games. Although most of children do not take into account this kind of creative activities, all of them are capable of developing such skills as imagination and creativity. Olivia’s cartoon foster children to create new worlds through imagination. The viewers discover that imagination is a great tool to reach whatever they want and to spend time with their friends. Olivia is a good model for kids.  

Wholesome or unwholesome

Nadina González Nomi & Gisela Méndez

Discrimination has been one of the main sources of unfair treatment towards people. Factors such as social class, race, genre, religion and political ideology generate discrimination and, in consequence, inequality. This situation can be perceived in the result of a survey carried out by UNICEF dated 6th May 2011, where 66% of the students polled found themselves having suffered from discrimination.

Discrimination among children often comes from certain sources which are perceived as innocent and wholesome. At a very young age, many children are exposed to movies, whether at the theatre or on videos at home.  One major producer of children’s movies is the Disney Corporation, which has great influence on children`s ideology. Therefore, it is imperative for parents, teachers, and other adults to understand how such films attract the attention and shape the values of the children who buy and view them. The films by Disney Corporation contain many instances of discrimination. A good example of this is ‘Cars’, which portrays certain races and cultures in a negative manner. Discrimination towards those cars that are non- American and those that belong to lower class is perceived all along the movie.

On the surface of ‘Cars’ there is an inclusiveness of different races. However, the truth is that this is just a thin cover. Foreign cars only act the roles of supporting characters and they receive little attention. This can be perceived in Luigi and Guido’s performances. They are Italian cars who have followed races their entire lives. They are portrayed as people who look up to those famous drivers of racing cars that belong to the high class. A clear example of this takes place when a fantastic, red Ferrari arrives at Luigi and Guido’s shop. Neither Luigi nor Guido can believe the arrival of such an important car. This is the moment when they are characterized as stupid people, as people that the only thing they do is to admire the high class, as people who wish they were like high class people. 

Including cars from different countries, the film portrays the working class in a negative way. The main character looks down on those cars that do not belong to the high society. This can be noticed when Mc Queen makes fun of the rusty cars just because of their physical appearance. This can also be perceived when Tow Mater, which is a well-known stereotype of the working class, is underestimated by Mc Queen the moment this rusty car shows Mc Queen how  he usually scares the tractors.  

Although Mc Queen has a strong relationship with working class characters, the friendship gets stronger once Radiator Spring has recovered its popularity and its economy. It is worth taking into account the fact that the less popular, famous and luxurious the town was, the more Mc Queen looked down on her inhabitants.

The way Tow Mater, Luigi and Guido are portrayed shows the fact that the movie is discriminative. This is what children are exposed to and what they take to school. Therefore, discrimination among students occurs constantly. 

Perhaps discrimination will never come to an end. What is important is to be able to be aware of it and to be critical as regards this situation.

Super-Ultra-Hyper-Megazord, Activate!- Mighty Morphin' Power Racists

Valeria Niell

Go, go Power Rangers! How to forget that group of five "overbearing and overemotional teenagers with attitude” , who were endowed with the duty of protecting Earth (actually, just California) from Rita Repulsa,  with the help of mysterious dinosaur forces (Dinozords).

The team was a multicultural mixture of adolescents. The leader, the Red Ranger (Jason), a strong weight-lifting native American; with the power of the T-Rex. The Pink Ranger (Kimberly), a beautiful and healthy American girl; with the power of the Pterodactyl. The Blue Ranger (Billy), the wisest, with power of the Triceratops. The Yellow Ranger (Trini), a Martial Arts expert Asian girl; with the power of the Sabre-toothed Tiger. And the Black Ranger (Zack), an Afro-American break-dancer; with the power of the Mastodon...

Why? Why the colours that they were assigned by sage Zordon are not related to their inner power, but to their skin “colour”? Why couldn't they wear the same colour? Why the black boy has break-dance fighting style? Is it because he is a gangster, like all “black people”? Why, Alpha 5? Why?!

