Struwwelpeter

Struwwelpeter
by Heinrich Hoffman


Every once in a while, even if it is considered horrifying in today's context, it can be a worthwhile excursion to have the kids experience a book (age-appropriate) from the past replete with its dated views (which were consistent with its times, naturally) and shocking bluntness.

Struwwelpeter,  written in 1844 by a German physician, Dr. Heinrich Hoffmann (1809-1894), is one such.

Tired of boring children's books, Dr.Hoffmann wrote this for his three-year-old son Carl Philipp. There are 10 cautionary tales, told in verse, some long, some short, all of them incredibly bizarre and yet quite delightful in a horrifying sort of way. 

From 1851 onwards Dr.Hoffmann specialized in psychology and staunchly stood by this book despite the strong criticism and disapproval it received. The book has been translated into several languages, and the fact that it is still in circulation 150+ years later must account for its strength.

I love Struwwelpeter! The English translation is reminiscent of some of the children's books/magazines I grew up with - no sugar-coated politically correct phrasing or story. "Horrible things happen to children if they don't heed caution..." seems to be the underlying message, a rather extreme approach to teaching safety.

Struwwelpeter in English Translation (100th edition) instantly became the 7 year old's favorite, nicknamed,  the "Weirdo Book" and gets chosen from our bookshelf often, just for the fun of it.

When right above the Copyright information on the first page, we read a note from the publisher, "... regrets the potentially offensive content of "The Story of the Inky Boys" but has retained the story to avoid censorship of a work considered to be classic", it is clear that there must be something about that story that must be inconsistent with today's values.

If the cover image is intriguing, it goes with the title story 'Struwwelpeter' or Shock-headed Peter.
Just look at him! There he stands,
With his nasty hair and hands.
See! his nails are never cut;
They are grim'd as black as soot;
And the sloven, I declare,
Never once had comb'd his hair;
Any thing to me is sweeter
Than to see Shock-headed Peter.

And this is possibly the tamest one in the collection.

The Story of Cruel Frederick can be quite disturbing to a sensitive child, but, the kid at home took it fine, knowing it is just a story and is written expressly to discourage such behaviors.

The Dreadful Story About Harriet And The Matches says it all - of course Harriet is victim to her own curiosity about matches.

The Story of Little Suck-A-Thumb is my favorite despite its sad outcome.

The Story of Johnny Head-in-the-Air and The Story of Flying Robert were the top favorites, they are rather silly and comical.

Stuwwelpeter 2000  by Colin Blyth, Heinrich Hoffmann, Georgina Roche and Valerie Blyth includes the original German version, plus some edits to the stories to give a happier ending, to make them more agreeable with today's views.

A later version, Struwwelpeter by Bob Staake and Monte Beauchamp showcases Staake's unique skills as he puts a modern-day spin to these potentially nightmarish tales where nasty things happen to children who don't listen to the warnings given by their parents for their own safety. Take for example the thumb-sucking Conrad. Jarring as it might be that the scissorman came, its extreme approach allows for the comical to materialize.

Many interesting short discussions have come about in our house thanks to this book. Is it horrifying? Why/Why Not? How would you to tell the same story/message today? Do we even need such messages today? How do children today know to be safe and respectful if they don't read stories like these? What if all children's books were of this sort, would kids be interested in reading them? (Which made us even more grateful for all the amazing books available to children today!)

In our increasingly global world, as we teach our children to respect themselves and others, as we impart positive messages of compassion and fairness, as we cast away the preconceptions and prejudices, leaving behind the distasteful practices of the past and embracing a thoughtful approach to creating an immaculate future, it seems imperative that a peek into history, if only to reiterate the unacceptability of its repetition (or a grand chuckle at its absurdity), can prove to be of vital educational significance.



[image source: powells.com]

Four Comforting Family Books

Image source promo-wholesale.com

The Runaway Bunny
By Margaret Wise Brown
Picture by Clement Hurd
HarperCollins Publishers
Ages 3-6


When I picked this one up at the book fair, I didn't foresee that it would be read and re-read so many times. The mix of adventure and reassurance seemed to appeal to the little one, satisfying both his mind and heart.

Little bunny wants to run away and says he will become a fish. His mother, undeterred, responds saying she will become a fisherman and fish for him. Bunny retorts that he will become a rock on a mountain. We then see the mountain climber mother trudging up icy slopes in search of her little one.

