by Mojico, Ana & Trenti, Andrea
“Tell me what you have and I’ll tell you who you are”. This seems to be the essence of what is called the consumer society. Jean Baudrillard claims that this is a type of society in which consumption is not simply associated with fulfilling necessities, but with creating meaning. Having certain products is a way of belonging to some specific group or keeping a particular social status. That is, through compulsive shopping, we do not only acquire objects but also signs. The real value of goods does not lie in their capacity of use but in their capacity of representation. Therefore, consumption creates identity from the moment we are born.
Having, instead of using, seems to be the underlying premise in Toy Story I, the first computer animated film, produced in the USA in 1995. Beneath children that accumulate too much and play too little, and toys that are afraid of being replaced by new toys, the childhood built in Toy Story I is consumerist.
Standing on top of a tin and holding a plastic microphone, Woody, the leader of the toys, reminds his friends: “It doesn’t matter how much we are played with, what matters is that we are here for Andy when he needs us, we were made for that, right?” Through this brief speech he summarizes the basis of the consumer society, as if he were a well-known economist: toys are not produced to be played with, what matters is to own them.
Andy accumulates electronic cars, attractive board games, big dinosaurs, talking dolls, magic boards, and even an enormous and sophisticated circuit for races. All of them seem to wait, hopefully, to take part in a funny adventure. However, they spend their days in a wooden box, fearing the threat of being pushed down by more modern toys. The accelerated obsolescence characterizes the consumer society, in which people are persuaded, through advertising, of the necessity of a new product almost from the moment they unwrap the one they have.
Consumerism is also expressed in the film through the promotion of merchandizing. Once Andy is given the latest and most fashionable toy, Buzz Lightyear, he begins to consume products whose main function is to advertise that toy and not to fulfill a real necessity. Despite having a warm and colorful cover, he replaces it by one that shows a big image of the new toy.
So, what is the real value of that object? Image. Just the appearance of something. Products are signs attached to meanings and stereotypes that shape identity and lifestyle. What really leads people to buy is not a physical need but the symbolic need of creating an image. By having certain kind of toys, Andy keeps his mid social status. On the one hand, an imposing house, a modern car and the habit of eating fast food in a fashionable place, contribute to build that social status in the film. On the other hand, the lack of these items is used to represent the evil and destructive identity of his neighbour, Sid, who has a few old toys in a small dark bedroom.
But, beyond image, what is the real difference between the two children? While Andy accumulates toys, Sid uses them. Sid combines the head of a doll with the legs of a spider to build a new toy. In the end, Sid’s toys satisfy a natural necessity of children: experimenting. His identity is built by doing and not by having. Only in a consumer society can accumulating be worthier than creating.
Oct 16, 2013
The lion’s den
by Pires, Aldana and Vincenti, Nicolas
The reissue of ‘The Lion King’ as a 3D film, and its subsequent 3D Blu-ray release back in 2011, brought the film back into discussion. It definitely stands as one of the most successful and well-received Disney’s classics of all time: it ranks 2nd in the list of the highest-grossing animated films, and 20th in the list of the highest-grossing films of all time. Moreover, the film has an overall approval rating of 90%, and thus, its re-release was not a surprise.
Its success can be partially justified by the apparent messages to children: on the one hand, the idea of being willing to obey parent’s orders, and on the other hand, the notion of growing up and, as a consequence, of being responsible. But the question is, are these the only messages of the film?
Certainly, there’s something really important to consider that needs to be brought into focus. The Lion King does not only encourage being obedient and assuming responsibilities, but it also stands for the notion of white supremacy and black segregation.
The golden lions from the royal family depict what is good and civilised, while the antagonist, Scar, being a lion from the same family himself, has a darker tone. This representation of evil characters as the ones whose fur colour is non-golden also applies to Scar’s hirelings: the hyenas. The indicated latent fact may look silly and irrelevant, and it may be called an exaggeration, but these little details are by no means innocent and do carry a strong sense of ideology within them.
Undoubtedly, the choice of the cast lacks innocence as well. Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin, two well-known black actors, were chosen to interpret two out of the three hyenas. Jim Cummings completes the trio, and as Goldberg and Marin do, he pitches his voice to portray the way in which the afro-American cultural groups speak. The three of them use the typical vocabulary and pronunciation of the African American vernacular English. Most people would laugh at these impersonations, but taking a deeper view, they only keep on undervaluing the black cultural society.
Actually, if the same characterisation had been imposed to all the members of the cast, there wouldn’t be any problem as the story is set in Africa, but, as far as it can be observed, none of the golden lions speak as the hyenas do.
Apart from their sounds and their previously mentioned dark colour, the feliforms were also fashioned with misshapen bodies and clumsy movements. To make a clear contrast, the amber lions carry an emblematic-shaped body and an elegant demeanor. In this sense, the visual aesthetic is added to the degradation and discrimination of black ethnic groups making them look hideous.
As if this wasn’t enough mistreatment for black cultures, the hyenas, the ones who represent what’s wrong and uncivilised, are out of place. They can not occupy a place in the kingdom, and therefore, they are segregated to the elephant graveyard, where they suffer from hunger and misery. This could be compared to black ethnic communities that live in ghettos located near great cities.
All these offenses cannot be ignored when deciding if it is good to bring back this classic into our lives. ‘The Lion King’ has been good in its time, but nowadays our society is much more conscious as regards tolerance to diverse ethnic groups. The underlying notions of racism in the film give enough reasons to question its revival.
The reissue of ‘The Lion King’ as a 3D film, and its subsequent 3D Blu-ray release back in 2011, brought the film back into discussion. It definitely stands as one of the most successful and well-received Disney’s classics of all time: it ranks 2nd in the list of the highest-grossing animated films, and 20th in the list of the highest-grossing films of all time. Moreover, the film has an overall approval rating of 90%, and thus, its re-release was not a surprise.
Its success can be partially justified by the apparent messages to children: on the one hand, the idea of being willing to obey parent’s orders, and on the other hand, the notion of growing up and, as a consequence, of being responsible. But the question is, are these the only messages of the film?
Certainly, there’s something really important to consider that needs to be brought into focus. The Lion King does not only encourage being obedient and assuming responsibilities, but it also stands for the notion of white supremacy and black segregation.
The golden lions from the royal family depict what is good and civilised, while the antagonist, Scar, being a lion from the same family himself, has a darker tone. This representation of evil characters as the ones whose fur colour is non-golden also applies to Scar’s hirelings: the hyenas. The indicated latent fact may look silly and irrelevant, and it may be called an exaggeration, but these little details are by no means innocent and do carry a strong sense of ideology within them.
Undoubtedly, the choice of the cast lacks innocence as well. Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin, two well-known black actors, were chosen to interpret two out of the three hyenas. Jim Cummings completes the trio, and as Goldberg and Marin do, he pitches his voice to portray the way in which the afro-American cultural groups speak. The three of them use the typical vocabulary and pronunciation of the African American vernacular English. Most people would laugh at these impersonations, but taking a deeper view, they only keep on undervaluing the black cultural society.
Actually, if the same characterisation had been imposed to all the members of the cast, there wouldn’t be any problem as the story is set in Africa, but, as far as it can be observed, none of the golden lions speak as the hyenas do.
Apart from their sounds and their previously mentioned dark colour, the feliforms were also fashioned with misshapen bodies and clumsy movements. To make a clear contrast, the amber lions carry an emblematic-shaped body and an elegant demeanor. In this sense, the visual aesthetic is added to the degradation and discrimination of black ethnic groups making them look hideous.
As if this wasn’t enough mistreatment for black cultures, the hyenas, the ones who represent what’s wrong and uncivilised, are out of place. They can not occupy a place in the kingdom, and therefore, they are segregated to the elephant graveyard, where they suffer from hunger and misery. This could be compared to black ethnic communities that live in ghettos located near great cities.
All these offenses cannot be ignored when deciding if it is good to bring back this classic into our lives. ‘The Lion King’ has been good in its time, but nowadays our society is much more conscious as regards tolerance to diverse ethnic groups. The underlying notions of racism in the film give enough reasons to question its revival.
Two princesses in one
by Gimalsky Marilú & Moni Noelia
“By night one way, by day another. This shall be the norm until you find true love’s first kiss and then take true love’s form.” This is Fiona’s curse in Shrek. Is it the norm that women should change to be loved? Someone who supports the idea that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men can be considered a feminist. There are not written laws about how men should live their lives. If Fiona were a feminist, she would not even consider her curse to be valid, because she wouldn’t even think in changing because of love. She would feel complete without the company of a man and, in any case, she would be next to a man that loves her as she is.
As we know to meet true love does not mean to change. Feminists are not ready to leave everything because of love, we are not ready to change our lifestyles or what we like doing because of love. Therefore, we can say that Princess Fiona does not fit the stereotype of women from a feminist view.
From a feminist perspective women consider themselves complete without needing a couple. This is not what Fiona believes in . Since we were children we listened to the story of the blue prince that would come to complete our lives and because of that we have internalized this conception of love. As John Lennon said, “they made us believe that each one of us is the half of an orange, and that life only makes sense when you find that another half.” But we know that this is a misconception. Lennon continued his idea telling us that we are born as a whole and that we do not need another person to fulfill our lives expectations. As regards Fiona, she is an incomplete princess who only expects to find her other half through a kiss. She cannot think of her life without a man, she has no other expectation more than staying next to a man to be like him.
Nowadays women have a lot of interests. They are more interested in their personal realization. They work, study, and even have children without the company of a couple. This does not mean that they do not want to fall in love, but it means that they do not want to change as Princess Fiona does. Women no longer believe in the story of “The half orange”.
Fiona needs to kiss her true love, not any man. So she depends on a man´s love and his kiss. She has to wait for them to break up her curse. Clearly, this is portraying how dependent Fiona is. She is not free to change her life as she wants. In a way, love is part of being a man´s prisoner. Nowadays, women know that freedom is a right we are born with. We can choose to change to be whatever we want without the approval of our couple. It is not that we have to change because of him or to fit with his own nature. Thus, there is no point in waiting for the love of our lives or even a kiss as Fiona does, because nothing should be transformed except our feeling of happiness.
Above all, what we can see in the story of Princess Fiona is that she depends on someone else to change and in this way, fulfill her life’s ambitions and dreams. She needs “his other half” as women have listened since we are born and through our childhood and adolescence as well. She doesn’t dare to be herself without a man beside her, so she is not in tune with the feminist view of women.
“By night one way, by day another. This shall be the norm until you find true love’s first kiss and then take true love’s form.” This is Fiona’s curse in Shrek. Is it the norm that women should change to be loved? Someone who supports the idea that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men can be considered a feminist. There are not written laws about how men should live their lives. If Fiona were a feminist, she would not even consider her curse to be valid, because she wouldn’t even think in changing because of love. She would feel complete without the company of a man and, in any case, she would be next to a man that loves her as she is.
As we know to meet true love does not mean to change. Feminists are not ready to leave everything because of love, we are not ready to change our lifestyles or what we like doing because of love. Therefore, we can say that Princess Fiona does not fit the stereotype of women from a feminist view.
From a feminist perspective women consider themselves complete without needing a couple. This is not what Fiona believes in . Since we were children we listened to the story of the blue prince that would come to complete our lives and because of that we have internalized this conception of love. As John Lennon said, “they made us believe that each one of us is the half of an orange, and that life only makes sense when you find that another half.” But we know that this is a misconception. Lennon continued his idea telling us that we are born as a whole and that we do not need another person to fulfill our lives expectations. As regards Fiona, she is an incomplete princess who only expects to find her other half through a kiss. She cannot think of her life without a man, she has no other expectation more than staying next to a man to be like him.
Nowadays women have a lot of interests. They are more interested in their personal realization. They work, study, and even have children without the company of a couple. This does not mean that they do not want to fall in love, but it means that they do not want to change as Princess Fiona does. Women no longer believe in the story of “The half orange”.
Fiona needs to kiss her true love, not any man. So she depends on a man´s love and his kiss. She has to wait for them to break up her curse. Clearly, this is portraying how dependent Fiona is. She is not free to change her life as she wants. In a way, love is part of being a man´s prisoner. Nowadays, women know that freedom is a right we are born with. We can choose to change to be whatever we want without the approval of our couple. It is not that we have to change because of him or to fit with his own nature. Thus, there is no point in waiting for the love of our lives or even a kiss as Fiona does, because nothing should be transformed except our feeling of happiness.
Above all, what we can see in the story of Princess Fiona is that she depends on someone else to change and in this way, fulfill her life’s ambitions and dreams. She needs “his other half” as women have listened since we are born and through our childhood and adolescence as well. She doesn’t dare to be herself without a man beside her, so she is not in tune with the feminist view of women.
“Brave” wild heart
by LAURA PICEDA AND ELIANA ROMERO
Freedom is the condition of being free of restraints. This word represents the most important right in our lives. “Brave”, the American film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures in 2012, is a story which shows us the importance of being free. This movie breaks the mold of classical fairy tales. All of us are accustomed to see a princess who waits for the perfect prince to reach her dreams and to live happily ever after. Despite the fact that in previous fairy tales the issue of liberty was taken into account, for the first time a princess fights for her own freedom, not depending on a saviour, the eternal “Prince Charming”.
Merida, the protagonist of Brave, is definitely not a typical princess. She reflects a princess archetype that looks like a real girl with real dreams and wishes. She is not the “perfect” princess, she is not afraid to show the imperfections that make her such an unique and appealing character. She wants to take control of her own destiny regardless of the obstacles in her way, just as most women do in our days. She fits the principle of freedom of our times, and her hopes belong to the category of the “ideal” ones for the majority of the female population. Without doubts,”Brave” portrays the change in women´s desires in the 21st century.
For centuries, princesses were the ideal of thousands of girls, they were the perfect models to follow. The standards of beauty were based on a pale white skin, a thin body and a flawless appearance. A woman had to be confined to “feminine” duties, such as sewing, cleaning or cooking, and never dare to touch a sword or a bow. And, as mentioned before, they seemed to be incapable of saving themselves, their own families or beloved ones. They just had to wait for their saviour, their prince, and never aim to anything else than to be married to him.
But Merida breaks the rules showing us a different reality, our reality. She is presented as a natural girl full of dreams and goals who does not think in the future that was already set for her. She does not care about what she has to do according to her status or about what the others expect from her. Her life is based on what her heart dictates. She wants to be eternally free, and what’s more, she sees marriage not only as something undesirable but also as the end of her beloved freedom, her only husband.
It’s no surprising the fact that most girls or women feel identified with this revolutionary princess. Merida is an empowering role model who speaks to girls' capacity to be change agents in the world rather than just trophies to be admired. Her wild spirit and her “innovative” desires are those that the majority of women share nowadays. Even though some women still long for their “Blue Prince”, now it is generally accepted that kind of events only happen in Fairy Tales. Women have to save themselves, no matter if there is or isn’t a prince. Now they know that they are the only ones that are able to fight for their wildest aspirations. And that’s what Merida actually does. She makes her own trouble and then she gets herself and her family out of that trouble without the help of anybody else. Merida and her mother Elinor argue due to her refusal to get married. Thereupon Merida tears the family tapestry and Elinor throws Merida's longbow into the fire. Merida then storms out in tears and rides into the forest, where she follows the wisps to the hut of an elderly witch posing as a woodcarver. After some bargaining, the witch agrees to give Merida an enchanted cake to change her mother's mind. Merida returns to the castle and gives Elinor the cake, which magically transforms her into a black bear. Realizing that she has made matters worse for herself, Merida returns with Elinor, who still retains most of her human personality, to the witch's cottage but finds only a message left behind. They learn that unless Merida is able to "mend the bond torn by pride" before the second sunrise, the spell will become permanent. In the end, Merida realizes the true meaning of the witch`s riddle, and reconciles with her mother. The Queen is finally transformed back to her human form, and the family is happily reunited.
What’s more, the conflict between her and her mother is another point in which some girls or teenagers may feel identified. The constant confrontation between what the daughter desires and what their parents expect her to be is a recurrent issue in most women’s lives. The Queen´s expectations about her daughter creates an enormous distance between them. This generally occurs between parents and teenagers, and it's another example of why this movie portrays the change in women's desires during this century. Nowadays girls do not resign to the fate that their parents desire for them, but confront them in order to achieve their deepest wishes.
The idea of freedom in this film presented through Merida´s inner qualities and dreams may inspire moms and daughters around the whole world. Merida exemplifies the role of women nowadays creating a solid identity based on her deepest values. She and her mother learn together that the only way to be truly happy is to rely on their own will to reach their wildest desires and to fight for the liberty that has always belonged to them, but was secretly stolen. This innovative version of a princess transmits confidence, inner strength, bravery, and shows that is possible for a woman to stand by herself. But never forget that, as Merida shows us, if we want to achieve that solemn goal, we will surely need a brave, wild heart.
