Oi!

As a booklover – and in particular a lover of children’s books – those of you who have been following my blogentries, you will also remember my other book-entries – I couldn’t refuse this book from my shelf, after I have been asked at my school to teach Y1’s after half term. Phew! That will then put me in a category of…. teaching across five keystages! Well, I’ve actually done KS1 before [Y2], so I actually qualified for whatever category- Jack of all trades [keystages] but master of? …  two years ago. By just the thought of teaching the tiny tots in more than a week from now, put me in a mood of reading again some of my good-reads. This book, ‘Oi! Get off our Train’ by John Burningham is one of my big favourites. I  looo—oooove this book and its illustrations done by the author too. The boy in the story plays with his train – again. His mum sends him to bed with his payama case [a dog – also the dog in these pics] and then he dreams about the two of them on a train and all sorts of animals joining them with all sorts of excuses to get on their train,while having some great fun altogether as well. [See some the images which I took from the book for you to enjoy] Each time an animal gets on the train, they shout at the animal to get off and when the animal explains to them the why’s of getting on their train, their faces drop as they pity the animal and then they allow the animal on their train. On the last pic you can see the last animal explaining why it was getting on their train. The elephant was the first animal to get on. I guess you can work out the order of the other animals then. Don’t miss this book if you’re looking for a great book! The theme of the book ties in with cruelty to animals. Update: Nov- So, then the new teacher [senior position] has decided not to turn up and I’ve been asked to go back to my Y5-class, which was wonderful of course -sad- I could have spent my time during half term focusing on my Y5’s!

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Noddy – BBC and SA

This news article caught my eye immediately. As a qualified library teacher (too), part of my job was to make sure only quality books were available for the kiddies to read in the school’s library. In our schools in South Africa, we used to have catalogues which contained only approved books. Approved books were books approved by Library Subject Consultants/Advisors. There were catalogues sent to the school’s library every three months with the latest approved books. Every book in the catalogue had an approved catalogue-number. You couldn’t have books on your library’s shelves without the approved number written on the title page. Enid Blyton’s books were also banned from our schools as they were seen as books with not much literary value. – It seems to me this is at least one thing the red necks and the boers agreed on. [hehe] Here is the complete article with the link at the bottom.

Enid Blyton banned by BBC for decades: memos

Popular children’s author Enid Blyton was banned from the BBC for nearly 30 years because officials thought her work “lacked literary value”, letters from the broadcaster’s archives showed Monday.

BBC executives turned down the chance to broadcast the plays and books of the creator of Noddy, the Famous Five and the Secret Seven because they were “such small beer” and had been produced by a “second rater”.

In an internal memo dated 1938, Jean Sutcliffe, head of the BBC Schools department, dismissed the work of the woman who went on to become one of the best-selling authors of her era.

“My impression of her stories is that they might do for Children’s Hour but certainly not for Schools Dept. They haven’t much literary value,” she wrote.

“There is rather a lot of the Pinky-winky-Doodle-doodle Dum-dumm type of name (and lots of pixies) in the original tales,” she added, before conceding they were “competently written”.

Two years later, the daily radio programme “Children’s Hour” rejected Blyton’s play “The Monkey and the Barrel Organ” because producers found its dialogue “both stilted and long winded”.

One team member wrote: “It really is odd to think that this woman is a best-seller.”

The released letters show Blyton realised she had been blacklisted.

After being invited to speak on a children’s programme in May 1949, Blyton replied to the producer: “I and my stories are completely banned by the BBC as far as children are concerned — not one story has ever been broadcast, and, so it is said, not one ever will be.”

In 1954, Sutcliffe explained that Blyton should not appear on the popular “Woman’s Hour” programme because the BBC risked becoming “just another victim of the amazing advertising campaign which has raised this competent and tenacious second-rater to such astronomical heights of success.”

Blyton finally appeared on “Woman’s Hour” in 1963, almost three decades after she first pitched ideas to the BBC.

She died in 1968 at the age of 71, but her books remain best-sellers today.

