News
This week, the Junior Librarians Marnie (from Hawk class) and George (from Owl class) are sharing with us their favourite reads.
Firstly, Marnie recommends Cinderella retold by Ursula Jones
Marnie’s reason for her choice: “Cinderella is my favourite traditional tale. Which is yours?”
Mrs Harvey would also support Marnie’s choice.
The traditional tale genre has an important role to play in the development of our children. From prepping us for the pitfalls of life to teaching us valuable skills and lessons, traditional tales and fairy tales are ever-relevant, whatever our age. These narratives stay with us well beyond our childhood.
According to child psychologist Sally Goddard Blythe, director of The Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology and author of The Genius of Natural Childhood: Secrets of Thriving Children, even in our own age, fairy tales still have a lot to teach children about life, and indeed give us key imaginary experiences that shape us throughout our lives: “Fairy tales are important not because they show children how life is, but because they give form to deep fears and dreams about life through fantasy”.
Most traditional tales embody the hopes and aspirations of the majority of people in the society and are used to transmit and preserve the cultural values of the group. The stories help in showing how society views itself and also conveys their notions of justice, rights and social obligations of its citizens. Honesty, goodness and unity are depicted as important values which the heroes and heroines of traditional tales always use to prevail over their problems. The traditional tale genre provides ways for children to receive important messages – the role of honesty, kindness – and the message of each is ultimately positive, providing a sense of wellbeing.
Secondly, George recommends one of his favourite fiction books, Winnie and Wilbur: the New Computer written by Valerie Thomas and illustrated by Korky Paul.
George explains his choice: “Winnie the Witch is my favourite character – she is always involved in a great adventure!”
A great recommendation from George! We have a large selection of Winnie the Witch books in our library – they are popular with our Grimsdell readership, and it is easy to understand why. Winnie is an absent-minded witch, always accompanied by her long-suffering cat, Wilbur. Winnie and Wilbur live in a house full of magic, where crazy adventures are just around the corner. Accident-prone Winnie drags the bemused but loyal Wilbur on madcap escapades involving flying carpets, gigantic pumpkins, trips to outer space and of course plenty of broomstick rides. Dressed in her trademark stripy stockings, Winnie casts spells that create fun and chaos wherever she goes in these hilarious stories. Children’s books about witches have always been popular and Winnie has to be the silliest witch there is. Children love the funny scrapes that Winnie gets herself into with Wilbur in tow as well as the exuberant illustrations that bring the stories to life.
Happy Reading
Mrs Harvey