Freedom is the condition of being free of restraints. This word represents the most important right in our lives. “Brave”, the American film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures in 2012, is a story which shows us the importance of being free. This movie breaks the mold of classical fairy tales. All of us are accustomed to see a princess who waits for the perfect prince to reach her dreams and to live happily ever after. Despite the fact that in previous fairy tales the issue of liberty was taken into account, for the first time a princess fights for her own freedom, not depending on a saviour, the eternal “Prince Charming”.
Merida, the protagonist of Brave, is definitely not a typical princess. She reflects a princess archetype that looks like a real girl with real dreams and wishes. She is not the “perfect” princess, she is not afraid to show the imperfections that make her such an unique and appealing character. She wants to take control of her own destiny regardless of the obstacles in her way, just as most women do in our days. She fits the principle of freedom of our times, and her hopes belong to the category of the “ideal” ones for the majority of the female population. Without doubts,”Brave” portrays the change in women´s desires in the 21st century.
For centuries, princesses were the ideal of thousands of girls, they were the perfect models to follow. The standards of beauty were based on a pale white skin, a thin body and a flawless appearance. A woman had to be confined to “feminine” duties, such as sewing, cleaning or cooking, and never dare to touch a sword or a bow. And, as mentioned before, they seemed to be incapable of saving themselves, their own families or beloved ones. They just had to wait for their saviour, their prince, and never aim to anything else than to be married to him.
But Merida breaks the rules showing us a different reality, our reality. She is presented as a natural girl full of dreams and goals who does not think in the future that was already set for her. She does not care about what she has to do according to her status or about what the others expect from her. Her life is based on what her heart dictates. She wants to be eternally free, and what’s more, she sees marriage not only as something undesirable but also as the end of her beloved freedom, her only husband.
It’s no surprising the fact that most girls or women feel identified with this revolutionary princess. Merida is an empowering role model who speaks to girls' capacity to be change agents in the world rather than just trophies to be admired. Her wild spirit and her “innovative” desires are those that the majority of women share nowadays. Even though some women still long for their “Blue Prince”, now it is generally accepted that kind of events only happen in Fairy Tales. Women have to save themselves, no matter if there is or isn’t a prince. Now they know that they are the only ones that are able to fight for their wildest aspirations. And that’s what Merida actually does. She makes her own trouble and then she gets herself and her family out of that trouble without the help of anybody else. Merida and her mother Elinor argue due to her refusal to get married. Thereupon Merida tears the family tapestry and Elinor throws Merida's longbow into the fire. Merida then storms out in tears and rides into the forest, where she follows the wisps to the hut of an elderly witch posing as a woodcarver. After some bargaining, the witch agrees to give Merida an enchanted cake to change her mother's mind. Merida returns to the castle and gives Elinor the cake, which magically transforms her into a black bear. Realizing that she has made matters worse for herself, Merida returns with Elinor, who still retains most of her human personality, to the witch's cottage but finds only a message left behind. They learn that unless Merida is able to "mend the bond torn by pride" before the second sunrise, the spell will become permanent. In the end, Merida realizes the true meaning of the witch`s riddle, and reconciles with her mother. The Queen is finally transformed back to her human form, and the family is happily reunited.
What’s more, the conflict between her and her mother is another point in which some girls or teenagers may feel identified. The constant confrontation between what the daughter desires and what their parents expect her to be is a recurrent issue in most women’s lives. The Queen´s expectations about her daughter creates an enormous distance between them. This generally occurs between parents and teenagers, and it's another example of why this movie portrays the change in women's desires during this century. Nowadays girls do not resign to the fate that their parents desire for them, but confront them in order to achieve their deepest wishes.
The idea of freedom in this film presented through Merida´s inner qualities and dreams may inspire moms and daughters around the whole world. Merida exemplifies the role of women nowadays creating a solid identity based on her deepest values. She and her mother learn together that the only way to be truly happy is to rely on their own will to reach their wildest desires and to fight for the liberty that has always belonged to them, but was secretly stolen. This innovative version of a princess transmits confidence, inner strength, bravery, and shows that is possible for a woman to stand by herself. But never forget that, as Merida shows us, if we want to achieve that solemn goal, we will surely need a brave, wild heart.
Whistle While You Work
by Alejandro Tachile & Julio Servin
Big media corporations have an enormous impact upon their audience. The ideas and stereotypes that they present are going to be seen and consumed by millions of people. In a way, media corporations enculturate persons into accepted stereotypes hidden in innocent products like movies or songs. Essentially, what they do is to construct people´s identity. And if we take this to the infant audience, the matter is even much more delicate. Since products for them are enchanting and terribly attractive, children will not stop to analyze what they consume they just want to have fun.
One successful product of media corporation is the Disney version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. When the movie was released in 1937 in California, only 6% of academic people were women. And the general image of women was one of submission with the dream of finding a man to please and serve. The movie is not far from the reality of the time because what is portrayed in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs are notions about women´s role through ideas of submission.
Being happy while doing a miserable task is a feature that makes you a submissive person. And Snow White carries out this idea perfectly well. While running away from the hunter, Snow White encounters the messy house of the dwarfs. And with the help of a bunch of animals, she decides to clean the place and sings:” whistle while you work and cheerfully together we can tidy up the place so hum a merry tune” . In this way the character teaches the girls to be delight while performing an awful task. To make it clearer the song goes on: “ and as you sweep the room image that the broom is someone that you love”
Another element of submission is the idea of limitation. Not to see beyond the role that society imposes to each of us is also part of being a submissive subject. The whole movie is a clear example of this. Snow White makes obvious that women are supposed to be domestic and stay at home. The lesson learned in the movie is that there is no better role for women than to be a loving housewife, a lesson of limitation. As an indication of this, Snow White is innocent, optimistic, naïve and effective in house chores. For example, she explains to the dwarfs that the queen wants to kill her and she asks them to stay in their house she says: “ I can sew, I broom perfectly well and I make an excellent a wonderful stew.”
Not all the products that the media presents us should be consumed as harmless Entertainment. Although most of these movies are wrapped up in powerfully attractive worlds, they hide many strong and sharp ideas that not all parents would accept for their children. Sometimes media products can be enjoyed but just as examples of the cynicism all these corporations have.
Big media corporations have an enormous impact upon their audience. The ideas and stereotypes that they present are going to be seen and consumed by millions of people. In a way, media corporations enculturate persons into accepted stereotypes hidden in innocent products like movies or songs. Essentially, what they do is to construct people´s identity. And if we take this to the infant audience, the matter is even much more delicate. Since products for them are enchanting and terribly attractive, children will not stop to analyze what they consume they just want to have fun.
One successful product of media corporation is the Disney version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. When the movie was released in 1937 in California, only 6% of academic people were women. And the general image of women was one of submission with the dream of finding a man to please and serve. The movie is not far from the reality of the time because what is portrayed in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs are notions about women´s role through ideas of submission.
Being happy while doing a miserable task is a feature that makes you a submissive person. And Snow White carries out this idea perfectly well. While running away from the hunter, Snow White encounters the messy house of the dwarfs. And with the help of a bunch of animals, she decides to clean the place and sings:” whistle while you work and cheerfully together we can tidy up the place so hum a merry tune” . In this way the character teaches the girls to be delight while performing an awful task. To make it clearer the song goes on: “ and as you sweep the room image that the broom is someone that you love”
Another element of submission is the idea of limitation. Not to see beyond the role that society imposes to each of us is also part of being a submissive subject. The whole movie is a clear example of this. Snow White makes obvious that women are supposed to be domestic and stay at home. The lesson learned in the movie is that there is no better role for women than to be a loving housewife, a lesson of limitation. As an indication of this, Snow White is innocent, optimistic, naïve and effective in house chores. For example, she explains to the dwarfs that the queen wants to kill her and she asks them to stay in their house she says: “ I can sew, I broom perfectly well and I make an excellent a wonderful stew.”
Not all the products that the media presents us should be consumed as harmless Entertainment. Although most of these movies are wrapped up in powerfully attractive worlds, they hide many strong and sharp ideas that not all parents would accept for their children. Sometimes media products can be enjoyed but just as examples of the cynicism all these corporations have.
WOMEN’S BEAUTY THROUGH THE EYE OF DISNEY
by Rosario García
All along our lives we, women, have been wrongly taught through the media that if we want to be successful in life we have to be “beautiful”. We can find innumerable examples of this in Disney films such as ‘Cinderella’, ‘Snow White’, ‘Sleeping Beauty’, ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and The ‘Little Mermaid’. They are some of the better known classical films where women’s beauty is a stereotyped one, according to the standards of beauty in different times.
Nowadays a great percentage of the girls in our society when choosing a toy, choose princess costumes, cosmetics, mirrors and castles. They love the idea of being “the most beautiful ones”. This is not just a coincidence, every time we turn on the television a new explicit or implicit message is sent to our brains and, in the case of almost every princesses films, the message is: (EXTERNAL) BEAUTY leads to SUCCESS. The pressures from our society are so high that most of us, consciously or unconsciously, respond to them many times drastically changing our appearance in the pursuit of the famous “success”. Lots of hidden messages are found in the films previously mentioned.
In ‘Cinderella’, if you are beautiful enough, you may be able to escape from your terrible living conditions by getting married to a wealthy man. While Cinderella’s beauty was hidden because she looked like a servant, dressed in rags, living with her step mother and her step sisters, the prince didn’t even know her existence. As soon as the prince looks at the beautiful Cinderella, with her beautiful dress at the ball, he deeply falls in love with her and finally they get married. (BEAUTY = SUCCESS)
Similarly, in the case of ‘Snow White’, the princess’ beauty captivates every surrounding man. (BEAUTY = SUCCESS)
“Appearances don’t matter. What counts is what’s in your heart. Unless you are the girl”, is the message we can appreciate in ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Everybody is in love with Belle and not any other girl because she is the most beautiful in town but, if Belle had been “the ugly one”, another would have been the story... (BEAUTY = SUCCESS)
Even though Aurora, in ‘The Sleeping Beauty’, was sleeping and the prince did not know her, he fell in love with her, again, due to her beauty. (BEAUTY = SUCCESS)
Ariel, from ‘The Little Mermaid’, gave up her family, friends, changed her tail for two legs and gave up her voice because she was certain that as soon as the prince saw her beautiful face, he would fall in love with her. (BEAUTY = SUCCESS)
I cannot avoid bringing to my mind the words ‘superficiality’, ‘objectivation’, ‘discrimination’ and ‘consumerism’ as if they were synonyms of beauty. This society we live in is permanently demanding female population to be “a beautiful thing”, what leads lots of women to buy all sorts of cosmetics, dye their hairs, put on diets, making all sort of surgeries and even developing illnesses such as bulimia or anorexia, leaving aside what is really important: our essence, our identity. Sadly this is what we consume and worst of all, what our children consume.
I think we are losing sight of what the idea of “beauty” really is. In fact, is there only one sense of beauty? Why do we all have to agree on one stereotyped beauty? What about our inner beauty? These are some of the questions I wonder whenever I watch any Disney film, and I always get to the same conclusion: "BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER".
All along our lives we, women, have been wrongly taught through the media that if we want to be successful in life we have to be “beautiful”. We can find innumerable examples of this in Disney films such as ‘Cinderella’, ‘Snow White’, ‘Sleeping Beauty’, ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and The ‘Little Mermaid’. They are some of the better known classical films where women’s beauty is a stereotyped one, according to the standards of beauty in different times.
Nowadays a great percentage of the girls in our society when choosing a toy, choose princess costumes, cosmetics, mirrors and castles. They love the idea of being “the most beautiful ones”. This is not just a coincidence, every time we turn on the television a new explicit or implicit message is sent to our brains and, in the case of almost every princesses films, the message is: (EXTERNAL) BEAUTY leads to SUCCESS. The pressures from our society are so high that most of us, consciously or unconsciously, respond to them many times drastically changing our appearance in the pursuit of the famous “success”. Lots of hidden messages are found in the films previously mentioned.
In ‘Cinderella’, if you are beautiful enough, you may be able to escape from your terrible living conditions by getting married to a wealthy man. While Cinderella’s beauty was hidden because she looked like a servant, dressed in rags, living with her step mother and her step sisters, the prince didn’t even know her existence. As soon as the prince looks at the beautiful Cinderella, with her beautiful dress at the ball, he deeply falls in love with her and finally they get married. (BEAUTY = SUCCESS)
Similarly, in the case of ‘Snow White’, the princess’ beauty captivates every surrounding man. (BEAUTY = SUCCESS)
“Appearances don’t matter. What counts is what’s in your heart. Unless you are the girl”, is the message we can appreciate in ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Everybody is in love with Belle and not any other girl because she is the most beautiful in town but, if Belle had been “the ugly one”, another would have been the story... (BEAUTY = SUCCESS)
Even though Aurora, in ‘The Sleeping Beauty’, was sleeping and the prince did not know her, he fell in love with her, again, due to her beauty. (BEAUTY = SUCCESS)
Ariel, from ‘The Little Mermaid’, gave up her family, friends, changed her tail for two legs and gave up her voice because she was certain that as soon as the prince saw her beautiful face, he would fall in love with her. (BEAUTY = SUCCESS)
I cannot avoid bringing to my mind the words ‘superficiality’, ‘objectivation’, ‘discrimination’ and ‘consumerism’ as if they were synonyms of beauty. This society we live in is permanently demanding female population to be “a beautiful thing”, what leads lots of women to buy all sorts of cosmetics, dye their hairs, put on diets, making all sort of surgeries and even developing illnesses such as bulimia or anorexia, leaving aside what is really important: our essence, our identity. Sadly this is what we consume and worst of all, what our children consume.
I think we are losing sight of what the idea of “beauty” really is. In fact, is there only one sense of beauty? Why do we all have to agree on one stereotyped beauty? What about our inner beauty? These are some of the questions I wonder whenever I watch any Disney film, and I always get to the same conclusion: "BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER".
A trip from the conquest of the moon to nazism
by Del Valle & Panzita
In 2010 Universal Studios released “Despicable Me”, a film that seems to be a lovely and kind story for kids. Thousands of children enjoyed the adventures of Gru and his minion’s army. However, is it really an innocent story? The despicable main character, Gru, has many trends that can be compared to the evilness of Nazi Germans.
In the film, it’s clear the idea of doing anything you want to achieve your goal, without caring about other people’s feelings. This can be seen when the protagonist of the story adopts three orphans just to steal a weapon planning to abandon them after that. What is more, when he takes the girls to his house, he doesn’t show any respect for their necessities. He even serves them food and water on the floor as if they were animals. Germans had the same attitude towards Jewish people in concentration camps.
War weapons, torture elements and embalmed animals are the decoration of Gru’s house. Even when Margo, the oldest girl, tells him that place is not a proper environment for children, he doesn’t seem to care about her comment; in addition to that, there is a part in the movie where a simulacrum of a murder takes place. This happens when Edith gets into a box full of nails and a red liquid that looks like blood comes out of the box. The reaction of Gru and the girls is dramatically different. While Margo and Agness are horrified, Gru only thinks of the success of his plan which is stealing a shrink ray from Vector, another villain.
The lack of remorse that lays in Gru is almost the same in Nazi Germans. As Gru doesn’t care about what happened to the girl in the box, German soldiers didn’t care about what Jewish people had to go through in concentration camps. It’s really curious the success of “Despicable Me”, a film which is full of moments that portray the worst and criticized trends of Nazism, such as little respect for human life and social values.
The yellow and nice minions act like a real army of criminals. They all wear the same uniform with a letter “G” . In a way, it can be compared with the swastikas that German soldiers used to wear in their uniforms. Minions are depicted as brainless and stupid. They never complain or ask about what they have to do and in a way they are used to test the most stupid inventions of Doctor Nephario, the inventor of the team.
Doctor Nephario is the author of the most weird and stupid weapons ever seen. He lacks of scruples and does whatever he has to do to please his boss, Gru. In a way, Dr Nephario is to Gru what Joseph Mengele was to Hitler and the Second World War.
Although, in some parts of the film it can be said that love is present, the real lei motif of the film is to be the best villain of all times and to commit the best crime ever. The fact that at the end Gru keeps the three orphans, doesn’t mean he turns into an honest person. What is more, at the end of the movie, we can’t see Gru looking for a real job and living an ordinary life.
German Nazism was criticised by all societies worldwide. However, parents will buy tickets to “Despicable Me” without thinking about all these issues.