News-link HERE

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A dream came true

Illustrations also by Joanna Troughton

 

Tortoise had a dream….

 

He dreamt of a tree which
was in a secret place.
From the tree’s branches grew
all the fruits of the earth –
bananas, dates, coconuts, melons,
millet, yams, cassava, maize,
pineapples and oranges.

 

Grandmother Koko has heard about the tree and she told Lion where to find it. All the animals thought that Tortoise was too slow and they wanted to go instead. They all failed, as they didn’t see the obstacles in their paths. Lion was first, then Elephant, Hyena, Ostritch, Baboon and lastly, Giraffe! All of them were warned not to look around but to look out. Despite them going, Tortoise also went to look for the tree, though against a slower pace than the other animals. He didn’t look around like the other animals and was determined to find this tree he saw in his dream. On the next image you can see his obstacle! The most dangerous and deadliest! The illustrations in this book are amazing, I wish I could scan them all in.

 

So he saw the scorpion in his path
“Lucky I didn’t look round,” thought Tortoise.
“Omumbo-rombonga,” he said to himself..

 

“Have you remembered the name?”
said the animals, as they saw
Tortoise slowly and steadily coming.
“Look behind you,” said Tortoise…

 

“Omumbo-rombonga,” cried Tortoise

This book is an African Folk Tale. A plain simple story about a tortoise that dreamt about this miraculous tree. Like many other books  there is a message behind the story. What message does this story convey? – you might want to ask. From my point of view, a couple. Firstly, tortoise shows us determination. He dreamt this dream and he knew he could “follow” his dream. His “dream” was to find this tree he dreamt of and he did it “slowly, but steadily”. He also faced  the most dangerous obstacle of all the animals. All the other animals faced an obstacle that could easily be overcome and despite of it, they forgot the name of the tree. Tortoise’s obstacle was a deadly one and he bravely continued his “dream”, despite this dangerous scorpion. He wasn’t put off by anything, he kept a cool head and moved on. This is how we should be in life. We should follow our dreams and don’t be put off by any obstacle, however simple, dangerous or deadly. You should continue on your journey to reach for your dream. I have a couple of dreams, more than I think I can achieve, but I will slowly and steadily continue following my dreams. Some of my current dreams are: to publish my own book, to start my own school, to play the piano again! To play the violin, to play any flute instrument – again, to write another children’s story, to climb mount Kilimandjaro and to do another sky diving jump! I’ve done it once and it was amazing! I would also like to play one of the big chess “engines” like Anand or one of my favourites, Ivanchuk or Kramnik. Topalov looks too scary, I think he’s got a mind of steel. I think he will give you one look and  you will start shivering and lose the game even before you’ve started! haha…Oh, I forgot, my actual dream is to teach chess during school time only and to kids in primary schools. There should be a chess school and kids should play chess all day long! How’s that one! If I look back at this list of dreams, it seems to me they all are impossible, well – for the next year at least. I think I’m going to wake up one morning, shouting: “omumbo-rombonga!” and see what happens! haha…maybe, just maybe, my dreams will come true at once. The end of this story is brilliant. Tortoise shouted the name of the tree and all the different fruits came down and he shared it with all the animals and then tortoise announced: They all should plant a seed. So, those seeds grew for future generations to have food too. More lessons from this book! Share and care for one another!

The next song – “The impossible Dream” – is sung by Peter O’Toole and comes from the movie:MAN OF LA MANCHA

Lyrics:   The Impossible Dream
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star

This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far

To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause

And I know if I’ll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I’m laid to my rest

And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star

Music here. Next you can listen to the  music of by Jim Brickman… Dream come true. This cd was sent to me by one of my chess player-friends in the USA!

Jim Brickman

Dare To Dream

Let nothing hold you back from
exploring your wildest fantasies,wishes, and aspirations.
Don’t be afraid to dream big
and to follow your dreams
wherever they may lead you.
Open your eyes to their beauty;
open your mind to their magic;
open your heart to their possibilities.