This TV series is stereotypically racist, even though it tries to provide moral values, like Martial Arts are not meant to hurt people, but to defend yourself and the importance of team working to solve problems...But why the black youngster has to control an elephant?  Is it because he comes from Africa, where people are used to see elephants? (In fact, in one episode, he was the only one who could defeat a Lion, one of Rita's minions).

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers is full of racist epitomes. Let's take Rita Repulsa. Her name has a Latin hint. Why couldn't she be named “Michelle Phillips” or “Mean Lady”? Is it because calling her “Rita”, like my neighbour, gives her an extra-disgusting evilness?... And her brother's name was Rito Revolto...

Another example is the first leader of the team, Jason. Why was he given the Red Power? Probably because he is a native American...and his red skin matches perfectly the Red Power Suit... And sadly he didn't last much as the leader because he was replaced by the White Tommy, I mean, the White Ranger.

“Yo, Alpha, “wassup”!” … Yes, that is Zack, the Black Ranger, who sounds like a rapper gangster, and he was given a gun. Along with the Dinozord Powers, the Rangers were given weapons like swords, axes, crossbows...but the Black Ranger was given a gun. Because black people like guns.

Why this TV programme had to be so mean to their characters? Didn't Zack feel offended when he read the plot and his lines? What did the other members think about the heavy amount of stereotypes?

Maybe it is not appropriate for an Afro-American to be a White Ranger, because he would feel funny by wearing white or maybe because he would not look as good as “Tommy”, the last Ranger to join the team...At first he was the Green Ranger because he was the bad guy, but when he left the Dark Side, he was given the Power of the White Ranger, to control a Dragon...And as I said before,  he became the leader until the end of the three seasons. 

Maybe Billy had to be the Blue Ranger because wearing a brown suit wouldn't match his blue eyes. 

And maybe Trina has Yellow Powers because she is always wearing yellow shorts. And she doesn't need to wear a skirt because it is too feminine for a martial artist (?)

Who knows, maybe Kimberly is allergic to orange or grey. That is why she had to wear the Girly Pink Skirt Power Suit...

There are too many questions and too many doubts that the universe may never answer... Maybe because the truth is too much for our brains to handle, or maybe because the creator of the Power Rangers thought that if they wore their “typical racial skin colours”, they would be easier to identify. For example, I remember that the black guy was the Black Ranger, and I also remember that he looked good wearing black shirts.

Review on “Sitting in My Box” (by Camila Chaves)

by Dee Lillegard; illustrations by Jon Agee

An empty cardboard box does not mean much to anyone. However, interesting things can happen if there is someone with a little bit of imagination inside the box. Dee Lillegard’s rhythmical writing joins Jon Agee’s attractive illustrations and makes “Sitting in My Box” an interesting book for little children.

A boy gets into a cardboard box accompanied by a book of wild animals. Soon after he begins reading the book, his imagination sets off a series of characters and situations. A tall giraffe knocks on the box and asks him to let her in, so the boy moves over. Then, some more animals knock on the box and, one by one, each animal gets into the box too. Eventually, there is no more place in the box. “Someone has to go,” says the boy, but none of the animals move. Suddenly, one more visitor arrives and provides the story an unexpected twist.

“Sitting in My Box” perfectly shows that imagination can turn an ordinary object into the scene of a curious adventure. Interesting and funny, the story will attract the audience and surprise them at the end. After reading, more than one child will want to get into the cardboard box.

Eat up, Gemma (review by Natalia Brucciamonti)

Written by Sarah Hayes

Illustrations by Jan Ormerod

Entertaining for learners who are in kindergarten, “Eat Up, Gemma” is a story about a baby who doesn’t want to eat her food. Sarah Hayes, the writer, shows in the book the way Gemma’s entire family care about her. They all try to make the toddler eat up her meals.

Gemma is asked to eat by her mother, grandmother, dad and friends, but all she does is throwing, squashing and banging her food. The baby’s relatives get more and more worried as days pass and Gemma continues without eating. Fortunately, the toddler’s little brother finds a clever solution to end with this situation.

