I have a serious peeve. Tons of books all around abound with themes trying to teach "morals" and "good behaviour" to kids. Quite frankly, I hate Aesop. All those parables really did it for kids books. Every other book published since seems to want to leave their young readers with some Lesson They'll Learn. Just read it. Kids these days are brighter than you think. They'll figure out the stuff to remember by themselves.
Anyway, even as I've tried very hard to keep these execrable books-with-morals-in-them out of the house, I did come across a few really nice books for younger readers (3+ years) a few years ago that dealt with Issues to Grapple With for kids very nicely.
Brimax Publishing's "It Wasn't Me", "It's Rude To Point", "I'm So Shy!" and "But Why", are amazingly cool books that younger readers identify with instantly. A group of four friends, a cat, a dog, a parrot and a rabbit take it in turns to learn social graces and the consequences of ignoring them in such an incredibly charming manner, kids love them! "But Why" deals with the tendency to question every little thing (NOT a bad thing), "I'm So Shy" is about learning to open up, "It's Rude To Point" is about just that, and "It Wasn't Me" is getting over the temptation to fib to get out of trouble.
While on the subject, Pepper, the lovable puppy who learns to be nice at the end of every book is nice enough too. Reprinted by Shree Book Centre, these are are really simple, but can be cloyingly sweet at times, and I haven't found kids hankering to read these. On the other hand, the most outstanding little books with maybe a lesson hidden in the are the Mr. Men and Little Miss series. Written by Roger Hargreaves originally, these books, published by Egmont UK are a serious must-have for travel, for visits to the doctor, and for any place where the child needs to be engaged for long hours on end. I love that these books are so handy to carry around, and Mr. Rude, Mr. Nosey, Mr. Greedy, Mr. Lazy, Little Miss Naughty, Little Miss Bad, Little Miss Bossy and the others happily inhabit a wonderful make-believe world made better by the likes of Little Miss Tidy, Little Miss Sunshine, Mr. Happy, Mr. Brave. Point I'm making - the books aptly represent the vastly differing qualities real people possess, the good and the not so good, the bothersome and the well... Skinny! And they teach kids more about human nature than any fable ever written.
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
Friday, 2 December 2011
Fancy Schmancy Nancy
I discovered Fancy Nancy at a book exhibition for kids when a friend pointed out that this looked like a cute book. Cute?! Oh no, that doesn't begin to cover it at all. Fancy Nancy books are exquisitely illustrated, endearing and tres jolie. Nancy is (I think) a 6 year old who believes with all her heart in French and its power to jazz up the most ordinary situation.
Nancy does not do ordinary. She dresses fancy, talks fancy and acts fancy. She also, very quickly, ends up becoming a role model of sorts for impressionable little girls. I haven't quite discovered the effect of reading one of these books to a boy, but I instinctively believe they may not quite hold the same appeal for boys as they do for the girls. I'd like to actually read one of these to a little boy and see.
My daughter, on the other hand, developed a little faux French accent, a huge propensity to wear beads, and other random affectations after these books came home, so beware those side effects too.
Do pick up the first Fancy Nancy book to start with; it introduces the heroine, her most regular but very indulgent parents and her little sister, and her neighbour, the very posh Mrs. DeVine(!) and her very posh puppy. Go on to the others as Nancy and her (also) very fancy friend Bree and the "goofball" Lionel discover art (Aspiring Artist - a great introduction to famous artists), poetry (a fabulous book called Poet Extraordinaire), astronomy (Stellar Stargazer), cooking (Delectable Cupcakes), being sporting (The Mean Girl), being proud of ones family (My Family History), and loads of other things. Nancy's teacher Miss Glass is the best kindergarten teacher you'll never find. I haven't named several of the other books, but every single one is a complete find.
Oh, and I must say that while they are available in the not at all expensive I Can Read series as well, do indulge and pick up the expensive hard cover occasionally - I've seen loads of them on Flipkart. The glitter on the jacket just sets the tone for all that fancy-ness so well! And they make for lovely birthday gifts too. Trust me, I've seen the delight writ large on grubby, cake smeared faces.
The blurb on the jacket says that the books are "by the #1 New York Times Bestselling author and illustrator duo Jane O'Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser". What an amazingly talented duo!
Nancy does not do ordinary. She dresses fancy, talks fancy and acts fancy. She also, very quickly, ends up becoming a role model of sorts for impressionable little girls. I haven't quite discovered the effect of reading one of these books to a boy, but I instinctively believe they may not quite hold the same appeal for boys as they do for the girls. I'd like to actually read one of these to a little boy and see.
My daughter, on the other hand, developed a little faux French accent, a huge propensity to wear beads, and other random affectations after these books came home, so beware those side effects too.
Do pick up the first Fancy Nancy book to start with; it introduces the heroine, her most regular but very indulgent parents and her little sister, and her neighbour, the very posh Mrs. DeVine(!) and her very posh puppy. Go on to the others as Nancy and her (also) very fancy friend Bree and the "goofball" Lionel discover art (Aspiring Artist - a great introduction to famous artists), poetry (a fabulous book called Poet Extraordinaire), astronomy (Stellar Stargazer), cooking (Delectable Cupcakes), being sporting (The Mean Girl), being proud of ones family (My Family History), and loads of other things. Nancy's teacher Miss Glass is the best kindergarten teacher you'll never find. I haven't named several of the other books, but every single one is a complete find.