Dare to dream.
Whether they are in colour or in black and white,
whether they are big or small,
easily attainable or almost impossible,
look to your dreams,
and make them become reality.
Wishes and hopes are nothing
until you take the first step
towards making them something!

Dare to dream,
Because only by dreaming,
will you ever discover
who you are, what you want,
and what you can do.
Don’t be afraid to take risks,
to become involved,
to make commitment.
Do whatever it takes to makeyour dreams come true.
Always believe in miracles,
and always believe in you!
+++
~ Julie Anne Ford ~

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Jackal marries Wolf’s wife!

Image:kyotojournal.org

Jakkals trou met Wolf se vrou! Wie van julle sê dit nog!?

Today is a cooler day than a few days ago, every now and then there’s a few makhulu sized drops..oh, if you don’t know what makhulu means…it means quite biggish… lol! also…makhulu is a Xhosa-word which means Grandma and that’s where the word comes from…  I’ve also thought that it’s only South Africans having this “myth” about the animals getting married when it rains while the sun shines! Here is a short version of the story….Jackal fell in love with the Wolf’s wife and he wanted to marry her. The animals in the animal kingdom knew of course it can not take place, as they are not suppose to be together as Wolf’s wife is Jackal’s godmother!  So, they talked to Mother nature and asked her to stop-spoil-the wedding day! When it was the big day, Mother Nature let it rain on this day, which was a  sunny day and the wedding couldn’t continue! hehe..

From Wikipedia:

A sunshower is an unusual meteorological phenomenon in which rain falls while the sun is shining . These conditions often lead to the appearance of a rainbow, if the sun is at a low enough angle. The term “sunshower” is used in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and parts of Britain, but is rarely found in dictionaries . Additionally, the phenomenon has a wide range of sometimes remarkably similar folkloric names in cultures around the world . A common theme is that of trickster animals, or the devil, getting married, although many variations of parts of this theme exis.

Animals
In South African English, it is referred to as a “monkey’s wedding,” a loan translation of the Zulu umshado wezinkawu, a wedding for monkeys . In Afrikaans, it is referred to as jakkalstrou, jackals wedding, or also As jakkals trou met wolf se vrou, meaning “when the jackal marries the Wolf’s wife.”
In Hindi and Bengali, it is also called “the jackal’s wedding.”
In Arabic, the term is “the rats are getting married” .
Bulgarians speak of bears marrying .
In Korea, a male tiger gets married.
In various African languages, leopards are getting married.
One animal, the fox, crops up all over the world[citation needed], from Kerala to Japan (Japan also refers to it as ‘Kitsune (the fox) takes a bride,’) to Armenia; there’s even an English dialect term, “the foxes’ wedding,” known from the south west of England. In Calabria, it is said that “when it rains with sun, the foxes are getting married.”

 Other variations
In Polish, the saying is that “when the sun is shining and the rain is raining, the witch is making butter.” For Filipinos, “elves are getting married”, or “tikbalang” (half-horse, half-men) and a “kapre” are getting married, while in Spain it is witches, and in Greece it is the poor.

In Lithuanian, the phenomenon is described as “orphans’ tears,” where the sun is the grandmother drying those tears. In Russian, it’s “mushroom rain,” as such conditions are considered favorable to growing mushrooms. In Russian it is also often referred to as “слепой дождик”, which literally translates as “blind rain”.

In the United States, particularly the South, a sunshower is said to show that “the devil is beating his wife.” In German, the variation is “Wenn’s regnet und die Sonne scheint, so schlägt der Teufel seine Großmutter: er lacht und sie weint,” or “When it’s raining and the sun shines, the devil is beating his grandmother: he laughs and she cries.” Similar phrases occur in Hungary and Holland. A regional variant from Tennessee is “the devil is kissing his wife. — Wikipedia —

 

Image: Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshower

 Our changeable weather!!!

Picture taken about 2:45 this afternoon!

Picture taken 15:20!

Iemand al gehoor van hierdie sindroom!! hahaha ….O.G.A.A.T.S. SINDROOM —Ouderdom Geaktiveerde Aandag Afleibare Teenwoordigheids Sindroom!