The visuals alternate between black and white line drawings and full-color illustrations. The double page spread with bunny setting off to hide himself is in B&W, while the one in which the mother goes on a bunny hunt is in lovely bright hues. My son is amused by the rabbit shaped tree waiting for the little bunny-bird to come home to it, and the bunny-sailboat’s ears shaped like oversized sails.

No matter what the little bunny transforms into and where he goes, his mother says she will be there for him, even if it means becoming the wind itself, which will blow the sailboat where she wants him to go. In the end, Bunny decides he might as well stay where he is.

We may seek thrill and excitement, but eventually long for the comfort and familiarity of home and loved ones.

image source amazon.com

Pirate Boy
By Eve Bunting
Illustrated by Julie Fortenberry
Holiday House
Ages 3-6

Full of fantastic adventures, but ultimately reassuring, this is another book about a mother’s love and the lengths she will go for her child.

The story opens with Danny and his mom reading a book called Pirate Boy.

“What if I want to be a pirate and sail away on a pirate ship?” Danny asks his mom. She will be sad; but if Danny doesn’t like it and wants to go home, she will come to the rescue, even if she has to ride on a dolphin, battle sea monsters, and wield a bottle of pirate-shrinking magic spray to do it!

Unlike with some of Bunting’s work where she deals with topics like divorce or death, this one my son did not discard as “sad”. In fact, the author seems to go out of the way to make it pleasant. Before the book ends, Danny’s mom promises to leave the magic spray so the pirates (who mind you, are not really bad) can spray themselves big again. Mom and son are also going to play on the beach before going home. Dad’s going to be there too, and they’re all going to have cookies and milk. Danny’s going to give his mom the biggest cookie for being the bravest mom in the whole world.

Danny also gets an assurance from his Mom that if he goes to the moon and doesn’t like it there, she will come and get him. Now, if Eve Bunting does write a book with an adventure like that, we’re going to be sure to read it!

image source walker.co.uk

Guess How Much I Love You
Sam McBratney
Illustrated by Anita Jeram
Candlewick Press
Ages 3-6

Little ones will relate to the one-upmanship in this book about a dad's love.

I love you “this much” says Little Nutbrown Hare to Big Nutbrown Hare. The hares stretch, tumble, swing, bounce, and hop in their attempts to outdo one another in demonstrating their love, providing ample scope to the illustrator and Anita Jeram seizes the opportunity with both hands. The expressive pen and watercolor illustrations bring Little Nutbrown Hare and Big Nutbrown Hare to life. A stroke here, a tilt there, and baby hare is asleep. Amazing, don't you think?

When LNH says he loves his dad all the way to the moon, BNH lets him think he’s won, as only a parent can. As BNH puts his darling to bed, there is a calming, soothing effect. And then BNH whispers something – truly touching.
Tender and heartwarming, this is a book that’s perfect for bedtime reading or father-son bonding.

image source ebay.com

Chimp and Zee and the Big Storm
Catherine and Laurence Anholt
Phyllis Fogelman Books
Ages 3-6

Skimming through the book, I saw it had all the right ingredients – monkeys, mischief, rhythm and a mushy end.

Stuck up in their house on the coconut tree on a stormy day, the monkey twins, Chimp and Zee drive Mumkey and Papakey bananas with their ‘squibbling and squabbling’. The siblings are allowed to go out with Papakey to fetch the wash, but the imps don’t follow Mumkey’s instructions and get blown away near the sea and dangerous cliffs.

“Quick as lightning, Mumkey does an amazing thing” to rescue them.

We are left with this parting thought -

“Families can be stormy sometimes
But whatever the weather
We’ll always be together”

The Story Lady and Blanket of Stars

Today is Ganesh Chaturthi. The day we celebrate as the day of the birth of Ganesha, a friendly, benign deity about whom children learn very early. His place in our mythology as the destroyer of all obstacles means that we invoke him as 'Shree'- the beginning of everything. In the olden days, a child's education would begin with making a slate of rice grains in which the word Shree is inscribed holding the child's hand. This word is written at the beginning of any good that is undertaken.

The form that has been given to this deity is symbolic of the place he has in our society. There are many stories about this symbolism, most of which are stories told to children from a very early age. There are many variations on many of these stories, as befitting tales that have been part of our great oral tradition. There are many new spin-offs on these stories too. In the time honoured tradition of storytelling.