In 2010 Universal Studios released “Despicable Me”, a film that seems to be a lovely and kind story for kids. Thousands of children enjoyed the adventures of Gru and his minion’s army. However, is it really an innocent story? The despicable main character, Gru, has many trends that can be compared to the evilness of Nazi Germans.
In the film, it’s clear the idea of doing anything you want to achieve your goal, without caring about other people’s feelings. This can be seen when the protagonist of the story adopts three orphans just to steal a weapon planning to abandon them after that. What is more, when he takes the girls to his house, he doesn’t show any respect for their necessities. He even serves them food and water on the floor as if they were animals. Germans had the same attitude towards Jewish people in concentration camps.
War weapons, torture elements and embalmed animals are the decoration of Gru’s house. Even when Margo, the oldest girl, tells him that place is not a proper environment for children, he doesn’t seem to care about her comment; in addition to that, there is a part in the movie where a simulacrum of a murder takes place. This happens when Edith gets into a box full of nails and a red liquid that looks like blood comes out of the box. The reaction of Gru and the girls is dramatically different. While Margo and Agness are horrified, Gru only thinks of the success of his plan which is stealing a shrink ray from Vector, another villain.
The lack of remorse that lays in Gru is almost the same in Nazi Germans. As Gru doesn’t care about what happened to the girl in the box, German soldiers didn’t care about what Jewish people had to go through in concentration camps. It’s really curious the success of “Despicable Me”, a film which is full of moments that portray the worst and criticized trends of Nazism, such as little respect for human life and social values.
The yellow and nice minions act like a real army of criminals. They all wear the same uniform with a letter “G” . In a way, it can be compared with the swastikas that German soldiers used to wear in their uniforms. Minions are depicted as brainless and stupid. They never complain or ask about what they have to do and in a way they are used to test the most stupid inventions of Doctor Nephario, the inventor of the team.
Doctor Nephario is the author of the most weird and stupid weapons ever seen. He lacks of scruples and does whatever he has to do to please his boss, Gru. In a way, Dr Nephario is to Gru what Joseph Mengele was to Hitler and the Second World War.
Although, in some parts of the film it can be said that love is present, the real lei motif of the film is to be the best villain of all times and to commit the best crime ever. The fact that at the end Gru keeps the three orphans, doesn’t mean he turns into an honest person. What is more, at the end of the movie, we can’t see Gru looking for a real job and living an ordinary life.
German Nazism was criticised by all societies worldwide. However, parents will buy tickets to “Despicable Me” without thinking about all these issues.
A message from the future
by Garay, Lucía Mariel & Laprovitta, Anahí
"Oh Beautiful for smoggy skies, insecticide grain, for strip-mined mountain's majesty above the asphalt plain. America, America, man sheds his waste on thee, and hides the pines with billboard signs, from sea to oily sea." — George Carlin.
Every now and then there is a naive belief that our civilization as well as life in earth is endless. A common picture of our days is to see people throwing litter on the street, pouring water carelessly or overusing means of transport as well as energy consumption. Something to highlight is pollution, which affects over a billion people around the world and it is one of the most dangerous ecological problems society has. Despite this, some seem to neglect what is happening around them as if they were immersed in some kind of nebula. Some people focus on superfluous issues like having the latest clothing or eating the food which is best advertised, rather than focus on a liveable earth or on a healthy life. It’s accurate to say that society is beginning to regret and will regret its careless actions. At present, rising awareness about ecological issues is an important matter. So, how to do it? How can society begin to create awareness about ecology or healthy lifestyles? Those questions were, in a way, answered when days ago we watched a movie called “Wall-E” that depicts some flaws of our chaotic time on a futuristic perspective. What the film portrays is what would happen to earth as a consequence of the lack of ecological awareness and how these would affect not only the earth as a proper place to live, but also the way in which humans interact among them.
Wall-E is a robot and the only inhabitant of the earth since humans were sent in a ship to space waiting for the earth to be habitable again. Its main function on earth is to clean up garbage that humans have left behind. Natural resources are gone and no life remains but tonnes of trash. The film shows what society has left behind after centuries of mistreating the earth. Meanwhile, miles away from this rotten earth a spaceship full of people are portray in the movie, as individuals absorbed by advertisements and technological devises. Communication among people doesn’t exist and they do minimum physical movements because everything is controlled through machines. People in “Wall-E” are depicted as lazy, fat and consumerists, features that remind nowadays society characteristic.
Following this further, have you ever thought about what consequences might have your actions? It is well known that pollution is a dangerous threat but have you thought what severe consequences derive from it? When talking about pollution’s effects, we are not referring just to trash and waste in our soil, we are referring also to what it does to our social and personal lives. So, let’s start by creating a parallelism between Wall-E’s reality and our reality. The world in the movie is full of unusable elements as result of over consumerism, for example one the most common things Wall-E stocks up is a firelighter of a particular trademark. Allow me to ask you how many times have we bought unnecessary items and then just throw them away? Times are changing and the thought can be easily summarized with a phrase of the author Vicki Robin’s “if you live for having it all, what you have is never enough.”
Moreover, the fiction world depicts humans as not able to communicate among each other, what make us wonder have you realized that nowadays it is more common to be in touch with others through mobile phones, e-mails, texts and so on, rather than facing other individuals in real communication? In the film this flaw is presented in an exaggerated manner. People in the movie speak using screens even when they are physically in the same place or next to each other. As regards communication, there is an overuse of information known is real life as information pollution. A perfect example of this issue is people constantly exposed to advertisements which make them feel as if their lives depended only on those things that are advertised. Does that kind of pollution ring you a bell? There are many wrong habits our culture has adopted like naturals, but it is time to inquire ourselves is it something worth doing?
The cute robot Wall-E provide us with the idea that a change must be done. People have to alter their way of living, change habits, take care of others, be in contact with others, enjoy nature and take care of nature. The most important thing is that people should listen to the wakeup call the earth is making to us. We should listen so that people wake up from what could be, in a time from now, the end of our society as we know it. The message in Wall-E is very clear, the key point relies on paying attention to the small things like the robot does, if we don’t amend our flaws, even a robot would be more human than a human itself.
"Oh Beautiful for smoggy skies, insecticide grain, for strip-mined mountain's majesty above the asphalt plain. America, America, man sheds his waste on thee, and hides the pines with billboard signs, from sea to oily sea." — George Carlin.
Every now and then there is a naive belief that our civilization as well as life in earth is endless. A common picture of our days is to see people throwing litter on the street, pouring water carelessly or overusing means of transport as well as energy consumption. Something to highlight is pollution, which affects over a billion people around the world and it is one of the most dangerous ecological problems society has. Despite this, some seem to neglect what is happening around them as if they were immersed in some kind of nebula. Some people focus on superfluous issues like having the latest clothing or eating the food which is best advertised, rather than focus on a liveable earth or on a healthy life. It’s accurate to say that society is beginning to regret and will regret its careless actions. At present, rising awareness about ecological issues is an important matter. So, how to do it? How can society begin to create awareness about ecology or healthy lifestyles? Those questions were, in a way, answered when days ago we watched a movie called “Wall-E” that depicts some flaws of our chaotic time on a futuristic perspective. What the film portrays is what would happen to earth as a consequence of the lack of ecological awareness and how these would affect not only the earth as a proper place to live, but also the way in which humans interact among them.
Wall-E is a robot and the only inhabitant of the earth since humans were sent in a ship to space waiting for the earth to be habitable again. Its main function on earth is to clean up garbage that humans have left behind. Natural resources are gone and no life remains but tonnes of trash. The film shows what society has left behind after centuries of mistreating the earth. Meanwhile, miles away from this rotten earth a spaceship full of people are portray in the movie, as individuals absorbed by advertisements and technological devises. Communication among people doesn’t exist and they do minimum physical movements because everything is controlled through machines. People in “Wall-E” are depicted as lazy, fat and consumerists, features that remind nowadays society characteristic.
Following this further, have you ever thought about what consequences might have your actions? It is well known that pollution is a dangerous threat but have you thought what severe consequences derive from it? When talking about pollution’s effects, we are not referring just to trash and waste in our soil, we are referring also to what it does to our social and personal lives. So, let’s start by creating a parallelism between Wall-E’s reality and our reality. The world in the movie is full of unusable elements as result of over consumerism, for example one the most common things Wall-E stocks up is a firelighter of a particular trademark. Allow me to ask you how many times have we bought unnecessary items and then just throw them away? Times are changing and the thought can be easily summarized with a phrase of the author Vicki Robin’s “if you live for having it all, what you have is never enough.”
Moreover, the fiction world depicts humans as not able to communicate among each other, what make us wonder have you realized that nowadays it is more common to be in touch with others through mobile phones, e-mails, texts and so on, rather than facing other individuals in real communication? In the film this flaw is presented in an exaggerated manner. People in the movie speak using screens even when they are physically in the same place or next to each other. As regards communication, there is an overuse of information known is real life as information pollution. A perfect example of this issue is people constantly exposed to advertisements which make them feel as if their lives depended only on those things that are advertised. Does that kind of pollution ring you a bell? There are many wrong habits our culture has adopted like naturals, but it is time to inquire ourselves is it something worth doing?
The cute robot Wall-E provide us with the idea that a change must be done. People have to alter their way of living, change habits, take care of others, be in contact with others, enjoy nature and take care of nature. The most important thing is that people should listen to the wakeup call the earth is making to us. We should listen so that people wake up from what could be, in a time from now, the end of our society as we know it. The message in Wall-E is very clear, the key point relies on paying attention to the small things like the robot does, if we don’t amend our flaws, even a robot would be more human than a human itself.
Savage Princesses
by Barros Paola & Gulin Rocío
Have you ever thought about being a member of the royalty who doesn’t behave as an expected one? Surely, most of the people have once dreamt of being a damsel, a prince, a King or a Queen. But they probably wanted to be like the stereotyped members of the royalty. That is to say that they pictured themselves looking extremely beautiful; behaving like a lady or a gentleman; marrying to a handsome prince or a gorgeous princess, who would have taken care of them unconditionally; and living happily ever after in a luxurious castle.
Instead of being faithful to themselves, blue blood people behave and act the way society expects. Therefore, they try to please everyone. This is not the case of the “Shrek” saga films, in which princesses are shown in a different and modern way. Thus, they do not follow the traditional stereotype.
These lovely and epic films intend to break the traditional expectations on women. In other films about crown princesses, they are portrayed as weak and dependent ladies who are rescued by a wonderful prince. But the opposite occurs in the “Shrek” saga films, in which princesses are shown as strong women. Eventually, Fiona, who is the main female character, is the main exponent of the outbreak of a new kind of princess. She is a strong independent woman owning a lot of talents and distinctive features: one of them is the ability of fighting. She can be seen combating in many scenes. In the first film, called “Shrek” she fights against the Merry men; in the second one, she knocks prince Charming; and in “Shrek the third”, she saves Shrek, her husband, from death. Also, Fiona and the rest of the blue blood girls give battle together to save the kingdom while men are kept in prison; lastly, in the forth film, she saves herself from the tower when reality had been changed by Shrek. Moreover, in the last film, she is the leader of all the ogres when trying to initiate a war against Rumpelstilskin since she became a warrior.
A remarkable Fiona’s feature is her behavior. Her manners are far from femininity for she acts naturally without giving importance to people’s opinion. Examples of her manners are presented in all the saga when she burps and farts. A funny and illustrative scene can be seen in the first film when Shrek, Donkey and Fiona are walking after having breakfast, and Shrek burps in front of them. He immediately apologizes; however, Fiona belches even louder, surprising both Shrek and Donkey.
The standards of beauty are the central part of the plot. In the first film, Fiona wishes to be rescued and kissed by a prince to break the spell on her, which makes her look like an ogre at nights. The surprise comes at the end of the film when she falls in love with Shrek and they kiss. So, she adopts the shape of her true love, an ogre. In addition, in the second film Fiona has the possibility to change her appearance through a potion, but she decides to remain the same, giving the message that love celebrates a victory over beauty. What’s more, not only does she resign her beauty but also her royal life. So that she embraces a simple life in a humble house in the forest.
“Shrek” films show a new transcendental version of princesses. They are valiant strong independent women who fight for their desires. Their behavior is not conventional, which makes them definitely a fresh present day referent of the new outbreaking kind of princesses in the 21st century.
Have you ever thought about being a member of the royalty who doesn’t behave as an expected one? Surely, most of the people have once dreamt of being a damsel, a prince, a King or a Queen. But they probably wanted to be like the stereotyped members of the royalty. That is to say that they pictured themselves looking extremely beautiful; behaving like a lady or a gentleman; marrying to a handsome prince or a gorgeous princess, who would have taken care of them unconditionally; and living happily ever after in a luxurious castle.
Instead of being faithful to themselves, blue blood people behave and act the way society expects. Therefore, they try to please everyone. This is not the case of the “Shrek” saga films, in which princesses are shown in a different and modern way. Thus, they do not follow the traditional stereotype.
These lovely and epic films intend to break the traditional expectations on women. In other films about crown princesses, they are portrayed as weak and dependent ladies who are rescued by a wonderful prince. But the opposite occurs in the “Shrek” saga films, in which princesses are shown as strong women. Eventually, Fiona, who is the main female character, is the main exponent of the outbreak of a new kind of princess. She is a strong independent woman owning a lot of talents and distinctive features: one of them is the ability of fighting. She can be seen combating in many scenes. In the first film, called “Shrek” she fights against the Merry men; in the second one, she knocks prince Charming; and in “Shrek the third”, she saves Shrek, her husband, from death. Also, Fiona and the rest of the blue blood girls give battle together to save the kingdom while men are kept in prison; lastly, in the forth film, she saves herself from the tower when reality had been changed by Shrek. Moreover, in the last film, she is the leader of all the ogres when trying to initiate a war against Rumpelstilskin since she became a warrior.
A remarkable Fiona’s feature is her behavior. Her manners are far from femininity for she acts naturally without giving importance to people’s opinion. Examples of her manners are presented in all the saga when she burps and farts. A funny and illustrative scene can be seen in the first film when Shrek, Donkey and Fiona are walking after having breakfast, and Shrek burps in front of them. He immediately apologizes; however, Fiona belches even louder, surprising both Shrek and Donkey.
The standards of beauty are the central part of the plot. In the first film, Fiona wishes to be rescued and kissed by a prince to break the spell on her, which makes her look like an ogre at nights. The surprise comes at the end of the film when she falls in love with Shrek and they kiss. So, she adopts the shape of her true love, an ogre. In addition, in the second film Fiona has the possibility to change her appearance through a potion, but she decides to remain the same, giving the message that love celebrates a victory over beauty. What’s more, not only does she resign her beauty but also her royal life. So that she embraces a simple life in a humble house in the forest.
“Shrek” films show a new transcendental version of princesses. They are valiant strong independent women who fight for their desires. Their behavior is not conventional, which makes them definitely a fresh present day referent of the new outbreaking kind of princesses in the 21st century.
E.T., the only alien in America?
by María Sabrina Vergara & Carolina Perez Cibez
“He is afraid. He is alone. He is three million light years from home”. This is the phrase that was in every promoting poster of Spielberg´s new film in the early ´80s. It seemed to be another science fiction movie but it became more than the simple adventure of an interplanetary creature and his human friend. E.T. was the biggest box office success in its gender in 1982.
In spite of being a blockbuster movie, that shows the difficulties that E.T. has to go through during his experience on the U.S., to be an Alien doesn´t necessarily mean that you come from another planet. Saying this, for the English speaking language ALIEN is a general purpose term normally used to refer to foreigners. Not any foreigner but those that live in America. You can also be an American Alien if you don´t share the same culture or religion which is established in society. This means that you can be an outsider in your own country with your pairs. E.T. feels this way when he´s left behind by his own mates. His stay on earth can easily be related to the real experience of a foreigner in the U.S. The Americans may see E.T. as a funny and lovable character with a few comical gags, but we can understand his loneliness in a strange land.
Luckily for him, E.T. is found by a kind child, who teaches him about friendship and trust. Even though all of this happens E.T represents the U.S intolerance to foreigners.
The film´s director felt this way during his childhood. When he was at school, Spielberg suffered of extreme violence from his school mates and of many acts of anti-Semitic prejudice because he is Jewish. To this day he remembers that painful time with great sorrow. But he didn´t let the pain to consume him. Spielberg used the personal experience and based the movie on it. In many interviews he said that E.T. is based on an imaginary friend he had during his childhood, and that he waited a long time to bring to him to life. With this idea in his mind he wrote the movie years later.