Book Time! The Wolf who cried Boy!

This book is so funny! I guess you know this story, but it’s much more funnier than “The Boy who cried Wolf”!

Spreekwoorde in Afrikaans:

Hy’s a tweegatjakkals!

Jakkals verander van hare maar nie van snare nie – ‘n skelm mens verander uiterlik maar nie innerlik nie.

Read on this link Afrikaans/English Wolf-and-Jackal-stories

https://chessaleeinlondon.wordpress.com/2008/07/12/wolf-and-jackal-stories/

Troetelwoorde vir ogilvie douglas
(’n bosbouer van ’n nedersetting by Grabouw
het op ’n reëndag met sy mongoolkind op sy
skoot gesit)

kyk oggeliefie druppeldou
jakkals trou met wolf se vrou
ag die stomme wêreld wou
dat jy my kind sou wees
my kind hier in ons eie dorp
agter die bosrug van grabouw
my droomoogkind
met jou oophangmond
wat kwyl
soos heuningdruppelsdou
kyk daar’s druppels op jou mou
kyk daar’s druppels teen die ruit
o oggeliefie douglas
elke druppel is ’n sonnetrou
dit reën
jou pa kan nie vandag
sy boom gaan kap
o nooit volprese God
wat ook oor wurms
wag moet hou
seën die oggeliefiekind van my
en my sy pa
en daar sy maltrapma
o oggeliefie druppeldou
o jakkals trou met wolf se vrou

Uit: Sprokkelster
Marlene van Niekerk

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Little Piglet’s song

 

Hello Wipneus!
This post is for you! ..and everybody else reading here! I told you a few weeks ago about these little piglets and you’ve asked me to blog them…well, here they are! picture was taken today! And… we all love little piglets, they are just sooooo cute. We had two pigs on the farm and their names were Janneman and Pieta. But, as a child I didn’t like them really, they were always in your face with their dirty stinky snouts, coz they were always hungry! hehehe…typical pigs…always ready to munch some more! I was about 17 when we as a group of friends…we were all girls…went to a farm to sleep under  the open sky! When you’re that age, you really do silly adventurous things like that…it was fun, the farmer and his sons in the house and us girls in the open near a river…far from the farm house…and then we got the news…piglets were born…well past midnight we all got up…sixteen  piglets!! The farmer told us that this was really unusual for pigs to have so many piglets…but they were soooo…oh so cute! all of them white …Landrace pigs…they are white with a longish snout…Sometimes we don’t like pigs…but they are so part of our life…like any other animal! Just think of the story of the three little pigs and the wolf… and what would we do without the character of Piglet in Winnie and the Pooh! I’ve also found you some audio files about Piglet! Enjoy!! Do enjoy what’s on this post…I think it’s quite self explainable. Do enjoy the poem too!

 

Piglet’s Song

Let’s find a Way today,
that can take us to tomorrow.
We’ll follow that Way,
A Way like flowing water.
Let’s leave behind,
the things that do not matter.
And we’ll turn our lives,
to a more important chapter.

Let’s take the time and try to find,
what real life has to offer.
And maybe then we’ll find again,
what we had long forgotten.
Like a friend, true ’til the end,
it will help us onward.

The sun is high, the road is wide,
and it starts where we are standing.
No one knows how far it goes,
for the road is never-ending.

It goes away,
beyond what we have thought of.
It flows away,
Away like flowing water.

~ Benjamin Hoff ~

(The Te of Piglet)
Source:http://www.panhala.net/Archive/Piglets_Song.html
Please click HERE to read about the author…Benjamin Hoff.

Please click HERE for more pig-poetry and pig-stories!