Here's a lovely book that has one such story about a naughty Ganesha, who was outwitted by his mother. The book has two award-winning stories, which were selected in a contest by Unisun Publications in collaboration with Reliance Timeout. The first one is a story about stories. Ages 6+

The Story Lady
Written by Shruthi Rao

Meenu is a little girl who loves stories. She is annoyed that her mother cannot think of any new story. How could she? For the Story Lady's bag of stories is empty. The bag that has the wispy stories that she blows around.

'Whenever a story touched a person, it dissolved into his mind, and he said, "Hey, I just thought of a story!"
People who looked for stories attracted more stories. So a great number of stories found their way to storytellers and writers, and of course, to people who have small children to look after, because little ones are always hungry for new stories."

I agreed completely with this statement. If I have a rupee for every time the kid asked me for a new story, I would be a rich woman.

So how does the Story Lady get her bag full again? How does Meenu help her? And does Meenu's mother 'think of a new story' at the end of it?

Blanket of Stars
Written by Rachna Chhabria

This is our story about Ganesha. Little Ganesha and his older brother Kartikeya both had lovely warm, soft blankets that were studded with gems. As any mother of more than one child will recognise, the younger one was not happy with his blanket, and thought his older brother had the one with more gemstones.

So one night, the naughty little Ganesha summoned all the stars and the moon from the sky to his blanket, and locked it up so that Kartikeya would not be able to get them.

Now this was a very fine state of affairs indeed. Night after night there was no sign of the moon and the stars, and all people and gods began to get worried. They thought that a very powerful creature had attacked heaven, and went to Lord Shiva for help.

'"This powerful creature will not listen to us,' Lord Shiva said. 'But, it will definitely listen to its mother.'"

So what happens next? How does the powerful creature's mother manage to retrieve the moon and the stars?

Two lovely stories, by writers who are worth watching.

Imaginary Menagerie

Imaginary Menagerie
A Book of Curious Creatures
Poems by Julie Larios
Paintings by Julie Paschkis


The gorgeous illustrations attracted me to this book in the library; and as I flipped through the pages, I knew this collection of poems about mythological creatures will be well-received by the 7-year-old.

Fourteen of the most enigmatic and awe-inspiring beings that make myths so attractive and yet hair-raising in some sense, are presented in this collection by the team who brought Yellow Elephant: A Bright Bestiary, a book of colorful animals.

From Dragon to Troll, Centaur to Firebird, Sphinx to Phoenix, Will o' the Wisp to Hobgoblin, Cockatrice to Thunderbird, the short poems are presented on the left of a double page spread with the paintings on the right.

Cockatrice
I'm a snake-tailed rooster,
I'm a rooster-headed snake.
All it takes
to turn you to stone
is one look from me.
Ki-ki-ri-ki-ri!
Should I crow or should I hiss?
S-ss-sss-ssss-sssssssssssss...

Some poems can be frightful, like the Troll which claims, "...Troll arms will grab you and put you in a pot-" or the Sea Serpent which invites, "Tonight when you sleep, why don't you swim with me through the water?";  but for the most part they are delightful and lyrical, like the Centaur, "Can he be half gallop, half-walk? Half dream, half-real? Half neigh, half talk?..." or the Naga, "I lift the fireballs up from the mud of the Mekong River into the sky. Who am I?"

Last page has More About the Imaginary Menagerie which provides a short paragraph about each of these creatures drawn from various cultures and folklore.

Books also illustrated by Julie Paschkis that we've enjoyed so far - Through Georgia's Eyes, The Yellow Elephant, and Bottle Houses.

[image source: www.juliepaschkis.com]

Never Tease a Weasel

image source vintagechildrensbooks.com

Never Tease a Weasel
By Jean Conder Soule
Ages 3+
Illustrated by Denman Hampson, published by Parents’ Magazine Press in 1964
Reprinted in 2007 by Dragonfly Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, with illustrations by George Booth



I am partial to tales written in verse, and this one is ingenious.

You can do nice things for animals - knit a kitten mittens, fit a fox with socks, make a goat a coat, or give a pig a wig…

“You could give a fish a dish 
For her favourite seaweed stew; 
Send three frogs some sailing togs 
And a yachting cap or two.”

I can't stop marvelling at the choice of words – they rhyme perfectly and fit right in. I love how Soule adds an extra something to the refrain - 'A weasel will not like it, And teasing isn't nice' - each time.

A simple message cloaked in a fun story with cute creatures and cheeky children.