Although the story might be interesting for your learners you should be aware of the discriminatory message that can be inferred by reading the book. The context of the story is a black-colored community. Gemma and her relatives are black-colored people who have black-colored friends. It’s not possible to see in Ormerod’s illustrations a person who doesn’t belong to that specific ethnic community. The issue about this is that the characters of the book are presented as a preferential group, segregated from the rest of the people.

If you’re interested in teaching your young learners values and the importance of tolerance towards a multicultural society, this isn’t the book I would recommend you to read them.

The Great, Big, Enormous Turnip (review by M.A.)

Alexei Tolstoy, Helen Oxenbury (Illustrations)

Mammoth; New edition edition (Sep 18 1998)

Paperback: 28 pp $ 10,43

The Great, Big, Enormous Turnip is a lovely old story for children by Alexei Tolstoy, one of the most famous Russian writers of all times. This story shows that through cooperation and sustained effort, big problems can be solved and difficult aims can be achieved.

“Grow, grow little turnip, grow sweet. Grow, grow little turnip, grow strong”. These are the words that the old man, one of the main characters of the book, utters at the beginning of the story when he plants a little turnip. What he doesn’t imagine is that the vegetable will not only grow sweet and strong but also big, great and enormous! The impressive size of the vegetable makes it impossible for the old man to pull it up on his own, and consequently, he needs to look for help. This is the point from which the whole story develops, through a repetitive sequence of actions in which different characters, ranging from an old woman to a little mouse, help the old man with the onerous task of trying to pull the enormous turnip up. The simplicity of the vocabulary used by Tolstoy, and the predictability of the sequence of events make this story suitable and engaging for children of all ages, but especially for younger ones.

On the other hand, Helen Oxenbury’s humorous and fresh illustrations vividly portray the huge effort that all the characters make in order to pull the great turnip up. This makes the story wildly funny and fascinating for children.

Undoubtedly, in The Great, Big, Enormous Turnip, Tolstoy and Oxenbury show that it is not necessary to create a big, enormous story to engage children with reading, but that simplicity and humour can be the best combination to make a story absolutely charming and delightful for them.

Two Greedy Bears: a story about not being greedy (review by Julieta Acevedo)

“Two greedy bears” is a fascinating story which has been adapted from a Hungarian folk tale by Mirra Ginsburg. In order to enthrall children, the book has captivating pictures drawn by Jose Arruego and Ariane Dewey, and the main characters are two lovely cubs who live in the woods.

The book tells the story of two little bears who always quarrel because they are too greedy and selfish. After observing them, a smart fox appears and takes advantage of this situation. The story has an unexpected and surprising resolution and also implies a message for children. This tale may try to express that being greedy leads to negative consequences and also to highlight the positive and important value of sharing.

I highly recommend this book, not only because parents may read it to their children and share a wonderful and pleasant moment with them, but also because this tale promotes the value of sharing.

Hello, House! (review by Julián Riobó)

Linda Hayward, Lynn Musinger (illustrator)

Publisher: Random House Trade

Hello, House! is the story of a sly rabbit that uses his wits to triumph over a not particularly clever wolf that wants to catch him. This lovely and funny tale takes place in the middle of the woods, where the little rabbit lives in a cosy house with his family. Linda Hayward, the author, and Lynn Musinger, with his utterly charming illustrations, show how intelligence prevails over physical strength with an engaging story for children between four and eight years of age

Hello, House! has a mixture of humour and didactic elements. The shrewd little rabbit using all his cleverness in order to get rid of the foolish wolf makes up a gripping story. Children are bound to have much fun when they see the way this naive-looking rabbit can make a fool of the big, hairy wolf. “Brer Wolf is bigger. But Brer Rabbit is a whole lot smarter”. The wolf spends his days trying to catch the little rabbit without any success since he sees himself outwitted by his “prey”. The author conveys a message that tells children that using their intelligence is much more important than using physical strength.