 The following text is from: “The Tao of Pooh” …from this site…http://www.just-pooh.com/tao.html

“A fish can’t whistle and neither can I.” There’s nothing wrong with not being able to whistle, especially if you’re a fish. But there can be lots of things wrong with blindly trying to do what you aren’t designed for. Unfortunately, some people aren’t so wise, and end up causing big trouble for themselves and others. The wise know their limitations; the foolish do not. To demonstrate what we mean, we can think of no one better than Tigger, who doesn’t know his limitations (‘Tiggers’ can do everything’), which brings him in lots of trouble. Piglet instead knows his limitations and that’s what makes him sometimes more brave than you would expect from such a small animal. So, the first thing we need to do is recognize and trust our own Inner Nature, and not lose sight of it. Inside the Bouncy Tigger is the Rescuer who knows the Way, and in each of us is something Special, and that we need to keep:

“Tigger is all right really,” said Piglet lazily.
“Of course he is,” said Christopher Robin.
“Everybody is really,” said Pooh. “That’s what I think,” said Pooh.
“But I don’t suppose I’m right,” he said.
“Of course you are,” said Christopher Robin.

Image: just-pooh.com

Some quotes of Piglet

I’m looking down…

Oh Dear!

What…what was that…Pooh!

 Piggy-books…these first two books are in my small library collection! And they are both hilariously funny! Maybe you’ve seen the movie…”Babe”…but it wasn’t as funny as the book! I’ve read the Afrikaans Babe-book which is “Skaap-vark” and that was so funny! of course I read it with the children I’d taught…but as I’ve said before, children’s books are the best books…and this is again prove of that….think I’m silly reading children’s books…well, that’s me! hehehe… if you teach them, you love them…both…child and book…

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Fiela’s Child and other books

Read here about the book :”Circles in the Forest” and about “Big Foot”…

Afrikaans…scroll down….
Dalene Matthee was one of South Africa’s most talented authors, the best popular novelist that I know….. She wrote mainly in Afrikaans, but many of her books were translated into 14 other lanuages, such as Italian, Hebrew, Spanish, German, French, English, Icelandic, etc. Two of her books were filmed, “Fiela’s Child” and “Circles in the forest”…  Her first children’s novel…”Die Twaalfuur stokkie”… “The Twelve o’clock stick” was written in 1970. I LOVE this story and used to read the story to children in London-schools! They loved to listen to the Afrikaans Language and I explained the story via the pictures to them. It’s the best children’s story I’ve come across to explain to little children – age about 5-8 – the concept about time and the earth spinning around the sun… by using a stick in the sun. Read also about the memorial that was unveiled in Feb 2008 in honour of her!
Click HERE to read about Fiela’s Child, the movie.

Please click HERE to read about Dalene Matthee.

SA writers mourn Dalene Matthee
20/02/2005 21:20 – (SA)

Dalene Matthee – 1938-2005

Dalene Matthee dies 

Laetitia Pople , Die Burger

Cape Town – “Maybe she just held out until her new book, Die Uitgespoeldes, and its translation was done,” Dalene Matthee’s daughter Amanda said on Sunday after the author died in her sleep. The 66-year-old Matthee died in the Bayview clinic, Mossel Bay, early on Sunday morning. She was admitted to the clinic for heart failure on Thursday.

The death of Matthee – who was especially well known for her forest trilogy, of which the first, Kringe in ‘n Bos (Circles in a Forest, first appeared in 1984 and was reprinted 22 times – is being described as a huge loss for the Afrikaans reading public. “She was one of the most well-loved popular novelists in Afrikaans. “With her books such as Kringe, Fiela se Kind (Fiela’s Child), Pieternella van die Kaap and, more recently, Toorbos, she got the general Afrikaans public reading again, and she successfully bridged the gap between quality and popular literature,” said Eloise Wessels, chief executive of NB Publishers, on Sunday.

Novelist Elsa Joubert agrees. “She succeeded in getting people who never read Afrikaans to read in the language, and that’s been a wonderful contribution,” she says. The literary expert Wium van Zyl believes she was like Langenhoven.

“Like him, she had something to offer the intellectual reader and for the everyday reader. “She exposed the reader to various challenges. She was an ecologist and a mild feminist who considered the poor with attention and respect.”