The then 4 yo’s words of wisdom a few pages into the book - “No one likes to be teased” and a very regretful (but less truthful) “I don’t even know how to tease.”  So the next time his friend came complaining, I conjured up the book. It worked – both of them decided it’s more fun to be friends. And, surprise! The friend who has in the past said, “I don’t like reading all that much”, was giggling away and finishing lines for me!

A huge fan of nonsense verse in general and Dr. Seuss in particular, the resident four yo gave the book a thumbs-up and thinks publishing companies ought to make more books like these.

His favourite pictures in the book are of the boy wearing a mask and scaring the weasel, and the girl using a hose to wet the weasel. His parents love the self-assured expression sported by the fish waiting to be served seaweed stew.

The perky pictures that go with the cute couplets and silly situations add to the charm of this book.

The book-finder fairy was kind to me at last year’s Bangalore book fair, where I spotted a copy of this 1964 classic illustrated by Denman Hampson at the bottom of a pile. The book has been reprinted in recent years; the new edition has illustrations by the New Yorker cartoonist George Booth. Amazon lets you take a peek. I prefer the original version, maybe I’m old-fashioned?

A Dahl-icious Spread

Today, 13th September is Fantastic Mr Dahl's birthday.

pic courtesy flipkart

Spotty Powder and other Splendiferous Secrets
Compiled and illustrated by Quentin Blake
Publisher: Puffin (Pocket Money Puffin series)
Ages 6+

The book begins with a quote from his book The Minpins: “Above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most likely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” This should be the guiding light for all who associate themselves with children’s books. Or any books at all. Or anything that raises one above the mundane. As Dahl’s books certainly do. He was a keen observer of his surroundings, human or otherwise, and each of the twelve chapters begins with his essay on the month or season.

Do you know…

…that there were as many as ten naughty children to feature in his most famous book Charlie and the Chocolate factory? These were to have names like Bertie Upside and Herpes Trout. Or that the Oompa-Loompas were to be called Whipple-Scrumpets?

…that the Roald Dahl-Quentin Blake partnership began in 1976, quite late in Dahl’s career, and that initially Blake was nervous about illustrating for such a famous writer?

…that Dahl kept two notebooks in which he pinned down any stray idea that entered his head, and that almost all his books came from these years later?

…that strange though it may seem to his readers, his English teacher at boarding school had written him off? “This boy is an indolent and illiterate member of the class.” “Vocabulary negligible, sentences malconstructed. Ideas limited.”

…that in the churchyard at Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, big friendly giant footprints lead to Roald Dahl’s grave?

pic courtesy flipkart

D is for Dahl
A gloriumptious A-Z guide to the world of Roald Dahl
Compiled by Wendy Cooling
Illustrations Quentin Blake
Publishers: Puffin books
Ages 8+

It begins with a smudged copy of the Dahl family tree on page 1. The next 149 pages are cram-filled with alphabetically arranged snippets that will warm the heart of even the most reluctant of readers. All things Dahl : personal life, his books, quirks, his literary associates, his working style, his opinions about everything he came across- it is all there, in bite-sizes, and embellished with the zany illustrations of his friend and long-time illustrator, Quentin Blake.

From an essay written by him at school, describing his teacher: “He’s a short man with a face like a fried elderberry, and a moustache which closely resembles the African jungle.” On his teacher's cane: “It wasn’t simply an instrument for beating you. It was a weapon for wounding.” Do you see Miss Agatha Trunchbull from Matilda?

No wonder his teachers were vexed with him!

*************************************
Choxbox has this to say:

On our recent trip to the UK we went to Great Missenden to pay homage to our favourite author Mr.Dahl. My 7-year old says he is her favourite because he 'makes up funny words, which say what he has to tell exactly how he means it'.

So after an hour-long train ride from London, we reached The Roald Dahl Story Centre and Museum. This was our second trip there, the older child was 7 when we first went there.

The place is divided into two parts.

The first half houses items from Dahl's life, with fun interactive displays. The one that intrigued us most was a report card from one of his teachers which said that the boy had no imagination. The 7-year old found this hilarious. It also has the original writing hut that Dahl used. It has been moved here recently from his house

The second part is the Story Centre. This is a delightful place where you can play a number of games. There are many interactive displays and one gets a sense of what the whole writing gig is about. There are other fun things - like bottling your dreams like the BFG, by speaking into a microphone in a bottle, and then your dream is safe inside - you can replay and hear it back.