Besides E.T. another character taken from the director´s life is Elliot. He felt lonely and misunderstood until he found E.T. From the moment they met, Elliot had the instinct to protect E.T first from his family and then from the government. To do it, Elliot hid him in his bedroom. He was afraid of showing E.T. due to the many differences they had, such as physical features and language. By not being able to communicate with Elliot, to ask for help, E.T. tries to learn really quickly the language. Because he realizes that Elliot (who represents the American people), will not try to communicate in other way. Even though the foreigner knows the language they are still rejected because the misuse of it.
Another thing to have in mind, concerning what aliens have to go through, has to do when they are caught by the government. After being chased for several days, E.T. was finally captured and taken to a scientific facility, where he was locked and tortured with medical exams. After that he managed to escape with the help of Elliot and his friends. Not every alien has the same luck that E.T. has. If a foreigner is also caught, he is imprisoned and interrogated. He is also confined in solitary and many times he is starved until he surrenders to his capturers and accept the punishment. Most of them end up in deportation and the prohibition to go back to America.
ET, the great adventure of a friendly alien, shows us the reality of a foreigner in the U.S. They have to live and deal with intolerance every day. Many times this intolerance is transformed in episodes of great violence, installing a grand sense of fear. Fear to persecution, fear to jail and fear to be forced to go back to their country. E.T. portrays a situation that hasn´t change in thirty years and goes on. After all, nowadays, foreigners still go to America to pursue a better way of living.
“He is afraid. He is alone. He is three million light years from home”. This is the phrase that was in every promoting poster of Spielberg´s new film in the early ´80s. It seemed to be another science fiction movie but it became more than the simple adventure of an interplanetary creature and his human friend. E.T. was the biggest box office success in its gender in 1982.
In spite of being a blockbuster movie, that shows the difficulties that E.T. has to go through during his experience on the U.S., to be an Alien doesn´t necessarily mean that you come from another planet. Saying this, for the English speaking language ALIEN is a general purpose term normally used to refer to foreigners. Not any foreigner but those that live in America. You can also be an American Alien if you don´t share the same culture or religion which is established in society. This means that you can be an outsider in your own country with your pairs. E.T. feels this way when he´s left behind by his own mates. His stay on earth can easily be related to the real experience of a foreigner in the U.S. The Americans may see E.T. as a funny and lovable character with a few comical gags, but we can understand his loneliness in a strange land.
Luckily for him, E.T. is found by a kind child, who teaches him about friendship and trust. Even though all of this happens E.T represents the U.S intolerance to foreigners.
The film´s director felt this way during his childhood. When he was at school, Spielberg suffered of extreme violence from his school mates and of many acts of anti-Semitic prejudice because he is Jewish. To this day he remembers that painful time with great sorrow. But he didn´t let the pain to consume him. Spielberg used the personal experience and based the movie on it. In many interviews he said that E.T. is based on an imaginary friend he had during his childhood, and that he waited a long time to bring to him to life. With this idea in his mind he wrote the movie years later.
Besides E.T. another character taken from the director´s life is Elliot. He felt lonely and misunderstood until he found E.T. From the moment they met, Elliot had the instinct to protect E.T first from his family and then from the government. To do it, Elliot hid him in his bedroom. He was afraid of showing E.T. due to the many differences they had, such as physical features and language. By not being able to communicate with Elliot, to ask for help, E.T. tries to learn really quickly the language. Because he realizes that Elliot (who represents the American people), will not try to communicate in other way. Even though the foreigner knows the language they are still rejected because the misuse of it.
Another thing to have in mind, concerning what aliens have to go through, has to do when they are caught by the government. After being chased for several days, E.T. was finally captured and taken to a scientific facility, where he was locked and tortured with medical exams. After that he managed to escape with the help of Elliot and his friends. Not every alien has the same luck that E.T. has. If a foreigner is also caught, he is imprisoned and interrogated. He is also confined in solitary and many times he is starved until he surrenders to his capturers and accept the punishment. Most of them end up in deportation and the prohibition to go back to America.
ET, the great adventure of a friendly alien, shows us the reality of a foreigner in the U.S. They have to live and deal with intolerance every day. Many times this intolerance is transformed in episodes of great violence, installing a grand sense of fear. Fear to persecution, fear to jail and fear to be forced to go back to their country. E.T. portrays a situation that hasn´t change in thirty years and goes on. After all, nowadays, foreigners still go to America to pursue a better way of living.
Aug 21, 2013
Old Hat, New Hat
By Stan Berensain, Jan Berenstain.
(reviewed by Aldana Pires)
With simple descriptions and colourful pictures, the story “Old Hat, New Hat” is an easy-to-read and attention-grabbing book. The authors and illustrators Stan and Jan Berenstain, relate the experience of the Brother Bear of The Berenstain Family at a hat shop.
Astonished at the sight of new hats in the display window, Brother Bear decides to replace his old and ragged one. Decisively, he walks in the store and asks the seller to show him hats. Trying to satisfy his customer, the shop assistant presents him a wide range of them that vary in size, shape and colour; but none seems to please the young bear. Surprisingly, he finds the most perfect hat of them all… His own and old one! Very happy with his final decision, the character leaves the store.
This enjoyable story is narrated with two-word phrases that qualify the hats that the bear tries on. Most of the sentences are merely formulated with the adverb ‘too’ and the addition of an adjective. The use of simple constructions and repetition make the reading of the book easy and rhythmical for children. In this sense, the didactic purposes of the book are very explicit. Whether to be read in the classroom or at home, the story is a useful tool to introduce adjectives, expand vocabulary and to attend children’s first readings.
On balance, this laugh-provoking book with its unexpected ending will result really entertaining. Moreover, its plain narration will help to boost confidence and encourage first readings. Definitely, a must for teachers’ and parents’ bookshelves!
(reviewed by Aldana Pires)
With simple descriptions and colourful pictures, the story “Old Hat, New Hat” is an easy-to-read and attention-grabbing book. The authors and illustrators Stan and Jan Berenstain, relate the experience of the Brother Bear of The Berenstain Family at a hat shop.
Astonished at the sight of new hats in the display window, Brother Bear decides to replace his old and ragged one. Decisively, he walks in the store and asks the seller to show him hats. Trying to satisfy his customer, the shop assistant presents him a wide range of them that vary in size, shape and colour; but none seems to please the young bear. Surprisingly, he finds the most perfect hat of them all… His own and old one! Very happy with his final decision, the character leaves the store.
This enjoyable story is narrated with two-word phrases that qualify the hats that the bear tries on. Most of the sentences are merely formulated with the adverb ‘too’ and the addition of an adjective. The use of simple constructions and repetition make the reading of the book easy and rhythmical for children. In this sense, the didactic purposes of the book are very explicit. Whether to be read in the classroom or at home, the story is a useful tool to introduce adjectives, expand vocabulary and to attend children’s first readings.
On balance, this laugh-provoking book with its unexpected ending will result really entertaining. Moreover, its plain narration will help to boost confidence and encourage first readings. Definitely, a must for teachers’ and parents’ bookshelves!
Old Hat, New Hat
Stan and Jan Berenstain
(reviewed by Nicolas Vincenti)
Simple and original, "Old Hat, New Hat" is the proposal to be revived these days. The Philippine couple, Stan and Jan Berenstain, wrote and illustrated this great book forty-three years ago, and there had not been a better moment than this one to bring back this classic to our bookshelves.
In most of The Berenstains' stories, bears represent the main characters, and this one is not the exception. An unnamed bear walks alone thinking about his old hat, when he suddenly stumbles across a new one in a shop window. He enters the hat store wondering if he could find a new headgear to replace his ragged one. He tries more than thirty brand new hats, but none of them seems to be good enough to replace his shabby piece of cloth. Finally, he happens to find a suitable one that pleases him, and guess what? It is his old hat! He happily leaves the hat store with his old hat while everyone looks at him astonishingly for the decision he has just taken.
Colourful uncluttered illustrations, basic but descriptive sentences, and a great message are the main characteristics of this wonderful story. When everything in our society revolves around consumerism, the bear will teach us a great lesson: sometimes there's nothing better than what you already have. Besides learning this old-time message (which is not such a little thing), children will be easily caught and delighted when looking the colourful pictures offered by the authors. They will also learn simple concepts of shape and size through rhymes. What else could we ask a book?
This didactic story is an excellent option for any adult who is planning to spend an amazing time with children. It definitely stands as one of the best options in the market, and its message is one that society should take into account more often. Five-star book!
(reviewed by Nicolas Vincenti)
Simple and original, "Old Hat, New Hat" is the proposal to be revived these days. The Philippine couple, Stan and Jan Berenstain, wrote and illustrated this great book forty-three years ago, and there had not been a better moment than this one to bring back this classic to our bookshelves.
In most of The Berenstains' stories, bears represent the main characters, and this one is not the exception. An unnamed bear walks alone thinking about his old hat, when he suddenly stumbles across a new one in a shop window. He enters the hat store wondering if he could find a new headgear to replace his ragged one. He tries more than thirty brand new hats, but none of them seems to be good enough to replace his shabby piece of cloth. Finally, he happens to find a suitable one that pleases him, and guess what? It is his old hat! He happily leaves the hat store with his old hat while everyone looks at him astonishingly for the decision he has just taken.
Colourful uncluttered illustrations, basic but descriptive sentences, and a great message are the main characteristics of this wonderful story. When everything in our society revolves around consumerism, the bear will teach us a great lesson: sometimes there's nothing better than what you already have. Besides learning this old-time message (which is not such a little thing), children will be easily caught and delighted when looking the colourful pictures offered by the authors. They will also learn simple concepts of shape and size through rhymes. What else could we ask a book?
This didactic story is an excellent option for any adult who is planning to spend an amazing time with children. It definitely stands as one of the best options in the market, and its message is one that society should take into account more often. Five-star book!
THE POWER OF UNION
by Trenti, Andrea
When a turnip grows, it does not always become big and strong. But this little vegetable turns into “The great, big, enormous turnip” through Alexei Tolstoy. From the beginning of this charming tale, children that are growing sweet and strong can discover that the old man in the story will not be able to pull up the turnip on his own. But who would be strong enough to help him?
After pulling and pulling again, the old man asks the old woman for help. Since they cannot pull up the vegetable, a chain of efforts begins: the old woman calls her granddaughter, the granddaughter calls the dog, the dog calls the cat and even the cat calls the mouse! They pull one another and fortunately manage to pull the turnip up at last.
Text and illustrations are used creatively to build the idea of cooperation. The pictures introduce sequences through which every character that asks for help appears in a small part of the page, while the one that is called occupies the whole of the next page. By doing so, the importance of each new link in the chain is highlighted. But in order to focus on the different size of the characters, every sequence is closed by showing them all together in that funny chain, in which the smallest pulls the biggest. In addition, the text presents a rhythmical sequence that is repeated each time a new character joins the group. This repetition lets children predict what will come next. So, the message constructed in the story is that the strength of the group is given by the teamwork and not by the size of its members
Definitely, this is a lovely story to deal with the idea of cooperation. Children can easily realize that every one’s contribution is unique, and that differences and rivalries must be set aside in order to help others. And of course, when a turnip grows, it may become big and strong, but never stronger than the power of union.
When a turnip grows, it does not always become big and strong. But this little vegetable turns into “The great, big, enormous turnip” through Alexei Tolstoy. From the beginning of this charming tale, children that are growing sweet and strong can discover that the old man in the story will not be able to pull up the turnip on his own. But who would be strong enough to help him?
After pulling and pulling again, the old man asks the old woman for help. Since they cannot pull up the vegetable, a chain of efforts begins: the old woman calls her granddaughter, the granddaughter calls the dog, the dog calls the cat and even the cat calls the mouse! They pull one another and fortunately manage to pull the turnip up at last.
Text and illustrations are used creatively to build the idea of cooperation. The pictures introduce sequences through which every character that asks for help appears in a small part of the page, while the one that is called occupies the whole of the next page. By doing so, the importance of each new link in the chain is highlighted. But in order to focus on the different size of the characters, every sequence is closed by showing them all together in that funny chain, in which the smallest pulls the biggest. In addition, the text presents a rhythmical sequence that is repeated each time a new character joins the group. This repetition lets children predict what will come next. So, the message constructed in the story is that the strength of the group is given by the teamwork and not by the size of its members
Definitely, this is a lovely story to deal with the idea of cooperation. Children can easily realize that every one’s contribution is unique, and that differences and rivalries must be set aside in order to help others. And of course, when a turnip grows, it may become big and strong, but never stronger than the power of union.
“Eat Up,Gemma”
Written by Sarah Hayes
Illustrated by Jan Ormerod
Review by Eliana Romero
Lovely and humorous, “Eat up, Gemma” is an adorable book for children that shows a whole family encourage its youngest member, baby Gemma, to eat. As usual, Sarah Hayes proposes a wonderful story with nice characters in a warm familiar atmosphere. In this occasion, she describes funny situations of a family dealing with little Gemma´s problem.
The story begins with a baby girl called Gemma who refuses to eat when she hears her mother, father and grandmother say the phrase, “Eat up, Gemma.” The baby expresses her dissatisfaction through several actions; for example, she throws her breakfast on the floor, squashes grapes one by one in the market, bangs her spoon on the table, gives her cookies to the birds and even her dinner to the dog. A Sunday morning, at church, Gemma becomes interested on a lady´s hat decorated with fruit and tries to pull a grape off it. Her elder brother, who is looking at her, has a brilliant idea. At home, he finds a plate and a bowl, turns the bowl upside down and puts it on the plate. He also takes a bunch of grapes and two bananas and puts them on the plate. It looks just like the lady´s hat. Gemma starts to eat and says, “Eat up, Gemma” and her beloved ones laugh with her.
“Eat up, Gemma” is a catching book, full of warmth and humor which are reflected on Jan Ormerod´s colourful and big illustrations of a lovely family. The writer uses simple vocabulary and also a repetitive phrase which gives rhythm to the story.
Imaginative, didactic and enjoyable, “Eat up, Gemma” is a great story. It is a highly recommended book for little kids, and an interesting option for parents who want to have a funny reading time with their children.
Illustrated by Jan Ormerod
Review by Eliana Romero
Lovely and humorous, “Eat up, Gemma” is an adorable book for children that shows a whole family encourage its youngest member, baby Gemma, to eat. As usual, Sarah Hayes proposes a wonderful story with nice characters in a warm familiar atmosphere. In this occasion, she describes funny situations of a family dealing with little Gemma´s problem.
The story begins with a baby girl called Gemma who refuses to eat when she hears her mother, father and grandmother say the phrase, “Eat up, Gemma.” The baby expresses her dissatisfaction through several actions; for example, she throws her breakfast on the floor, squashes grapes one by one in the market, bangs her spoon on the table, gives her cookies to the birds and even her dinner to the dog. A Sunday morning, at church, Gemma becomes interested on a lady´s hat decorated with fruit and tries to pull a grape off it. Her elder brother, who is looking at her, has a brilliant idea. At home, he finds a plate and a bowl, turns the bowl upside down and puts it on the plate. He also takes a bunch of grapes and two bananas and puts them on the plate. It looks just like the lady´s hat. Gemma starts to eat and says, “Eat up, Gemma” and her beloved ones laugh with her.
“Eat up, Gemma” is a catching book, full of warmth and humor which are reflected on Jan Ormerod´s colourful and big illustrations of a lovely family. The writer uses simple vocabulary and also a repetitive phrase which gives rhythm to the story.
Imaginative, didactic and enjoyable, “Eat up, Gemma” is a great story. It is a highly recommended book for little kids, and an interesting option for parents who want to have a funny reading time with their children.
“Down the road” by Celia Berridge
by Rocío Gulin
“Down the road” is a nice book that shows a girl who is going to a friend’s house with her mother. The girl is the one who narrates the story and she describes everything they see on their way down the road. This book writes about different situations that occur when someone walks along the street. It could be used to teach present continuous and possessive adjectives to foreign speakers. What’s more, it could be used to introduce vial education to children.
“Down the road” contains colorful pictures that catch children’s attention and help them to understand the plot. As regards the sentences, they are simple and short. Nevertheless, some of them are written in present continuous, making it difficult for children that are below 8 years old to understand the plot. However, this book could be used to introduce the present continuous. What’s more, some sentences contain possessive adjectives, making this story a good tool to teach them to beginner students of English.
In addition, this book teaches the importance of vial education. This can be seen when the girl says that the red light tells the cars to stop and they can cross when their light turns to green. It also teaches that, when there aren’t traffic lights, people have to stop and see if anything is coming before they cross the road.
“Down the road” is a didactic story that could be used to teach children many different topics. At the same time, children will enjoy reading it because the plot and the pictures it contains are amazing. This book is a well worth reading and I recommend it for children above 8 years old.
“Down the road” is a nice book that shows a girl who is going to a friend’s house with her mother. The girl is the one who narrates the story and she describes everything they see on their way down the road. This book writes about different situations that occur when someone walks along the street. It could be used to teach present continuous and possessive adjectives to foreign speakers. What’s more, it could be used to introduce vial education to children.