If there’s someone whom the entire South African writers’ community mourns today, it would be Matthee, said Abraham H de Vries. “The voice of one of the best storytellers has fallen silent.“Only she could have written those forest stories – no one else could.”

Film-maker Katinka Heyns, who directed the movie based on the book Fiela se Kind, remembers how she spent two hours with Matthee in the Knysna forest. “The forest would tell Dalene if I may make the movie. She did not say a word and only sat listening. “And then I had to wait an enitre night before she gave the answer.”

Matthee was famous for the rigorous research she did for her books. She researched only her forest trilogy (Kringe, Fiela and Moerbeibos) for seven years, and Pieternella took three years’ research.

Matthee’s books were translated into 14 languages, including French, German, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew and Icelandic. She won the ATKV prize for good popular fiction four times and was honoured with a Swiss literature prize for her “energetic literary work and her passionate interest in nature conservation” in Zurich in 1993. Die Uitgespoeldes is the story of Moses Swart, a foundling raised by an Afrikaans family after being found under a jacket on the beach. Matthee is survived by her three daughters, Amanda and Hilary Matthee and Toni van der Walt. Her husband, Larius, died two years ago.
Origninal news article HERE as it was reported in 2005.
The forest novels
Kringe in ‘n bos (Circles in a forest) (1984)
Fiela se Kind (Fiela’s Child) (1985)
Moerbeibos (The Mulberry Forest) (1987)
Toorbos (Dream Forest) (2003)

Other published works
Die twaalfuurstokkie (The twelve-o’-clock stick) (1970)
’n Huis vir Nadia (A House for Nadia) (1982)
Petronella van Aarde, burgemeester (Petronella van Aarde,Mayor) (1983)
Brug van die esels (The Day The Swallows Spoke) (1993)
Susters van Eva (Sisters of Eve) (1995)
Pieternella van die Kaap (Pieternella from the Cape) (2000)
Die Uitgespoeldes (Driftwood) (2005)

 Dalene Matthee Memorial

Wow! I was sent SANPARKS-link by a blogger-friend, Chris after he’s read my post about Dalene Matthee and I want to thank him as this is really fantastic!
Dalene Matthee Memorial Unveiled at Wilderness National Park
On Saturday, 23 February 2008, close family, a few selected SANParks officials and the press witnessed the unveiling of a memorial in honour of the late writer, Dalene Matthee. It was Matthee ’s fervent wish to have her ashes scattered in the Knysna Forest and her three daughters saw it as a fitting remembrance to their mom, to have a special memorial erected in the place Matthee so loved.

“After three years this project has fallen into place and the family will be eternally grateful to the Wilderness National Park staff for making it all happen”, says Hillary Matthee, the writer’s youngest daughter.

SANParks contribution included the building of a boardwalk around the memorial, the renaming the big tree to the Dalene Matthee Big Tree and the marking of a circular hiking trail to the “Circles in a Forest” trail. The memorial, tree and trail will now form part of the park’s cultural heritage programme.

Matthee based many of her books, especially Fiela’s Child, Circles in a Forest and Moerbeibos on the life and people of the forest. Her books have been translated into 14 languages.

Dignitaries at the unveiling ceremony included Mvusy Songelwa (Regional Manager of the Garden Route National Parks) who unveiled the memorial, Edgar Nevuvhalani (People and Conservation Cultural Heritage Manager) and Dr. Razeena Omar (Executive Director: People and Conservation), who befittingly mentioned what an honour it is for SANParks to house a memorial for a woman who has done so much to bring nature and the forests to the hearts of all people who read her books.

The memorial, Big Tree and the Circles in a Forest Trail is situated at the Krisjan se Nek picnic site in the Goudveld Forest (close to Knysna), which now forms part of the Wilderness National Park. Jill Gordon, Park Manager, encourages all and especially school groups to come and pay homage to Matthee and explore the beauty of the forests

(Circles in the forest)

(Pieternella from the Cape)

(The Mulberry forest)

Nou wil ek meer oor van haar boeke – en ander skrywers se boeke –  in Afrikaans se… omdat ek van dit self gelees het en self ook ‘n blibioteek-onderwyseres is – Ja, ek het vir 9 jaar uit 2 skole se mediasentrums klas gegee. Honderde boeke is aangekoop – wat ‘n voorreg om die skole se mediasentrum-begroting by Uitgewers te gaan spandeer! Dit was gewoonlik ‘n daguitstappie! 