If all this excitement makes you hungry, you can head to Cafe Twit, the museum cafe, and gorge upon delicious-sounding things like Snozzcumbers and Whizzbangers. The shop sells many covetable things - we picked up a game that lets you create funny Dahl-ish words, and Dixon Ticonderoga pencils, the only ones he ever used.

We could not get enough of the place, and left only when the museum shut down. We wanted to check out Dahl's home too, but that is for another trip on another day perhaps.

If you ever happen to be around London, do visit this place, especially if you happen to be a Dahl-maniac like us!

Photographs courtesy Choxbox.

A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls
By Patrick Ness
Original idea by Siobhan Dowd
Illustrations by Jim Kay

What does it take to consider a book as a classic? Does it require it to be read by at least a few generation of readers? Or does it announce itself with a bang that cannot be mistaken for anything other than being a classic? A Monster Calls announces itself early on, very early on - that it is a ready to be considered as a classic - a tear jerker, an emotional wringer of a tale, a tale that tells us to face the truth, that we are all aware of, but refuse to accept. A tale which would open up the flood gates of our own anxiety and tears.

Conor is a good, frightened(A diversion here - although these two words do not go together always - many times we remain good because we are frightened - frightened to fight back, frightened that we will hurt some one, frightened that we will hurt ourselves)  boy living under the shadow of his mother's cancer. He tries to be the best kid for his mother, but he has his secrets - which he considers as dark, very dark. One night a monster walks into his life and decides to tell him 3 stories. The stories which are baffling and seem to veer away from what is the established right or wrong. The monster makes him tell his own story - his own dark secret - as the final story. The monster wants the truth.

Patrick Ness keeps you guessing - what can be more nightmarish than a monster walking into a almost-teenager's life at mid-night? What is the truth? What is so frightening that the kid is hesitant even to discuss with a scary monster?

While his not-so nightmarish incidents occur with the monster, his life outside goes on - his mother's medical condition gets more serious, he gets bullied by his school mates, teachers look at him with sympathy, he irritates the only friend he has in the school and his estranged father decides to pay him a visit.

The book could not have worked as well as it did - if not for the creepy, nightmarish illustrations that accompany the writing. The illustrations by Jim Kay are exceptional and painted in dark black and white. It is almost a metaphor for the fact that life is not always in black or white - it has shades of grey and multitude of other colours - but, these refuse to make an appearance in the book.

Probably the only book to have won both the Kate Greenway Award for illustrations and Carnegie Medal for writing in the same year(2012)- there is absolutely no doubt that this book will be a classic. A classic that will be read by kids and adults alike.

Sharing Susheela's Kolams

Pratham Books has been instrumental in organizing this amazing storytelling event,all across India as part of International Literacy Day celebrations. They've also generously offered the book, Susheela's Kolams for download from this link if someone is interested in organizing impromptu sessions in their community, both in the country and outside.

Saffron Tree is honored to share this note from Pratham Books.
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1 day. 1 book. 250 storytelling sessions. All states – Working towards a united India.


Join Pratham Books and over 250 storytellers in all of India's 28 states as we weave a story that unites thousands of children in India on International Literacy Day (8th September 2012)!

At Pratham Books we have a dream, to see “A book in every child's hand”. We understand that to reach the 200 million + children in India is going to take a while. So in the meantime we decided to take 1 book, 1 story to as many children possible on a single day throughout the country.

The idea is to encourage children to fall in love with reading. This initiative is part of the Pratham Books' Champions program where we encourage our community of volunteers to conduct reading sessions. These sessions are conducted free of cost and mostly with children from under-served communities.

The quality of these sessions have been outstanding and this encouraged us to dream of 100 sessions throughout country [at least one in each state]. We were a bit overwhelmed when that number slowly reached 250! Read some heart-wrenching and some logistical nightmare stories below!

We also hope to create a Limca record with this initiative in the hope that it brings to light the issues of joyful reading, access and multilingual publishing.

The book chosen for this campaign is one of our just released title “Susheela's Kolams”. Its a wonderful book about a little girl who loves kolams and dreams big!

As a not-for-profit multilingual publisher, the sessions are going to be conducted in 5 languages that the book is available in. [English, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi and Telugu.]


To know more about our champions program please visit the links below:
http://prathambooks.org/pratham-books-champions
http://blog.prathambooks.org/search/label/champions

Some beautiful on-ground stories:
Please visit: http://www.prathambooks.org/stories-field
Also attached excel file.