The little rabbit plays tricks on the wolf which make him feel silly and inferior. He places figures made of straw resembling rabbits in the woods with the purpose of making a fool of the unintelligent wolf. The main part of the story begins when the whole rabbit family goes out on a picnic. Brer Wolf is determined to take advantange of this situation and he has a plan that is likely to lead him to success for once and for all. But will he be clever enough to carry it out?

Undoubtedly, a perfect story to keep children amused as well as teach them a lesson. The tale will not disappoint them. Containing wonderful drawings and a hugely enjoyable story, this tale will surely fascinate any child. Highly recommended for kids between the ages of four and eight.

The Foot Book (review by Valeria Niell)

Dr. Seuss gifts us The Foot Book, perfect to read along with young children because of its short and repetitive phrases and attracting drawings.

The Foot Book describes all sort of feet and the characters are simple and funny, like doodles, and they clearly express what the words depict. For example, for “slow feet” there’s a big monster denoting laziness with his long ears and arms hanging still, and there’s a sense of calmness in his eyes and smile. We can easily imagine him walking in slow motion. And for “trick feet” there’s a dog juggling with his feet.

The most interesting feature of this engaging book is the rhyme and the repetition of phrases, encouraging the young reader to “foresee” or anticipate what the words will read (to cite an instance , the repetition of “Here come...”).

Dr. Seuss plays with words and their sounds creating rhymes, like “In the house and on the street, how many, many feet you meet”.

The presence of rhymes and repeated phrases is an excellent resource in children's books, because the readers will never sound dull or boring due the melody these rhymes give to their voice. I recommend this book because it will help young readers/listeners to include new words to their vocabulary, such as adjectives (since all the feet in The Foot Book are accompanied by an attribute: Sick, slow, fuzzy, etc.) and opposites (small and big, etc.).

The Wiener Dog Magnet (Review by G.V.)

"The Wiener Dog Magnet" is a story written and illustrated by Hayes Roberts, which tells a tale of how a little monkey named Kiki Marie saves the day with just a magnet dog. After paying a nickel for a wiener magnet, she heads towards different places and comes across a difficulty when reaching a river, where real wiener dogs live. The experience Kiki Marie lives is a great example for children to learn certain values in the book.

The encounter with these real dogs represents a trouble for Kiki Marie, but the turning point in the story comes when she uses her imagination to rescue two alligators that she happens to see trapped in the rapids of a river and she decided to put them into safety by using her magnet. This innocent but inventive idea turns out to be an unforgettable moment when the king of alligators gives her a blue ribbon as an acknowledgement for her kindness and bravery.

There are several topics that the story touches upon such as solidarity, friendship, no discrimination, courage, which you can read when Kiki rescues the alligators. All these topics are special for kindergarten children since they can understand certain values easily by reading Kiki Marie’s adventure.

All Hayes’s pictures shown in the book or the online version, which look the same, are simple and really attractive, triggering children’s interest from the beginning and putting a hook in readers from the first pages.

As a negative aspect, the story is a bit short and the action is really fast. There is no space for enlarging vocabulary. However, whether you choose to buy the book or read the online story, you will enjoy it.

The Old woman who lived in a vinegar bottle (review by Paola Vellere)

“The old woman who lived in a vinegar bottle” is a short story about an old woman who always complains about her living situation till a fairy hears her laments and decides to help the woman.

The author, Margaret Read MacDonald, uses repetitive and funny sentences to narrate the story that makes it easier for children to follow. The old woman thinks that she would be happy living in a cottage, but when the fairy makes the woman’s dream come true, the old woman complains again and again.

“What a pity, what a pity, pity, pity

That a woman like me should live in this…”

The woman’s greed increases every time the fairy grants her desires of living in different places. But the fairy decides to teach her a moral. The old woman is an ungrateful and unhappy person who thinks that happiness is a matter of material things.

The book has got colorful illustrations with many tiny details that call young children’s attention. This Book is highly recommended for children and for every person who is able to listen to a simple children’s story and reflect upon how people sometimes relate material things to happiness.