“Down the road” contains colorful pictures that catch children’s attention and help them to understand the plot. As regards the sentences, they are simple and short. Nevertheless, some of them are written in present continuous, making it difficult for children that are below 8 years old to understand the plot. However, this book could be used to introduce the present continuous. What’s more, some sentences contain possessive adjectives, making this story a good tool to teach them to beginner students of English.
In addition, this book teaches the importance of vial education. This can be seen when the girl says that the red light tells the cars to stop and they can cross when their light turns to green. It also teaches that, when there aren’t traffic lights, people have to stop and see if anything is coming before they cross the road.
“Down the road” is a didactic story that could be used to teach children many different topics. At the same time, children will enjoy reading it because the plot and the pictures it contains are amazing. This book is a well worth reading and I recommend it for children above 8 years old.
“Sitting in my box” by Dee Lillegard
by Paola Barros
“Sitting in my box” is a didactic and catchy story about a young boy who is enjoying a book called “Wild animals” while sitting alone in a cardboard box. This story was written by Dee Lillegard and illustrated with colorful and attractive drawings made by Jon Agee.
The young boy is sitting inside a cardboard box reading an animal book. While reading, he imagines that animals come one by one and invite themselves to sit in the box with him. The problem commences when the box in which all of them are sitting gets more and more crowded. Eventually, there is no more space and a flea comes along and clears all of them out of the box.
This story can be used not only for teaching vocabulary about animals but also for making students develop a bit more their imagination. The development of their imagination will help them to be creative when reading stories. Moreover, they will be able to turn any ordinary object into a scene in which all kind of amazing, curious and unexpected adventures can happen. The simple and short sentences in this story make it easy to follow, to understand and enjoyable to read for children. Another good feature of “Sitting in my box” is the fact that it is a good tool for teachers to illustrate to their students the notion of space in a certain place.
In brief, the book is highly recommendable for young students who begin the joyful journey into the reading world. Above all, I suggest not only teachers but also parents to take into account this attention-getting story for reading their students or children, respectively. The story will surely become the favorite for every young reader since they won’t get tired of reading it over and over again.
“Sitting in my box” is a didactic and catchy story about a young boy who is enjoying a book called “Wild animals” while sitting alone in a cardboard box. This story was written by Dee Lillegard and illustrated with colorful and attractive drawings made by Jon Agee.
The young boy is sitting inside a cardboard box reading an animal book. While reading, he imagines that animals come one by one and invite themselves to sit in the box with him. The problem commences when the box in which all of them are sitting gets more and more crowded. Eventually, there is no more space and a flea comes along and clears all of them out of the box.
This story can be used not only for teaching vocabulary about animals but also for making students develop a bit more their imagination. The development of their imagination will help them to be creative when reading stories. Moreover, they will be able to turn any ordinary object into a scene in which all kind of amazing, curious and unexpected adventures can happen. The simple and short sentences in this story make it easy to follow, to understand and enjoyable to read for children. Another good feature of “Sitting in my box” is the fact that it is a good tool for teachers to illustrate to their students the notion of space in a certain place.
In brief, the book is highly recommendable for young students who begin the joyful journey into the reading world. Above all, I suggest not only teachers but also parents to take into account this attention-getting story for reading their students or children, respectively. The story will surely become the favorite for every young reader since they won’t get tired of reading it over and over again.
“Sitting in My Box”
by Dee Lillegard
Illustrations by Jon Agee
Review by Laura Berenice Piceda
Funny and tender, “Sitting in My Box” is a children’s story which shows how children’s imagination can turn any daily experience into an amazing and incredible adventure. This book by Dee Lillegard tells the story of a young boy who sits inside a little box, and while he reads a book of wild animals he imagines that all of them come to visit him. Throughout the whole story, the author shows the readers the power of a child’s creativity, and the magic that can be found inside every single book.
The story begins when a giraffe knocks on the little box in which the boy is sitting and asks him to enter. Immediately after that, an elephant knocks and does the same. One by one, a big baboon, a lion and a hippopotamus appear; and join him and the rest of the animals inside the box. Then, the boy notices that all of them are standing because there’s no room to sit, but none of the animals wants to leave the box. Suddenly, a flea jumps right in the box. He bites the hippo and that starts a chain of bites that clears out the box, leaving the boy alone again with his own imagination.
Regarding the writing style, the story is really easy to read, due to the fact that sentences are simple and most of them are repeated, making the task of understanding easier for little children. The illustrations made by Jon Angee are catching, colorful and comic-like, and help the audience to follow the plot in a clear way.
“Sitting in my Box” is a funny story which will not only entertain children but also encourage them to use the power of their own imagination. They will surely love this book! It is a must for your library. Highly recommended.
Illustrations by Jon Agee
Review by Laura Berenice Piceda
Funny and tender, “Sitting in My Box” is a children’s story which shows how children’s imagination can turn any daily experience into an amazing and incredible adventure. This book by Dee Lillegard tells the story of a young boy who sits inside a little box, and while he reads a book of wild animals he imagines that all of them come to visit him. Throughout the whole story, the author shows the readers the power of a child’s creativity, and the magic that can be found inside every single book.
The story begins when a giraffe knocks on the little box in which the boy is sitting and asks him to enter. Immediately after that, an elephant knocks and does the same. One by one, a big baboon, a lion and a hippopotamus appear; and join him and the rest of the animals inside the box. Then, the boy notices that all of them are standing because there’s no room to sit, but none of the animals wants to leave the box. Suddenly, a flea jumps right in the box. He bites the hippo and that starts a chain of bites that clears out the box, leaving the boy alone again with his own imagination.
Regarding the writing style, the story is really easy to read, due to the fact that sentences are simple and most of them are repeated, making the task of understanding easier for little children. The illustrations made by Jon Angee are catching, colorful and comic-like, and help the audience to follow the plot in a clear way.
“Sitting in my Box” is a funny story which will not only entertain children but also encourage them to use the power of their own imagination. They will surely love this book! It is a must for your library. Highly recommended.
Amazing pets, do you know one?
by Garay, Lucía
Easy to read, sweet, accompanied by realistic pictures and introducing a world of complexity, the book “Amazing pets” presents a different way of seeing companion animals.
On the one hand, the author Lynda DeWitt shows kids how people have to take care of pets. On the other hand, DeWitt explains what different tame animals can do for people unable to perform daily life routines because they are deaf or blind or cannot move. Also, these animals are portrayed as helpers and friend of those who are sick or do not want to feel lonely.
Consisting on just seven pages where concise information is presented, “Amazing pets” shows readers brilliant aspects of having a pet as a companion or helper. However, how can we help pets? This unseen question is answered while the author describes the main necessities people need to pay attention when taking care of their pets. The book then goes on with the trigger question, “Did you know that sometimes pets help take care of people?” that is responded through realistic images of a dog, a cat and a monkey helping handicapped people in their daily life.
Another important aspect of this book to consider is the complexity of the world that is offered to kids when presenting people who have problems to develop their daily routines. The humanization of animals by acknowledging them the capacity to give us love and make us laugh is a way of preaching kids love for animals whether they are tame or not.
“Amazing pets” ends by saying “pets can make us laugh. They can keep us from feeling lonely” and that sentence, plus the sweet and sensible pictures, may help kids to make emotional connections with the world they live in.
To sum up, I personally recommend this book because it preaches on loving animals, it teaches kids how to take care of animals and because it offers a different reality to kids where people need others in their lives, in these case, pet animals.
Easy to read, sweet, accompanied by realistic pictures and introducing a world of complexity, the book “Amazing pets” presents a different way of seeing companion animals.
On the one hand, the author Lynda DeWitt shows kids how people have to take care of pets. On the other hand, DeWitt explains what different tame animals can do for people unable to perform daily life routines because they are deaf or blind or cannot move. Also, these animals are portrayed as helpers and friend of those who are sick or do not want to feel lonely.
Consisting on just seven pages where concise information is presented, “Amazing pets” shows readers brilliant aspects of having a pet as a companion or helper. However, how can we help pets? This unseen question is answered while the author describes the main necessities people need to pay attention when taking care of their pets. The book then goes on with the trigger question, “Did you know that sometimes pets help take care of people?” that is responded through realistic images of a dog, a cat and a monkey helping handicapped people in their daily life.
Another important aspect of this book to consider is the complexity of the world that is offered to kids when presenting people who have problems to develop their daily routines. The humanization of animals by acknowledging them the capacity to give us love and make us laugh is a way of preaching kids love for animals whether they are tame or not.
“Amazing pets” ends by saying “pets can make us laugh. They can keep us from feeling lonely” and that sentence, plus the sweet and sensible pictures, may help kids to make emotional connections with the world they live in.
To sum up, I personally recommend this book because it preaches on loving animals, it teaches kids how to take care of animals and because it offers a different reality to kids where people need others in their lives, in these case, pet animals.
PULLING UP TOGETHER
by Ana M. Mojico
“The Great Big Enormous Turnip” by Alexei Tolstoy is an invitation to experience cooperative work. Preschoolers and children attending their first years at primary school will be witness to the success of pulling up together through Helen Oxenbury’s illustrations.
The various characters of this classic Russian folktale join forces and help each other to pull a huge turnip out. An old man plants a turnip in his farm and it grows and grows till it becomes enormous. When he tries to remove the great vegetable, he realizes he is not strong enough to do so and he asks an old woman to help him. After trying desperately, she calls her granddaughter who tells a dog if he could lend her a hand, who asks a cat, who finally is assisted by a little mouse. And all of them pull and pull again. Unexpectedly, the strength of this little and weak animal is also necessary at last to pull the giant turnip out.
The Soviet writer manages to convey the idea of cooperation by means of incremental repetition and parallelism. Tolstoy presents his characters one by one always performing the same task, pulling and pulling again. Intentionally, he repeats it rhythmically as the story progresses making “The Great Big Enormous Turnip” suitable and enjoyable for little children.
The acclaimed illustrator, Helen Oxenbury, succeeds in creating a cumulative story through her detailed drawings. In every page, she presents a new character that joins the previous one and helps him to accomplish the same task. Finally, a long chain of different creatures, each one weaker and smaller than the other, is built in order to remove the great big enormous turnip. Oxenbury is able to communicate in images the moral meaning of the story.
Little children will enjoy this popular folktale and its expressive pictures while discovering that no matter how difficult a task is, even a great big enormous turnip can be pulled out if we pull up together.
“The Great Big Enormous Turnip” by Alexei Tolstoy is an invitation to experience cooperative work. Preschoolers and children attending their first years at primary school will be witness to the success of pulling up together through Helen Oxenbury’s illustrations.
The various characters of this classic Russian folktale join forces and help each other to pull a huge turnip out. An old man plants a turnip in his farm and it grows and grows till it becomes enormous. When he tries to remove the great vegetable, he realizes he is not strong enough to do so and he asks an old woman to help him. After trying desperately, she calls her granddaughter who tells a dog if he could lend her a hand, who asks a cat, who finally is assisted by a little mouse. And all of them pull and pull again. Unexpectedly, the strength of this little and weak animal is also necessary at last to pull the giant turnip out.
The Soviet writer manages to convey the idea of cooperation by means of incremental repetition and parallelism. Tolstoy presents his characters one by one always performing the same task, pulling and pulling again. Intentionally, he repeats it rhythmically as the story progresses making “The Great Big Enormous Turnip” suitable and enjoyable for little children.
The acclaimed illustrator, Helen Oxenbury, succeeds in creating a cumulative story through her detailed drawings. In every page, she presents a new character that joins the previous one and helps him to accomplish the same task. Finally, a long chain of different creatures, each one weaker and smaller than the other, is built in order to remove the great big enormous turnip. Oxenbury is able to communicate in images the moral meaning of the story.
Little children will enjoy this popular folktale and its expressive pictures while discovering that no matter how difficult a task is, even a great big enormous turnip can be pulled out if we pull up together.
Aug 20, 2013
The great, big, enormous turnip.
by Rosario García
The book “The great, big, enormous turnip” retold by Alexei Tolstoy and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, is an excellent story of cooperation, solidarity and friendship, values that are important to promote in every society. It contains simple vocabulary, repetitive sequences of actions and vivid illustrations which not only catch children’s attention but entertain. The images are so perfectly illustrated that they speak by themselves.
The story begins with an old man who plants a little turnip wishing it to grow strong. It does grow extremely big and strong but at the moment of pulling it up he realizes that he cannot do it on his own and he needs some help, so he calls an old woman. As both of them still cannot pull it up the old woman calls her granddaughter. Then, the granddaughter calls a black dog, the black dog calls a cat, the cat calls a mouse and finally all together can pull the turnip up.
Nowadays lots of values seem to be lost or forgotten as if they were something that belonged to the past. “The great, big, enormous turnip” brings back those values to stay in our minds. You must read it.
The book “The great, big, enormous turnip” retold by Alexei Tolstoy and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, is an excellent story of cooperation, solidarity and friendship, values that are important to promote in every society. It contains simple vocabulary, repetitive sequences of actions and vivid illustrations which not only catch children’s attention but entertain. The images are so perfectly illustrated that they speak by themselves.
The story begins with an old man who plants a little turnip wishing it to grow strong. It does grow extremely big and strong but at the moment of pulling it up he realizes that he cannot do it on his own and he needs some help, so he calls an old woman. As both of them still cannot pull it up the old woman calls her granddaughter. Then, the granddaughter calls a black dog, the black dog calls a cat, the cat calls a mouse and finally all together can pull the turnip up.
Nowadays lots of values seem to be lost or forgotten as if they were something that belonged to the past. “The great, big, enormous turnip” brings back those values to stay in our minds. You must read it.
DON'T CHOKE WITH THAT, Eat up, Gemma's review.
Julio Servin.
Monotonous and dull in equal measures, Eat up, GEMMA is an insufferable and tediuos story written by Sarah Hayes. The idea of the book is simple the little baby Gemma doesn't want to eat anything and throws her food everytime, everywhere. Her entire family tries unsuccessfully to feed her. But one day, while in the church, Gemma sees the hat of a woman decorated with some fruits and thinks that it’s real food and tries to eat it, that gives her big brother an idea which finally encourages Gemma to eat.
What's the problem with the story, then? First, The main issue is that Eat up, Gemma pretends to be part a family problem, part a funny situation, part a pedagogical story, but not entirely satisfying on any of these levels. Second, the boring and predictable storyline is far from convincing and makes very little effort to get any children interested. Finally, the past tense chosen to tell the story is exceedingly difficult and probably inappropriate for the comprehension of a two-years child.
But if the occasional reader of this review thinks that the 24 pages of Eat up, Gemma couldn't be more frustrating, then the artwork appears. The illustrations by Jan Ormerod are not just intantly forgettable, but beginning to fade from memory even before you turn the next page. Evidently, Jan wasn't in the mood when she drew the pictures. Eat up Gemma leaves nothing to the imagination, it's a real pity because Sarah has written excellent stories like 'This is the bear' or 'Nine Ducks Nine', both are perfectly understandable to any children.
All in all, Eat up Gemma is a story written by an experienced author in an uninspired moment of her professional career. We will probably never know why this book arrived at the bookshops. Anyway, if you, parents, are considering to spend your hard-earned money on this book, well, you should think about it twice.
Monotonous and dull in equal measures, Eat up, GEMMA is an insufferable and tediuos story written by Sarah Hayes. The idea of the book is simple the little baby Gemma doesn't want to eat anything and throws her food everytime, everywhere. Her entire family tries unsuccessfully to feed her. But one day, while in the church, Gemma sees the hat of a woman decorated with some fruits and thinks that it’s real food and tries to eat it, that gives her big brother an idea which finally encourages Gemma to eat.
What's the problem with the story, then? First, The main issue is that Eat up, Gemma pretends to be part a family problem, part a funny situation, part a pedagogical story, but not entirely satisfying on any of these levels. Second, the boring and predictable storyline is far from convincing and makes very little effort to get any children interested. Finally, the past tense chosen to tell the story is exceedingly difficult and probably inappropriate for the comprehension of a two-years child.
But if the occasional reader of this review thinks that the 24 pages of Eat up, Gemma couldn't be more frustrating, then the artwork appears. The illustrations by Jan Ormerod are not just intantly forgettable, but beginning to fade from memory even before you turn the next page. Evidently, Jan wasn't in the mood when she drew the pictures. Eat up Gemma leaves nothing to the imagination, it's a real pity because Sarah has written excellent stories like 'This is the bear' or 'Nine Ducks Nine', both are perfectly understandable to any children.