Oh, and I must say that while they are available in the not at all expensive I Can Read series as well, do indulge and pick up the expensive hard cover occasionally - I've seen loads of them on Flipkart. The glitter on the jacket just sets the tone for all that fancy-ness so well! And they make for lovely birthday gifts too. Trust me, I've seen the delight writ large on grubby, cake smeared faces.
The blurb on the jacket says that the books are "by the #1 New York Times Bestselling author and illustrator duo Jane O'Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser". What an amazingly talented duo!
Thursday, 1 December 2011
What Kids Want
I grew up with my nose buried deep inside a book. My mum would often joke that we'd have to call an excavator to get me out of there. In hindsight, it did seem to me that I'd looked up from a book one day and discovered I had sort of elongated.
While I continued to chomp my way through age appropriate reading over the years, I never really gave up on my first love, stuck as I was in a Peter Pan sort of way to children's books. There is something fascinating about writers who write for children. Are they accomplished psychologists who can delve deep into a child's mind and shape the ideas there? Or are they children amusing themselves and believing in the story almost as much as the audience it is intended for? No matter.
I love all books, but I love children's books most of all.
Oh I just checked the title of this blog. What Kids Want. Well, what I think they want is a jolly good read. Nothing too clever, no hidden lesson, just another world to lose themselves in when it all gets too crazy in this one. And that's the whole of it.
My blog is for Mommies who want to know what book to pick up next to satisfy that insatiable cry of "Read, Mamma! Read!" that I hear ever so often. I read to my child all the time. At bedtime. At lunchtime. On a trip. In the loo. Everywhere. She is a book fiend. She refuses to learn to read because she thinks that might stop my reading to her. Silly thing. Little does she know I secretly enjoy it more than she does. Its not, therefore, about how soon your child starts to read, or how many books she wants to read. Its about a parallel universe you'll open the door to. I've opened that door a crack for my child. I'd also like to believe I've opened it a tad for other children as well. I'm the book auntie. The one that never, ever gifts you everything else.
So here are my recos if you want to start them young. And this one tops my list.
Julia Donaldson. Everything she's ever written or will write is a must read. My personal favourites are the books illustrated by the wonderful Axel Scheffler. I love that these books appeal to boys and girls equally. Too much gender typing starts too early anyway. Get "The Gruffalo", a delightful story about a fictitious monster who's well, not that fictitious after all and a clever mouse who avoids getting eaten in this book and in its sequel - "The Gruffalo's Child", both perhaps among the finest books ever written for kids. Just when you're getting into the rhyme of the thing, reach for "The Room on the Broom" and get onto an adventure on a broomstick with a real witch. "Tiddler" - a fish that tells tall tales is another must have. I love the generous "Smartest Giant in Town", and "Monkey Puzzle" is the best biology lesson you'll ever get! "Stick Man" is the adventure of your life!
Read them, Gift them, Love them, whatever.
While I continued to chomp my way through age appropriate reading over the years, I never really gave up on my first love, stuck as I was in a Peter Pan sort of way to children's books. There is something fascinating about writers who write for children. Are they accomplished psychologists who can delve deep into a child's mind and shape the ideas there? Or are they children amusing themselves and believing in the story almost as much as the audience it is intended for? No matter.
I love all books, but I love children's books most of all.
Oh I just checked the title of this blog. What Kids Want. Well, what I think they want is a jolly good read. Nothing too clever, no hidden lesson, just another world to lose themselves in when it all gets too crazy in this one. And that's the whole of it.
My blog is for Mommies who want to know what book to pick up next to satisfy that insatiable cry of "Read, Mamma! Read!" that I hear ever so often. I read to my child all the time. At bedtime. At lunchtime. On a trip. In the loo. Everywhere. She is a book fiend. She refuses to learn to read because she thinks that might stop my reading to her. Silly thing. Little does she know I secretly enjoy it more than she does. Its not, therefore, about how soon your child starts to read, or how many books she wants to read. Its about a parallel universe you'll open the door to. I've opened that door a crack for my child. I'd also like to believe I've opened it a tad for other children as well. I'm the book auntie. The one that never, ever gifts you everything else.
So here are my recos if you want to start them young. And this one tops my list.
Julia Donaldson. Everything she's ever written or will write is a must read. My personal favourites are the books illustrated by the wonderful Axel Scheffler. I love that these books appeal to boys and girls equally. Too much gender typing starts too early anyway. Get "The Gruffalo", a delightful story about a fictitious monster who's well, not that fictitious after all and a clever mouse who avoids getting eaten in this book and in its sequel - "The Gruffalo's Child", both perhaps among the finest books ever written for kids. Just when you're getting into the rhyme of the thing, reach for "The Room on the Broom" and get onto an adventure on a broomstick with a real witch. "Tiddler" - a fish that tells tall tales is another must have. I love the generous "Smartest Giant in Town", and "Monkey Puzzle" is the best biology lesson you'll ever get! "Stick Man" is the adventure of your life!
Read them, Gift them, Love them, whatever.
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