News
We have one recommendation this week, which comes from the Junior Librarian Gabriella in class 2JB.
Gabriella has selected a book which has emerged from the popular television series, Peppa Pig. Gabriella recommends: ‘Peppa’s Magical Unicorn’
Gabriella’s reason for her choice:
“Peppa Pig is a great television series and the books are even better!”
Many of our children are drawn to Peppa Pig books. We have a healthy collection of Peppa Pig stories which cover various scenarios from Peppa and the Tooth Fairy to Peppa’s Chinese New Year. In terms of literary merit, the books cannot claim to be the work of notable wordsmiths but the books can play an instrumental role in sparking an interest in reading and love of books. Reading for pleasure is the key to the development of a life long love of reading which is essential to academic success.
Why does Peppa Pig resonate so much with Grimsdell children?
Children are drawn to the books because they can readily match the scenes of reassuring familiar experiences. Children will easily identify with Peppa and the various scenarios in which she is involved. It is helping them to make sense of their world. Every frame is from a child’s perspective – that is why Peppa’s house is on its own, at the top of a hill. When a child draws their house, even if it’s in a terrace, the child will usually draw it by itself. The books can readily match the creation of easy-to-understand characters and the setting up of scenes of reassuring familiar experiences.
The basic structure of Peppa Pig revolves around the simple family set-up of Peppa, her younger brother George and her kindly Mummy and Daddy. Within the home, Peppa experiences all kinds of useful things; beyond the home, she plays with her friends from other families. It is a pattern that lies at the heart of many, if not most, books aimed at young children, even as far back as AA Milne’s classic Winnie-the-Pooh and its sequel The House at Pooh Corner although the family circumstances of the young animals and what they learn is rather different.
More individual and realistic and less formulaic is Shirley Hughes’s engaging Lucy and Tom series (which we also have in our Grimsdell Library) in which two small children do many of the same things as Peppa and George and their friends. Familiar family moments include Lucy and Tom at the Seaside and Lucy and Tom’s Christmas which have the same patterns and core values as Peppa Pig.
The story lines typically follow Peppa and her family members through daily activities. Simple childhood acts like playing dress-up or reciting nursery rhymes that are shown in the books (and on the screen) are often similar to what young children watching are doing in their everyday lives. So when Peppa jumps in a mud puddle just like they did last Saturday after it rained all morning, children see a bit of themselves in the book and on the television screen.
The character Peppa Pig teaches important social-emotional lessons – her adventures show children how to be kind, grateful, generous and more. From making friends to learning to share, Peppa shows children thoughtful and fun ways to care for themselves and others. The stories can provide a medium through which children can be taught to appreciate diversity and develop empathy for others.
So next time your child brings home yet again another Peppa Pig book – don’t despair! Rest assured that books of this genre do have a role to play in the development of your child and their understanding of the world around them.
Happy Reading!
Mrs Harvey