All in all, Eat up Gemma is a story written by an experienced author in an uninspired moment of her professional career. We will probably never know why this book arrived at the bookshops. Anyway, if you, parents, are considering to spend your hard-earned money on this book, well, you should think about it twice.
Old Hat New Hat
Carolina Perez Cibez
By Stan and Jan Barestain
Random House Childrens Books
Old Hat New Hat is the story of a young bear which is surprised by a new hat displayed on the window of a shop. Stan and Jan Barestain planned the whole book together and created the pictures. Their love for children allows them to write exciting as well as educational tales. They have a unique way of telling the stories they write that leave young kids eager to go on reading, learning and playing.
The different types of hats helps the young bear to decide which one to take, but also helps him to find something that he would really like. He looks and looks and tries on every single hat that there is in the store. He manages to put the shop upside down and puts the entire staff of the shop to work really hard to please him. All of this to learn the old hat he had on when he walked in is just perfect! This is a very important message for our students not always the best things for us is new.
The writers´ experience doing children´s literature is translated on the elements they use. The most recognisable one is rhyming, this makes the story much more exciting for children. This way is easier to remember the meaning and pronunciation of the adjectives used along the tale.
Children will ask their parents and teachers to read the book again and again and the best part is that you´ll never get tired to do it. The perfect combination of bright colours and a lovable main character makes another successful story for Stan and Jan´s collection.
By Stan and Jan Barestain
Random House Childrens Books
Old Hat New Hat is the story of a young bear which is surprised by a new hat displayed on the window of a shop. Stan and Jan Barestain planned the whole book together and created the pictures. Their love for children allows them to write exciting as well as educational tales. They have a unique way of telling the stories they write that leave young kids eager to go on reading, learning and playing.
The different types of hats helps the young bear to decide which one to take, but also helps him to find something that he would really like. He looks and looks and tries on every single hat that there is in the store. He manages to put the shop upside down and puts the entire staff of the shop to work really hard to please him. All of this to learn the old hat he had on when he walked in is just perfect! This is a very important message for our students not always the best things for us is new.
The writers´ experience doing children´s literature is translated on the elements they use. The most recognisable one is rhyming, this makes the story much more exciting for children. This way is easier to remember the meaning and pronunciation of the adjectives used along the tale.
Children will ask their parents and teachers to read the book again and again and the best part is that you´ll never get tired to do it. The perfect combination of bright colours and a lovable main character makes another successful story for Stan and Jan´s collection.
Eat up, Gemma
by Panzita, Mariela
Worried about how to deal with your baby’s first meals? Eat up, Gemma, by Sarah Hayes, treats this issue with humour in this simple but wonderful story about a baby who is learning how to eat.
Gemma, is a coloured skin baby girl whose entire family is trying to make her eat without any success and although her family and other people offer the girl different kinds of food, they can’t make her eat and when her mother and father are getting desperate because of this situation, a hilarious episode takes place at the church when Gemma tries to eat some fake fruit. This calls her brother’s attention who solves this problem with lots of imagination, building a hat with some fruit at home.
In this book, Sarah Hayes tries to demonstrate that children don’t see food as we adults see it. She shows trough this lovely story that imagination could be an important factor when we prepare our kids meals.
Your children will love this story in which a difficult issue as nutrition is treated in a simple and funny way. Don’t miss it!
Worried about how to deal with your baby’s first meals? Eat up, Gemma, by Sarah Hayes, treats this issue with humour in this simple but wonderful story about a baby who is learning how to eat.
Gemma, is a coloured skin baby girl whose entire family is trying to make her eat without any success and although her family and other people offer the girl different kinds of food, they can’t make her eat and when her mother and father are getting desperate because of this situation, a hilarious episode takes place at the church when Gemma tries to eat some fake fruit. This calls her brother’s attention who solves this problem with lots of imagination, building a hat with some fruit at home.
In this book, Sarah Hayes tries to demonstrate that children don’t see food as we adults see it. She shows trough this lovely story that imagination could be an important factor when we prepare our kids meals.
Your children will love this story in which a difficult issue as nutrition is treated in a simple and funny way. Don’t miss it!
“Eat up, Gemma”
How difficult is it to make children eat their food? Through Sarah Hayes’ story book “Eat up, Gemma”, readers will find many examples of this familiar situation. A baby girl named Gemma has a hard time eating her food. She constantly throws it on the floor even when her family advises her not to do that. One day, her brother has a clever idea. Can he motivate Gemma to eat up?
Gemma is a toddler who refuses to eat her breakfast. Although the entire family encourages her to eat, she chooses to throw it away. Every occasion is good for Gemma to get rid of eating. At the groceries’, the same reaction stands when a man offers her some fruits. At dinner, Gemma won’t eat a thing. It seems that Gemma prefers mashing, throwing, and sharing her food rather than eating it. No matters what kind of food: fruits, cookies or pizza, Gemma will reject it. One day, she is inspired to eat while looking at a lady’s hat. Her big brother comes across with a great and creative idea; Gemma would eat if he imitates the lady’s hat with real fruits.
“Eat up, Gemma” is a great story told through Gemma’s brother point of view. Along With the colourful pictures drawn by Jan Ormerod, even children that don’t read yet will understand the story and love it. I highly recommend this book; it is a suitable tool to show the importance of family support when encouraging eating. Parents will find “Eat up, Gemma” very useful. As Gemma’s big brother does with the fruits, the book may inspire them to use imagination and motivate children to eat.
Anahí Laprovitta
Gemma is a toddler who refuses to eat her breakfast. Although the entire family encourages her to eat, she chooses to throw it away. Every occasion is good for Gemma to get rid of eating. At the groceries’, the same reaction stands when a man offers her some fruits. At dinner, Gemma won’t eat a thing. It seems that Gemma prefers mashing, throwing, and sharing her food rather than eating it. No matters what kind of food: fruits, cookies or pizza, Gemma will reject it. One day, she is inspired to eat while looking at a lady’s hat. Her big brother comes across with a great and creative idea; Gemma would eat if he imitates the lady’s hat with real fruits.
“Eat up, Gemma” is a great story told through Gemma’s brother point of view. Along With the colourful pictures drawn by Jan Ormerod, even children that don’t read yet will understand the story and love it. I highly recommend this book; it is a suitable tool to show the importance of family support when encouraging eating. Parents will find “Eat up, Gemma” very useful. As Gemma’s big brother does with the fruits, the book may inspire them to use imagination and motivate children to eat.
Anahí Laprovitta
SO CAN I
By Allan Ahlberg and
Colin McNaughton
Walker books
Gimalsky, Marilú
So Can I is another engaging and hilarious story by the wonderful writers and illustrators Allan Ahlberg and Colin McNaughton. In this opportunity, the tale illustrates the new abilities of a girl and those of different and special pets, while the reader and listener are transported imaginatively to a magic world of fantasy.
The girl expresses, with pleasure and satisfaction, the new abilities that she can now deal with. As the girl wears glasses, it is funny to see different and surprising animals in the story wearing glasses too. However, the most hilarious things are the answers given by a crocodile, an elephant, a gorilla, a kangaroo and an octopus. Animals show the little girl and the reader that they can also do the same things.
Simple words and sentences, clear drawings and nice colours are just some of the characteristics presented in this book. A world of pure imagination will be discovered by both, children and adults, through the simplicity of this story.
So Can I is one of those stories that I would recommend to any reader to have on his/her bookshelf.
Colin McNaughton
Walker books
Gimalsky, Marilú
So Can I is another engaging and hilarious story by the wonderful writers and illustrators Allan Ahlberg and Colin McNaughton. In this opportunity, the tale illustrates the new abilities of a girl and those of different and special pets, while the reader and listener are transported imaginatively to a magic world of fantasy.
The girl expresses, with pleasure and satisfaction, the new abilities that she can now deal with. As the girl wears glasses, it is funny to see different and surprising animals in the story wearing glasses too. However, the most hilarious things are the answers given by a crocodile, an elephant, a gorilla, a kangaroo and an octopus. Animals show the little girl and the reader that they can also do the same things.
Simple words and sentences, clear drawings and nice colours are just some of the characteristics presented in this book. A world of pure imagination will be discovered by both, children and adults, through the simplicity of this story.
So Can I is one of those stories that I would recommend to any reader to have on his/her bookshelf.
HELLO, HOUSE!
by Maria Sabrina Vergara
Retold by Linda Hayward Illustrations by Lynn Musinger
“Hello, House!” retold by Linda Hayward and illustrated by Lynn Musinger is an adaptation of an old tale in which Brer Wolf and Brer Rabbit are the main characters. The Wolf´s goal is to catch the Rabbit when he returns to his home.
Brer Wolf is always thinking of how to set a trap for Brer Rabbit. Despite the fact that Brer Wolf is bigger than Brer Rabbit, the latter is much smarter than him. One day, after having a picnic Brer Rabbit´s family come back to their house and the Rabbit notices that the door is open. Immediately he begins to suspect that something strange is going on inside his house. He peeks in the window, listens at the chimney and comes forward to the door but nobody seems to be there. Afterwards, Brer Rabbit shouts out: “Hello, House!” and to his surprise, the house replies. In fact it is Brer Wolf who is falling again into his tricks. After a while, Brer Wolf comes out of the house feeling upset for being cheated, once more, by his opponent the small rabbit.
This is a classic and simple story where the main characters are represented by animals. This characteristic will call the attention to little children. It also contains humor and clear vocabulary. The repetition of some structures or words make it easier for young learners to understand the story. Besides, this tale teaches us that if you pit your wits against somebody else, these wits can have an unexpected turn against you. Last but not least, the illustrations are full of colours and introduce us to lovely characters and landscapes.
“Hello, house!” is funny, entertaining and didactic. A catching story for children to enjoy. Highly recommended.
Retold by Linda Hayward Illustrations by Lynn Musinger
“Hello, House!” retold by Linda Hayward and illustrated by Lynn Musinger is an adaptation of an old tale in which Brer Wolf and Brer Rabbit are the main characters. The Wolf´s goal is to catch the Rabbit when he returns to his home.
Brer Wolf is always thinking of how to set a trap for Brer Rabbit. Despite the fact that Brer Wolf is bigger than Brer Rabbit, the latter is much smarter than him. One day, after having a picnic Brer Rabbit´s family come back to their house and the Rabbit notices that the door is open. Immediately he begins to suspect that something strange is going on inside his house. He peeks in the window, listens at the chimney and comes forward to the door but nobody seems to be there. Afterwards, Brer Rabbit shouts out: “Hello, House!” and to his surprise, the house replies. In fact it is Brer Wolf who is falling again into his tricks. After a while, Brer Wolf comes out of the house feeling upset for being cheated, once more, by his opponent the small rabbit.
This is a classic and simple story where the main characters are represented by animals. This characteristic will call the attention to little children. It also contains humor and clear vocabulary. The repetition of some structures or words make it easier for young learners to understand the story. Besides, this tale teaches us that if you pit your wits against somebody else, these wits can have an unexpected turn against you. Last but not least, the illustrations are full of colours and introduce us to lovely characters and landscapes.
“Hello, house!” is funny, entertaining and didactic. A catching story for children to enjoy. Highly recommended.
“When the elephant walks”
By Lucía del Valle
“When the elephant walks” is an adorable story written by Keiko Kaszca who using tender images and the same structure to pass from one animal to another, makes the story attractive and easy to follow for children.
The story is about an animal chain-reaction which starts with an elephant scaring a bear. Then, the bear, which is looking for honey, scares a crocodile which swims for saving his life but, by doing this, he frightens another animal who continue with the chain. From the elephant to a mouse, fear passes through all these tender characters, finishing the story with the first one, the elephant, being scare.
Within this book, children become aware that life is like a “wheel” and everything we do, good or bad, could return to us.
I highly recommend this book. “When the elephant walks” is a very kind story with lovely characters that very young children will adore.
“When the elephant walks” is an adorable story written by Keiko Kaszca who using tender images and the same structure to pass from one animal to another, makes the story attractive and easy to follow for children.
The story is about an animal chain-reaction which starts with an elephant scaring a bear. Then, the bear, which is looking for honey, scares a crocodile which swims for saving his life but, by doing this, he frightens another animal who continue with the chain. From the elephant to a mouse, fear passes through all these tender characters, finishing the story with the first one, the elephant, being scare.
Within this book, children become aware that life is like a “wheel” and everything we do, good or bad, could return to us.
I highly recommend this book. “When the elephant walks” is a very kind story with lovely characters that very young children will adore.
HELLO, HOUSE!
by Alejandro Tachile
What would you do if after coming back from a picnic, the door of your house is open? And for your surprise, a wolf is inside your home! In “Hello, house!” by Linda Hayward, children will learn that, rather than strength, what can get you out of a hard situation is intelligence. And to depict this, the author presents Brer Rabbit and Brer Wolf. The former is the anthesis of the later and this is the key to make the story funny.
Brer Wolf is always trying to eat Brer Rabbit and his family. And although he is bigger, “Brer Rabbit is a whole lot smarter”. After several unsuccessful attempts to trick his prey, Brer Wolf hides into the family house, when they go to a picnic. They come back and find the door of the house open. To find out who is inside Brer Rabbit shouts “ Hello, house!”, Brer Wolf gets so confused that he even replies to the greeting saying:”HELLO TO YOU TOO!”. After this, Brer Rabbit chuckles and then says:” This house talks too low” ,so Brer Wolf answers:”HELLO TO YOU TOO!” in a high voice. And for every reply Brer Wolf makes, Brer Rabbit always finds something to complain about his answer. At the end ,Brer wolf realizes he has been tricked by Brer Rabbit and gets out of the house furiously.
The core of the tale is the trick that Brer Rabbit uses against Brer Wolf. Apart from giving the title to the story, the phrase `hello,house!` is the key to catch children`s attention. Since nobody would say `hello` to a house, this trick shows to children that sometimes the solution to a problem could be hidden in something completely unexpected or inusual.
The tale gives a funny vision of the idea of intelligence overcoming strength. And children will be satisfy with the end since it is impossible not not to cherish Brer Rabbit and his family while reading the tale. I definitely recommend “Hello,House” since it is a children´s book that should be in every bookcase.
What would you do if after coming back from a picnic, the door of your house is open? And for your surprise, a wolf is inside your home! In “Hello, house!” by Linda Hayward, children will learn that, rather than strength, what can get you out of a hard situation is intelligence. And to depict this, the author presents Brer Rabbit and Brer Wolf. The former is the anthesis of the later and this is the key to make the story funny.
Brer Wolf is always trying to eat Brer Rabbit and his family. And although he is bigger, “Brer Rabbit is a whole lot smarter”. After several unsuccessful attempts to trick his prey, Brer Wolf hides into the family house, when they go to a picnic. They come back and find the door of the house open. To find out who is inside Brer Rabbit shouts “ Hello, house!”, Brer Wolf gets so confused that he even replies to the greeting saying:”HELLO TO YOU TOO!”. After this, Brer Rabbit chuckles and then says:” This house talks too low” ,so Brer Wolf answers:”HELLO TO YOU TOO!” in a high voice. And for every reply Brer Wolf makes, Brer Rabbit always finds something to complain about his answer. At the end ,Brer wolf realizes he has been tricked by Brer Rabbit and gets out of the house furiously.
The core of the tale is the trick that Brer Rabbit uses against Brer Wolf. Apart from giving the title to the story, the phrase `hello,house!` is the key to catch children`s attention. Since nobody would say `hello` to a house, this trick shows to children that sometimes the solution to a problem could be hidden in something completely unexpected or inusual.
The tale gives a funny vision of the idea of intelligence overcoming strength. And children will be satisfy with the end since it is impossible not not to cherish Brer Rabbit and his family while reading the tale. I definitely recommend “Hello,House” since it is a children´s book that should be in every bookcase.
Jul 8, 2013
The Gingerbread Boy, A Read Along With Me Book (reviews)
Debby Slier (author), Olivia Cale (Illustrator)
(reviewed by Aldana Pires and Nicolas Vincenti)
Didactic and enjoyable, “The Gingerbread Boy” retells the old fable about a gingerbread man who escapes from various pursuers, and his eventual death between the jaws of a fox. With Debby Slier's experienced writing and Olivia Cale's illustrations, the story can't help but being catchy for the youngest audience from beginning to end.
The gingerbread boy is born in the kitchen of an old woman’s house. She and his husband don’t have any children, but the sudden appearance of this little fairy shakes up their quiet lives. The gingerbread boy manages to escape from the house and starts a journey in which he upsets various animals. He makes fun of whoever he can with his catchy tease “Run, run, as fast as you can, You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!.” While looking for a way out, he finds a river which he can’t swim across, for he would die. A fox appears in the scene to help our little friend; but when he tells him to sit on his nose, the fox betrays the gingerbread boy. With just one bite, the animal enjoys the taste of the loaf.