Two Greedy Bears (review by Nadina J. González Nomi)

The story titled “Two Greedy Bears”, by Mirra Ginsburg, is concerned with highlighting the idea of sharing. The author tries to show how greediness affects behaviour. Not only does she achieve this, she also engages children’s attention with bright and colourful drawings, where the furry beards look like real ones.

This story is about two greedy bear cubs that learn a lesson of sharing after an unforgettable experience. One day, they run across a piece of round cheese. But they are afraid that the other one would get the bigger piece. They argue and fight due to the cheese. Suddenly, a fox comes and offers to divide the cheese in equal parts. However, he separates the food into two unequal ones. Thus, the fox eats and eats and eats until the parts are equal. However, they are two very little crumbs.

The story in intended to teach children that generosity is something necessary in order to establish a good and strong relationship with friends. The bears’ behaviour is badly affected by the competition between themselves. However, they get a valuable lesson through hard experience.

A children’s story should demand a certain level of emotional involvement on the part of the reader and/ or the hearer. To put it simply, the story should not just describe some narrative events; it should allow the reader and /or the hearer to participate in it. This involvement can be achieved while reading the tale to children because the reader and/ or the hearer can participate commenting the events that take place in the story.

I believe that “Two Greedy Bears” teaches a valuable lesson. Hence, this story will work for children of any age. It can have an enormous impact on kids by having important implications for future children’s behaviour. Children can reflex on their own conduct towards others. Therefore, this tale would be a good choice for story times and lap times, to help children choose the best way to behave with peers.

“So can I” (review by Gabriela Belitzki)

In this book, readers will meet a friendly girl who carries out several actions which are concerned with daily routines. From brushing her teeth to carrying groceries, this girl is able to do anything. But this child is not alone; she is joined by different animals that can perfom these same actions very well, and even greater than this sweet girl.

The authors, Allan Ahlberg and Colin Mc Naughton, draw different comparisons between these girl’s abilities and these animals’ abilities, which happen to be really funny. These comparisons are expressed through repetition, which is the authors’ main stylistic resource. As repetition implies the use of the same grammar structure throughout the story, it is easy for young readers to predict the following comparison between the girl and the animals. What is more, children can participate by creating new comparisons among the characters. Besides, the colourful and expressive illustrations clearly support the story, increasing children’s engagement.

This book is highly recommended for parents who enjoy reading with their children and for those children who are starting reading on their own.

A fantastic story not to be missed (review by Daniela Pugliese)

Engaging and surprising, when the elephant walks shows children that all of us are afraid of something. This book is brilliantly written and illustrated by Keiko Kasza, who includes so many humorous details in the pictures that children will feel amazed.

The story begins with a series of events in which an elephant scares a bear, who is stealing honey from a beehive when the bear runs away, he scares a crocodile and so on. Fear spreads among other animals until a mouse appears and the question is ‘who would be scared by a little mouse?’. Since the outcome is unexpected for children, it creates a great suspense. This book is wonderful for preschoolers and children who are beginning to read because each page has few words and each picture shows perfectly what is happening.

If you are looking for a book containing a moral then you should get this book. It shows children that there may be someone bigger than you who gets scared. I definitely recommend when the elephant walks.

The great, big, enormous turnip (review by Jésica Torres)

“The great, big, enormous turnip” tells the story of an old man who plants a little turnip hopping it would grow strong. But his wishing is so huge, that he will need many hands to pull it up. By this retelling, Alexei Tolstoy, leads young readers to involve themselves with the values of cooperation, teamwork and diversity.

The little turnip grows great, big and enormous being impossible for the old man to pull it up by himself. For this reason, he calls for help to the old woman. But as their strength is not enough, he goes on asking for help and joining more people and animals who accept to cooperate with the old man despite the differences they may have as regards culture, age, race and gender. In fact, it is not until they are all together hauling the turnip up at the same time and direction, that the big plant comes up.