From its very cover, the book is established as a read-along-with-me book. When it is opened, there’s a message to parents that offers suggestions about how to encourage children to read. This piece of advice is quite a helpful tool for parents who wish to give a hand to their children's reading skill. Furthermore, in order to stimulate and facilitate the first practices of the skill, the story is accompanied with some images* that replace words. These pictures are also found at** the margin of each page with its name beneath it for children to start learning the symbols that stand for words. Clearly, the didactic purpose of the book is mainly focused on the acquisition of reading skill, rather than on the message given by the fable.
In brief, the book serves as an excellent tool for parents to entertain their children and to help them on their first readings. It’s a must for every home bookshelf. Highly recommended for parents!
(reviewed by Aldana Pires and Nicolas Vincenti)
Didactic and enjoyable, “The Gingerbread Boy” retells the old fable about a gingerbread man who escapes from various pursuers, and his eventual death between the jaws of a fox. With Debby Slier's experienced writing and Olivia Cale's illustrations, the story can't help but being catchy for the youngest audience from beginning to end.
The gingerbread boy is born in the kitchen of an old woman’s house. She and his husband don’t have any children, but the sudden appearance of this little fairy shakes up their quiet lives. The gingerbread boy manages to escape from the house and starts a journey in which he upsets various animals. He makes fun of whoever he can with his catchy tease “Run, run, as fast as you can, You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!.” While looking for a way out, he finds a river which he can’t swim across, for he would die. A fox appears in the scene to help our little friend; but when he tells him to sit on his nose, the fox betrays the gingerbread boy. With just one bite, the animal enjoys the taste of the loaf.
From its very cover, the book is established as a read-along-with-me book. When it is opened, there’s a message to parents that offers suggestions about how to encourage children to read. This piece of advice is quite a helpful tool for parents who wish to give a hand to their children's reading skill. Furthermore, in order to stimulate and facilitate the first practices of the skill, the story is accompanied with some images* that replace words. These pictures are also found at** the margin of each page with its name beneath it for children to start learning the symbols that stand for words. Clearly, the didactic purpose of the book is mainly focused on the acquisition of reading skill, rather than on the message given by the fable.
In brief, the book serves as an excellent tool for parents to entertain their children and to help them on their first readings. It’s a must for every home bookshelf. Highly recommended for parents!
Jun 28, 2013
SWEET IMAGES OF FEAR (review)
Who would be scared “when the Elephant walks”? Through the pages of this story by Keiko Kasza, children barely taller than a table may discover that this enormous creature starts a chain of reactions while simply strolling. Every wild animal runs in fear followed unintentionally by a bigger one. But…who would be scared when the little Mouse scurries?
The huge Elephant of the story walks carelessly when he comes across the busy Bear, who is collecting honey. As soon as the big Bear glimpses the Elephant, he runs away. In his escape he surprises the relaxed Crocodile, who gets scared too and swims for his life. And the chain goes on till the little mouse scurries in terror. Surprisingly, children find that the Elephant gets scared and dashes when he bumps into the smallest animal in the story.
Undoubtedly, colourful and expressive pictures are the core of the tale. The skilful writer and illustrator succeeds in narrating movement through the use of images. In order to achieve this, she builds repetitive sequences in which every animal is scared, runs and scares another one. The transitions are produced smoothly by devoting a whole page to each feeling and reaction. This treatment of the space becomes meaningful since pictures are carefully distributed to convey the impression that the characters are running one after the other.
In addition, Kasza plays with the size of the animals to create a message of vulnerability beyond appearance. At the end of the story, little children realize that no matter how tall and strong you are, anyone could get scared. Even the biggest may be frightened of the smallest.
“When the Elephant walks” presents funny and sweet characters to deal effectively with the idea of fear. It shows that being afraid is a natural feeling. After all, who would not be scared when the little Mouse scurries?
Mojico, Ana and Trenti, Andrea
The huge Elephant of the story walks carelessly when he comes across the busy Bear, who is collecting honey. As soon as the big Bear glimpses the Elephant, he runs away. In his escape he surprises the relaxed Crocodile, who gets scared too and swims for his life. And the chain goes on till the little mouse scurries in terror. Surprisingly, children find that the Elephant gets scared and dashes when he bumps into the smallest animal in the story.
Undoubtedly, colourful and expressive pictures are the core of the tale. The skilful writer and illustrator succeeds in narrating movement through the use of images. In order to achieve this, she builds repetitive sequences in which every animal is scared, runs and scares another one. The transitions are produced smoothly by devoting a whole page to each feeling and reaction. This treatment of the space becomes meaningful since pictures are carefully distributed to convey the impression that the characters are running one after the other.
In addition, Kasza plays with the size of the animals to create a message of vulnerability beyond appearance. At the end of the story, little children realize that no matter how tall and strong you are, anyone could get scared. Even the biggest may be frightened of the smallest.
“When the Elephant walks” presents funny and sweet characters to deal effectively with the idea of fear. It shows that being afraid is a natural feeling. After all, who would not be scared when the little Mouse scurries?
Mojico, Ana and Trenti, Andrea
Review: Are you my mother?
Colourful and tender, the book “Are you my mother?” is a short but lovely story which faces children to different emotions preparing them for their future life experiences. This book by P. D. Eastman tells the story of a little bird that comes out from an egg while his mother is looking for food. Through the entire story, the author shows the reader that hope and disappointment take part in our every day’s life. Children will love this story with several animals, means of transport and bright colours. Parents will find a different way to teach their children to achieve goals in life, no matter what difficulties they come across.
The story starts when the little bird jumps out from a nest and gets lost. In order to find his mother, he meets different animals and means of transport asking all of them “Are you my mother?” In each encounter, he faces hope and disappointment when he thinks that he has found his mother, but as he never gives up, he finally achieves his goal.
Full of feelings and wonderful drawings, this simple story catches little reader’s attention and emotions. Highly recommended.
del Valle, Lucía and Panzita, Mariela
The story starts when the little bird jumps out from a nest and gets lost. In order to find his mother, he meets different animals and means of transport asking all of them “Are you my mother?” In each encounter, he faces hope and disappointment when he thinks that he has found his mother, but as he never gives up, he finally achieves his goal.
Full of feelings and wonderful drawings, this simple story catches little reader’s attention and emotions. Highly recommended.
del Valle, Lucía and Panzita, Mariela
Two Greedy Bears (review)
“Two Greedy Bears” by Mirra Ginsburg is a children´s book which tells the story of two furry bears in their way to search the world. While they do so, greed will make a huge impact on their friendship. And the appearance of a mischievous fox causes them the greatest difficulties of all.The tale is amusing and educative and as the reader turns the pages anxiety about what would happen next is inevitable.
The story begins with the two furry bears going out to search the world. Subsequently, they come across first a brook and then a big cheese. When they start quarreling about who has had more and who has had less water from the brook, the only thing they get are terrible stomach aches. After that, the desire for more food and drink starts to have a harmful effect on them. As soon as they find the big cheese, the fox comes up from the bushes and takes advantage of their ambition. She will show them the worst side of greed by playing an ingenious trick.
The tale is excellent with episodes which are both humorous and entertaining and retains the reader´s interest throughout. Regarding the writing style, it can be said that it goes straight to the point because all the sentences have been carefully selected to achieve the difficult aim of catching the attention of kids. And as a result, the plot is easily understandable by such hard audience as kids are.
“Two Greedy Bears” is well worth reading, if your kids enjoy children literature. It can teach them about fair play or lack of it in friendship and also the fact that sharing is the most powerful value when it comes to friendship. It also provides a welcome break from all the coursebooks and homework children have at school,they will certainly thank you. For all these reason, it is highly recommended.
Alejandro Tachile and Julio Servin
The story begins with the two furry bears going out to search the world. Subsequently, they come across first a brook and then a big cheese. When they start quarreling about who has had more and who has had less water from the brook, the only thing they get are terrible stomach aches. After that, the desire for more food and drink starts to have a harmful effect on them. As soon as they find the big cheese, the fox comes up from the bushes and takes advantage of their ambition. She will show them the worst side of greed by playing an ingenious trick.
The tale is excellent with episodes which are both humorous and entertaining and retains the reader´s interest throughout. Regarding the writing style, it can be said that it goes straight to the point because all the sentences have been carefully selected to achieve the difficult aim of catching the attention of kids. And as a result, the plot is easily understandable by such hard audience as kids are.
“Two Greedy Bears” is well worth reading, if your kids enjoy children literature. It can teach them about fair play or lack of it in friendship and also the fact that sharing is the most powerful value when it comes to friendship. It also provides a welcome break from all the coursebooks and homework children have at school,they will certainly thank you. For all these reason, it is highly recommended.
Alejandro Tachile and Julio Servin
“The Doorbell Rang” by Pat Hutchins (review)
“The Doorbell Rang” by Pat Hutchins is a wonderful and engaging story that has different purposes: It could be used to teach mathematical operations, the importance of sharing, or it could be simply used for the purpose of entertaining. Apart from that, it could be used to teach English. The story is about a mother who makes cookies for her children. Every time the doorbell rings, new children come into the house and are invited to have some cookies. The kids make the division to know how many cookies they can eat. The problem comes when there’s one cookie for each kid and the doorbell rings again.
The purpose of sharing can be seen when the children share the cookies without complaining. What’s more, they receive the new guests happily. So, this book is a great learning experience for children that teaches them not to be selfish and to share their things with others. Furthermore, this story is didactic because it can be used as a visual resource to show students how division actually works. So children will practice math skills when reading this book. As regards English, this story could be read to children that have a background knowledge of the language because sentences are simple and most of them are repeated, such us “the doorbell rang” and “no one makes cookies like Grandma”. These characteristics will make this story more understandable for little kids.
This is a catching book for children because of the colourful pictures it contains. Furthermore, they help children to follow and understand the plot because they express the written set of the story.
“The doorbell rang” is a story that children should read because they will not dislike it. It is enjoyable, funny and didactic. It is one of the best stories for children in the world. They will love the plot and will enjoy it. They won’t regret reading it. Apart from that, this book is a great tool for English and Math teachers as well.
Barros Paola and Gulin Rocío
The purpose of sharing can be seen when the children share the cookies without complaining. What’s more, they receive the new guests happily. So, this book is a great learning experience for children that teaches them not to be selfish and to share their things with others. Furthermore, this story is didactic because it can be used as a visual resource to show students how division actually works. So children will practice math skills when reading this book. As regards English, this story could be read to children that have a background knowledge of the language because sentences are simple and most of them are repeated, such us “the doorbell rang” and “no one makes cookies like Grandma”. These characteristics will make this story more understandable for little kids.
This is a catching book for children because of the colourful pictures it contains. Furthermore, they help children to follow and understand the plot because they express the written set of the story.
“The doorbell rang” is a story that children should read because they will not dislike it. It is enjoyable, funny and didactic. It is one of the best stories for children in the world. They will love the plot and will enjoy it. They won’t regret reading it. Apart from that, this book is a great tool for English and Math teachers as well.
Barros Paola and Gulin Rocío
ONE GORILLA (review)
One Gorilla by Astuko Morozumi is an engaging counting book for little kids full of captivating images of animals in different environments.
The book starts with only one beloved gorilla and as you turn the pages more animals appear progressively, two butterflies, three parakeets, four squirrels, five pandas, six rabbits, seven frogs, eight fish, nine birds and ten cats. At the end you will fin a list with all the animals and their corresponding number.
This book is an excellent tool for kids who are learning to count and at the same time they can learn animals, habitats, colours and even prepositions.
Children are supposed to find the animals and they love challenges! They will want to read it again and again!
Rosario García
The book starts with only one beloved gorilla and as you turn the pages more animals appear progressively, two butterflies, three parakeets, four squirrels, five pandas, six rabbits, seven frogs, eight fish, nine birds and ten cats. At the end you will fin a list with all the animals and their corresponding number.
This book is an excellent tool for kids who are learning to count and at the same time they can learn animals, habitats, colours and even prepositions.
Children are supposed to find the animals and they love challenges! They will want to read it again and again!
Rosario García
Grandma Rabbitty´s visit (review)
By Barry Smith
Dorling Kindersley Limited
Funny and exciting, Grandma Rabbitty´s visit is a children´s story that shows little rabbits waiting for their grandmother. As usual, Barry Smith brings us a story full of colours, lovable characters and a family caring environment. His latest tale will attract the audience´s attention up to the end. The author of this book is a well known writer in the field. Barry Smith is the favourite choice for every parent who wants to introduce really young learners to literature. His books are always a success between the kindergarten children and the teachers of that level.
Smith uses a group of resources that make learning entertaining. Some of the effective means used are bright colours, which are the kid´s main draw, and then he uses the sounds of different means of transport that are clearly differentiated by using letters in bold and the repetition of them calls the attention of the characters and of the audience. Finally there are some animals representing diverse professions and transparent words are used for the children to understand.
The unexpected ending, makes the perfect closure for this enjoyable book. Grandma Rabbitty ´s visit is a great addition to the family´s bookcase.
Maria Sabrina Vergara and Carolina Perez Cibez
Dorling Kindersley Limited
Funny and exciting, Grandma Rabbitty´s visit is a children´s story that shows little rabbits waiting for their grandmother. As usual, Barry Smith brings us a story full of colours, lovable characters and a family caring environment. His latest tale will attract the audience´s attention up to the end. The author of this book is a well known writer in the field. Barry Smith is the favourite choice for every parent who wants to introduce really young learners to literature. His books are always a success between the kindergarten children and the teachers of that level.
Smith uses a group of resources that make learning entertaining. Some of the effective means used are bright colours, which are the kid´s main draw, and then he uses the sounds of different means of transport that are clearly differentiated by using letters in bold and the repetition of them calls the attention of the characters and of the audience. Finally there are some animals representing diverse professions and transparent words are used for the children to understand.
The unexpected ending, makes the perfect closure for this enjoyable book. Grandma Rabbitty ´s visit is a great addition to the family´s bookcase.
Maria Sabrina Vergara and Carolina Perez Cibez
The Doorbell Rang (review)
by Laprovitta, Anahí and Garay, Lucía
Pat Hutchins, the famous English illustrator and writer of children's literature, delight us with a simple and joyful book “The Doorbell Rang". Hutchins’ story begins with Sam and Victoria enjoying teatime at home when the doorbell rings.
The children are about to eat a dozen of cookies made by their mother, those are as good as their grandma’s, when suddenly the doorbell rings. As the story goes on, every time the doorbell rings friends drop by and the cookies must be shared. Sam and Victoria have to deal with the unexpected guests that are invited to enjoy the meal with them. “The Doorbell Rang" is a funny story, easy to read. Dialogues are simple and accompanied with colourful illustrations. Readers are involved in the story through familiar situations like sharing a meal with friends. The writer’s solution to the main conflict, the arrival of unexpected guests and their lack of cookies, is intelligently solved in an unpredicted way.
We recommend this book to be read by first readers or to be read to children either to enjoy a nice story about sharing or to teach values like friendship.
Pat Hutchins, the famous English illustrator and writer of children's literature, delight us with a simple and joyful book “The Doorbell Rang". Hutchins’ story begins with Sam and Victoria enjoying teatime at home when the doorbell rings.
The children are about to eat a dozen of cookies made by their mother, those are as good as their grandma’s, when suddenly the doorbell rings. As the story goes on, every time the doorbell rings friends drop by and the cookies must be shared. Sam and Victoria have to deal with the unexpected guests that are invited to enjoy the meal with them. “The Doorbell Rang" is a funny story, easy to read. Dialogues are simple and accompanied with colourful illustrations. Readers are involved in the story through familiar situations like sharing a meal with friends. The writer’s solution to the main conflict, the arrival of unexpected guests and their lack of cookies, is intelligently solved in an unpredicted way.
We recommend this book to be read by first readers or to be read to children either to enjoy a nice story about sharing or to teach values like friendship.
TWO GREEDY BEARS (review)
by Amanda Layoia y Sandra López
“Two greedy bears” is a sweet and funny story that will entertain children and will also teach them a valuable lesson for life. Ginsburg’s main goal is always to bring delight. She uses a wide variety of folk- motifs, including animals, heroes, fools and deceptions.
The two little cubs begin a journey to see the world. As they are thirsty they come to a brook to drink some water. As they are hungry they see a very big round cheese by the roadside and they want to divide it into equal parts.
The illustrations are lively and keep the reader eager to turn the lovely pages from the first one up to the last.
“They argue and they growl and they begin to fight, till a fox come by”
This quotation expresses the way in which the writer shows that the two bears are so greedy to get the cheese that each of them is left with a little part of it. The fox appears in a friendly way and she seems to help them. In fact, she will take advantage of this situation since she takes almost the whole cheese.