Tolstoy’s retelling is great for young learners of the English language. Its repetitive use of the regular and a few irregular verbs in the past tense and the reiteration of lexical items that children are familiar with, make the book and effective resource; easy for children to understand and enjoy while learning collective principles in the foreign language.

Eat up, Gemma (Review by Gisela Méndez)

Gemma's family tells her that she must eat, but she doesn't like being pushed around. Instead she does what she wants: she throws her breakfast on the floor, pulls grapes off one by one, bangs her spoon on the table and gives her dinner to the dog. When Gemma,the main character in “Eat up, Gemma”, finally decides to eat, she chooses not only an unusual time and place, but also a funny presented meal. Sarah Hayes has written this story with a focus on the difficult stage for parents in which children are not willing to eat anything.

The text does not imply race, but its illustrator, Ormerod, extends Hayes’ witty prose with warm and lively drawings of a black family, sometimes frustrated but always willing to understand and care for its youngest member. The little Gemma, is a lovely character: showing in every action the lively curiosity of her age group.

The book will work as an interesting tool for parents to deal with toddlers who are determined not to eat their food.

Eat up, Gemma (review by Betina Ricchezza)

“Eat up, Gemma” is a wonderful and lovely story in which a whole family encourage baby Gemma to eat. The author, Sarah Hayes, uses simple language to describe funny situations of a family dealing with common problems of a baby. The author´s choice that Gemma´s elder brother narrates the story makes it much warmer and more sensitive.

Baby Gemma decides not to eat and when she hears her mum, dad or grandma saying “Eat up, Gemma”, she throws her breakfast on the floor or gives her dinner to the dog. All family´s attempts to encourage Gemma to eat fail. A Sunday morning at church, Gemma becomes fascinated with an unusual hat of a woman. This amusing situation gives her elder brother an intelligent idea to solve the problem.

Along the story the author manages to combine humour, worries and smartness which make “Eat up, Gemma” a great story.

Recommended for preschoolers and younger. They will reflect on it ; and even their parents !

Forum 1: The appropriate topics for children

As we read at the beginning of the year, Corbally sustains that “children’s literature is didactic (teaches/preaches); even the best of children’s literature is didactic.” So, if we agree products for children are supposed to ‘teach’, what do you think they should teach? Or, the other way round: what do you think they should not teach? What topics are proper or improper when children are the target?

Join the discussion!

The building Ant

Once upon a time there was a little ant, Red Ant, who was extremely sensitive. However, the rest of the ants were not such nice people.

Being very young, Red Ant started building a new house. Her friends laughed at her and said to her “Why are you working so hard? Let’s have fun together!” But little Red Ant never gave up her dream. She wanted the house to protect her family, her friends and future ants from the wind.

Day by day she worked so hard while the other ants ate and

laughed. Month by month, year by year she never quit. So old and tired but so inspired she saw her dream came true. In that moment an amazed an

t approached Red Ant and told her “You’ve wasted your whole life building such a big house. And now that you’ve finished it you are about to die”. “What’s wrong with that?, said little Red Ant. “It makes room for new people”. “I’ve never wanted the house to protect myself; I wanted it to protect you, and your friends”, explained Red Ant.

Little Red Ant, admiring her good job, realised that her main aim of helping others was fulfilled. Thus, she decided to take a rest, a long one.

Red Ant is now remembered in the colony because of her kindness.

Plan B: A hungry decision

Once upon a time a big colony of Red Ants was getting ready for the winter season. They had to collect food and keep it in a big store-room.

Little Red Ant was supervising the operation. He asked Big Red Head, his right hand, to go upstairs and have a look at the garden. “Sir, we’re fucked! Big Black Bottoms got ahead of us. They took all the food”, said Big Red Head. “God damn those fat asses! Time for plan B has come. Start immediately”, answered Little Red Ant.

Big Red Head was worried. He thought plan B was wrong. “But sir, are you sure? Don’t you think it’s a bit too soon?”, asked Big Red Head. “What’s wrong with that?”, said Little Red Ant, “it makes room for new people”. “To the retirement house!”, he ordered.