This is a wonderful story book. It deals with real emotions that little children have such as: ambitions, deceptions, fear and sadness. It allows children to think that having those feelings is not as good as they think. The style in which the story is written is clear and attractive. It is a Must!
“Two greedy bears” is a sweet and funny story that will entertain children and will also teach them a valuable lesson for life. Ginsburg’s main goal is always to bring delight. She uses a wide variety of folk- motifs, including animals, heroes, fools and deceptions.
The two little cubs begin a journey to see the world. As they are thirsty they come to a brook to drink some water. As they are hungry they see a very big round cheese by the roadside and they want to divide it into equal parts.
The illustrations are lively and keep the reader eager to turn the lovely pages from the first one up to the last.
“They argue and they growl and they begin to fight, till a fox come by”
This quotation expresses the way in which the writer shows that the two bears are so greedy to get the cheese that each of them is left with a little part of it. The fox appears in a friendly way and she seems to help them. In fact, she will take advantage of this situation since she takes almost the whole cheese.
This is a wonderful story book. It deals with real emotions that little children have such as: ambitions, deceptions, fear and sadness. It allows children to think that having those feelings is not as good as they think. The style in which the story is written is clear and attractive. It is a Must!
Jun 7, 2013
Forum 1: The appropriate topics for children
As
we read some meetings ago, 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!
Jun 3, 2013
The ambitious red ants
Once upon a time, there was a colony of red ants who wanted to expand their kingdom. They wished to build markets, shopping centres, houses and flats. In order to have more space for their buildings, they needed to cut grass, plants, flowers and trees. But there was a little group of black ants who didn't like this situation.
When the red ants began their reformation, a black ant climbed up to a tree and shouted to the Red Ants: "You mustn't damage the environment!". "What's the problem with that?" said little red ant. "It makes room for new people", she continued. "What about the other animals? What about foxes, rabbits, frogs, birds and the rest of our brothers? They also need space and you’re taking it away from them!", replied the black ant furiously. The red ant said nothing and started to think.
After reflecting for a while the Red Ant said: "Oh! Shame on us! We didn't realize we were affecting our brothers. I think we should stop here. We're really sorry!". An this is how Red ants learned to leave their ambitions aside and to live in peace with other species.
The End.
When the red ants began their reformation, a black ant climbed up to a tree and shouted to the Red Ants: "You mustn't damage the environment!". "What's the problem with that?" said little red ant. "It makes room for new people", she continued. "What about the other animals? What about foxes, rabbits, frogs, birds and the rest of our brothers? They also need space and you’re taking it away from them!", replied the black ant furiously. The red ant said nothing and started to think.
After reflecting for a while the Red Ant said: "Oh! Shame on us! We didn't realize we were affecting our brothers. I think we should stop here. We're really sorry!". An this is how Red ants learned to leave their ambitions aside and to live in peace with other species.
The End.
May 30, 2013
Little Red Ant
Alfred was a Little Red Ant who had a very important position at the ant hill under the big tree of the backyard. He was in charge of counting pieces of leaves, sticks and Little stones that came from other colonies. He counted them and then store them in the central storage.
One day, he came up with the idea of using the strongest pieces of leaf to build indoor walls in every house. Before this idea came, houses at the colony were just holes of dry mud that didn`t have rooms inside. The idea was completely new for all the members of the colony and when the queen,in an almost reproachfull way, said to Alfred:”This would reduce our leaf storage dramatically”.”What`s wrong with that?”.”It makes room for new people”, he added.
One day, he came up with the idea of using the strongest pieces of leaf to build indoor walls in every house. Before this idea came, houses at the colony were just holes of dry mud that didn`t have rooms inside. The idea was completely new for all the members of the colony and when the queen,in an almost reproachfull way, said to Alfred:”This would reduce our leaf storage dramatically”.”What`s wrong with that?”.”It makes room for new people”, he added.
May 27, 2013
Little Red ant and the rebel workers
Once upon a time, in a red ants’ nest, there was an ant called little Red ant. He was an enthusiastic and hard worker. What’s more, Little Red was very happy working for the government. He was in charge of workers ants who were given the task to construct tunnels so as to enlarge and restore old rooms for the upcoming babies.
One day while little Red and was supervising the ants’ work, he heard them conspiring against the Queen ant. As she was expecting new babies, workers assumed that was time for her to be banished from the nest. The workers felt little affection for the Queen because she was too greedy and made labourers work without any reward in exchange. “We shouldn’t be digging these tunnels.” said an ant. “What’s wrong with that? said little Red ant. “It makes room for new people.” The workers wanted to have a socialist government in which they could have the same rights such as those the Black ants gain.
Unfortunately labourers were just labourers. So they went on caving the tunnels and their dream of a socialist nest was that just a beautiful dream.
One day while little Red and was supervising the ants’ work, he heard them conspiring against the Queen ant. As she was expecting new babies, workers assumed that was time for her to be banished from the nest. The workers felt little affection for the Queen because she was too greedy and made labourers work without any reward in exchange. “We shouldn’t be digging these tunnels.” said an ant. “What’s wrong with that? said little Red ant. “It makes room for new people.” The workers wanted to have a socialist government in which they could have the same rights such as those the Black ants gain.
Unfortunately labourers were just labourers. So they went on caving the tunnels and their dream of a socialist nest was that just a beautiful dream.
May 22, 2013
LITTLE RED ANT
“Go ahead, bring food, work hard”, ordered the Queen ant.
A bitter cold morning, while the soldier and worker ants marched out the nest, the youngest members of the colony attended their building classes. However, little Red Ant decided to be absent that day. She thought that it could be more useful to help her community.
Since she considered herself the fastest and the cleverest, she started her mission. She was determined to empty the underground chamber before the other members arrived home exhausted.
“The Queen will be proud of me! We need to be prepared to welcome the hundreds of babies she will lay” said little Red Ant. And without a stop she took every seed out of the nest.
When she was resting on her bed to recover after so hard work, the Queen appeared. “Where have you been?...your teacher has been waiting for you for ages!”, she complained angrily. Little Red Ant smiled quietly and took the Queen to the tidy chamber. “No!...You’ve got rid of all our stocked material!”, shouted the Queen. “What’s wrong with that?” said little Red Ant. “It makes room for new people”, she added innocently.
A bitter cold morning, while the soldier and worker ants marched out the nest, the youngest members of the colony attended their building classes. However, little Red Ant decided to be absent that day. She thought that it could be more useful to help her community.
Since she considered herself the fastest and the cleverest, she started her mission. She was determined to empty the underground chamber before the other members arrived home exhausted.
“The Queen will be proud of me! We need to be prepared to welcome the hundreds of babies she will lay” said little Red Ant. And without a stop she took every seed out of the nest.
When she was resting on her bed to recover after so hard work, the Queen appeared. “Where have you been?...your teacher has been waiting for you for ages!”, she complained angrily. Little Red Ant smiled quietly and took the Queen to the tidy chamber. “No!...You’ve got rid of all our stocked material!”, shouted the Queen. “What’s wrong with that?” said little Red Ant. “It makes room for new people”, she added innocently.
A LITTLE RED ANT, A BIG SURPRISE
It was a Sunday morning and the little red ant was making some reparations in her ant hill. The rain made it fall in and she wanted to give a surprise to her mother before she arrived home.
As her enthusiasm for finishing her ant hill was huge, she did not realize her mother had arrived. She shouted at her daughter: ‘what are you doing? You have made an enormous hole!’ What’s wrong with that? Said little red ant. ‘It makes room for new people’. This is my big surprise for you mum’.
As her enthusiasm for finishing her ant hill was huge, she did not realize her mother had arrived. She shouted at her daughter: ‘what are you doing? You have made an enormous hole!’ What’s wrong with that? Said little red ant. ‘It makes room for new people’. This is my big surprise for you mum’.
After several days of intensive heat...
After several days of intensive heat, Lucy and her partners were resting under a big green leaf. When they saw a big black ant crying for help, they run away looking for shelter but Lucy realized that she didn´t mean any harm.
Lucy was the first one to talk to the desperate Black Ant to find out what the problem was. The Black Ant began to stutter trying to explain. The flood had destroyed her nest and she lost her way home. Lucy looked at the sky, and saw that the storm was coming, so she offered the Black Ant to spend the night with them in their nest. Lucy’s friends didn´t agree because in the past black and red ants used to fight for food. “Wars were a long time ago” Lucy said “let´s help her”. “What´s wrong with that?” said little Red Ant. “It makes room for new people”. They discussed for a few minutes whether they accept Black Ant or not.
Finally, they decided to let her stay for a couple of nights. A few days later, the little Red Ant helped Black Ant to find her way back home. From that moment on , there was peace between Black and Red Ants.
Lucy was the first one to talk to the desperate Black Ant to find out what the problem was. The Black Ant began to stutter trying to explain. The flood had destroyed her nest and she lost her way home. Lucy looked at the sky, and saw that the storm was coming, so she offered the Black Ant to spend the night with them in their nest. Lucy’s friends didn´t agree because in the past black and red ants used to fight for food. “Wars were a long time ago” Lucy said “let´s help her”. “What´s wrong with that?” said little Red Ant. “It makes room for new people”. They discussed for a few minutes whether they accept Black Ant or not.
Finally, they decided to let her stay for a couple of nights. A few days later, the little Red Ant helped Black Ant to find her way back home. From that moment on , there was peace between Black and Red Ants.
May 20, 2013
Exquisite Cadaver
She was walking through the woods when a majestic deer appeared. Elizabeth leaned towards it and in his eyes she saw the reflection of her love. Then, she ran desperately to her backyard where he was standing as if he was waiting for someone.
Enthusiastically, she shared this unique experience with the man who always had an advice for her. Thomas Raleigh, the best advisor of Elizabeth, did not have a word this time. His men had told him that Martin, Elizabeth’s French son in law, was planning to kill her. Although Thomas knew that Martin had plenty of reasons to get rid of the Queen, he had never imagined he would dare to do so.
Given this situation, Thomas decided to be extremely cautious in order to prevent any conflict between nations, so he asked his best men to follow Martin and inform him about every movement. The day before of the murder Thomas received a note which read: “Martin went shopping yesterday night”. He bought a pair of shoes and his uniform. He was starting classes at high school the following day . During that day,he was very anxious and nervous because he didn`t know any of his new classmates. He wanted to look not only smart but also nice. After such a tiring day for Martin, he went to bed. Unfortunately, the alarm clock didn`t ring. Despite this, he got up and went to school. After some minutes he was running late to take the school bus. Zack overslept because the night before he was watching the 30th academy awards that took place at the Sony theatre. On the screen Susan Sarandon was climbing up the stage to present the nominees for ‘Best Actress’ and after announcing Rihanna’s name as the winner a particular episode occurred. All the spectators watched how Helen Hunt’s anger could not be hidden. Sofia Coppola said to an E! Entertainment reporter: -‘Helen was furious and in the heat of the moment she balanced over Rihanna stealing the award’. Hunt tried to run away but she was cornered by the security guards. ‘I’m so sorry, I took a bad decision and this is not going to happen again’, she cried while getting close to the window. Finally and surprisingly, Helen Hunt jumped off the window with the Oscar on her hand. Despite of her success as an actress her real goal in life was to become a remarkable tennis player. In her youth she was on the way to be a professional one, but an injured in her knee left her out of the tournaments. After that she started to take painkillers in order to relieve her grief. This shocking episode happened when she played tennis ten years ago. One day she won a prize: a trip to a charming forest where she would find fantastic animals. As she did not believe what people said about that place, she decided to go there. When she arrived at the wonderland she started treking. Suddenly, she was walking through the woods when a majestic deer appeared.
Enthusiastically, she shared this unique experience with the man who always had an advice for her. Thomas Raleigh, the best advisor of Elizabeth, did not have a word this time. His men had told him that Martin, Elizabeth’s French son in law, was planning to kill her. Although Thomas knew that Martin had plenty of reasons to get rid of the Queen, he had never imagined he would dare to do so.
Given this situation, Thomas decided to be extremely cautious in order to prevent any conflict between nations, so he asked his best men to follow Martin and inform him about every movement. The day before of the murder Thomas received a note which read: “Martin went shopping yesterday night”. He bought a pair of shoes and his uniform. He was starting classes at high school the following day . During that day,he was very anxious and nervous because he didn`t know any of his new classmates. He wanted to look not only smart but also nice. After such a tiring day for Martin, he went to bed. Unfortunately, the alarm clock didn`t ring. Despite this, he got up and went to school. After some minutes he was running late to take the school bus. Zack overslept because the night before he was watching the 30th academy awards that took place at the Sony theatre. On the screen Susan Sarandon was climbing up the stage to present the nominees for ‘Best Actress’ and after announcing Rihanna’s name as the winner a particular episode occurred. All the spectators watched how Helen Hunt’s anger could not be hidden. Sofia Coppola said to an E! Entertainment reporter: -‘Helen was furious and in the heat of the moment she balanced over Rihanna stealing the award’. Hunt tried to run away but she was cornered by the security guards. ‘I’m so sorry, I took a bad decision and this is not going to happen again’, she cried while getting close to the window. Finally and surprisingly, Helen Hunt jumped off the window with the Oscar on her hand. Despite of her success as an actress her real goal in life was to become a remarkable tennis player. In her youth she was on the way to be a professional one, but an injured in her knee left her out of the tournaments. After that she started to take painkillers in order to relieve her grief. This shocking episode happened when she played tennis ten years ago. One day she won a prize: a trip to a charming forest where she would find fantastic animals. As she did not believe what people said about that place, she decided to go there. When she arrived at the wonderland she started treking. Suddenly, she was walking through the woods when a majestic deer appeared.
May 3, 2013
Flash Fiction
- "Please, repeat after me." "After me." (Aldana, Eliana, Nicolás, Lorena, Paola and Rocío)
- Lights out! Where's my black cat? (Aldana, Eliana, Nicolás, Lorena, Paola and Rocío)
- Knock, knock. "Who's that?" "Sam Wang." (Aldana, Eliana, Nicolás, Lorena, Paola and Rocío)
- Macri got his Venice, Scioli his ocean. (Sandra, Ana and Andrea)
- Fast as a bullet. All dead. (Sandra, Ana and Andrea)
- Impossible! No washing machine! Karina said. (Sandra, Ana and Andrea)
- Black coffee please! Champ’s morning breakfast. (Lucía and Anahí)
- Everybody is weird. Who is everybody? (Lucía and Anahí)
- Approaching curve. Curve’s going really fast! (Lucía and Anahí)
- Flash fiction! Words falling from the… (Lucía and Anahí)
- Human crossing. Red light. Zebra walk. (Lucía and Anahí)
- Independence? Ask your parents go away! (Rosario)
- "How hard is the street!" Alberto Olmedo. (Rosario)
- Don’t worry… Tomorrow it’ll be worse! (Rosario)
- “Step by step” said Heather Mills. (Carolina P.C., Sabrina V., Marilú G., Rosario G., Lucía del V., Mariela P.)
- Brain washing. Brain Storming. Brain exploded. (Carolina P.C., Sabrina V., Marilú G., Rosario G., Lucía del V., Mariela P.)
- Yankees go home! Don’t forget me! (Carolina P.C., Sabrina V., Marilú G., Rosario G., Lucía del V., Mariela P.)
- “My heart will go on” Leo Di Caprio. (Carolina P.C., Sabrina V., Marilú G., Rosario G., Lucía del V., Mariela P.)
- “It’s raining men! World Trade Center. (Carolina P.C., Sabrina V., Marilú G., Rosario G., Lucía del V., Mariela P.)
- Dust to dust, ashtrays to Roviralta. (Carolina P.C., Sabrina V., Marilú G., Rosario G., Lucía del V., Mariela P.)
- “I really love he sea” Alfonsina Storni. (Carolina P.C., Sabrina V., Marilú G., Rosario G., Lucía del V., Mariela P.)
- “You’re a lier” Pinoccio said. (Carolina P.C., Sabrina V., Marilú G., Rosario G., Lucía del V., Mariela P.)
- Twister! Bring my cat back home! (Marilú G.)
- Shadow is behind you. Run away!(Marilú G.)
- Big Bang... oh! the world exploted.(Marilú G.)
- Cellar... gate of hell. Ceiling...heaven? (Marilú G.)
- Give me a hand, Scioli said.(Marilú G.)
- Under the table, under you, underwear. (Noelia M.)
- I really love kids. Michael Jackson. (Noelia M.)
- Let´s take the tunnel. Diana Spenser. (Noelia M.)
- In God we trust. Sigmund Freud. (Noelia M.)
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