So is die volgende  boeke dan van my  gunstelinge vir kinders ouderdom 11-15/16…dalk ouer ook! Die Sakmense – Deur Maretha Maartens.  Wat ‘n fantastiese boek. Miriam was ‘n meisie  met’n donker gelaatskleur wie se familie onder “sakke” agter die landdroskantoor gebly het en hulle het groente en vrugte verkoop het om aan die lewe te bly. Thea was ‘n meisie met slegs een nier. Sy moet leer om met haar dialise-sakkie te leef, maar dis nog moeiliker om met haar skuldgevoel oor die weg te kom: sy weet sy is self daarvoor verantwoordelik dat haar ma se nier, wat kleintyd in haar oorgeplant is, heeltemal opgehou funksioneer het. Tog kan sy dit nie sê nie en intussen hou haar ma haar oupa daarvoor verantwoordelik.
Miriam is minderjarig en het nie die waarheid gepraat oor haar ouderdom nie. Dit was omdat sy haar familie wou help om onder die ‘sakke’ uit te kom en ‘n goeie lewe te he. Hulle het nie geld gehad vir skoolgaan nie en haar pa was slegs ‘n leegle-er en het niks gedoen om die familie te ondersteun nie.
Uiteindelik sou Thea en Miriam mekaar help, sodat elkeen kon leer hoe om haar sak weg te leef. Die boek is ‘n boek wat selfs die volwasse leser sal waardeer en geniet.

Sommige ander baie gewilde boeke onder die kinders: Die Boemelaars, Plek van die dolfyne,   ‘n Pakkie mieliepitte, Die Inkvoel en Geagte mej Snob.

Marilee McCallighan se boek- Wedloop teen die wind” – is ‘n boek vir kinders so 12-15 jaar. Arno is die seun-karakter in die storie  en sy pa was ‘n prokureur. Hy was ‘n puik atleet en toe skielik begin hy toe epileptiese aanvalle kry en moes hy na ‘n spesiale skool gaan, wat ‘n groot vernedering vir die pa en ma was – veral die ma! Hulle was gesiene mense in die omgewing en sy kon nie verwerk of aanvaar dat haar talentvolle seun dit moes oorkom en na so ‘n skool moes gaan nie.  

 

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Two frogs

“Two Frogs” is a fantastic book. I want to share this book today and by doing this, do my “good deed” for today! I love books, even more, children’s books! I’m slowly busy building up a library! I used this book with great success during Philosophy lessons… Firstly, the pictures in this book…just look how stunning! Doesn’t it convey a lot, only by looking at it! That’s why children’s books fascinate me, you get outstanding illustrations and lifelong messages. This book is definitely one of those which you would buy and have different uses for, when teaching. I’m going to copy a few lines from the book…and the images support the text just brilliantly!

—Once there were two frogs sitting on a lily pad in the middle of a large pond. One of the frogs was holding a stick. “What’s that for?” asked the other frog. “For protection,” said the frog with the stick. “This stick is to beat off the dog.”
“What dog?” said the other frog, quickly looking over his shoulder. “I can’t see a dog. There is no dog!” “Not now there isn’t, not at this moment,” replied the frog with the stick. “But what if a dog should come swimming across the pond and try to eat us up? Better be safe than sorry.” The other frog was puzzled. “But no dogs ever come swimming in the pond,” he protested. “At least I’ve never seen one. In fact I can’t even remember seeing one on the edge of the pond. And why would a dog want to come swimming in the pond anyway? They’re not so fond of swimming as us frogs, you know.”

Now, by looking at the pics, you can imagine what happened…I put questions forward to 9 year old children e.g. Should we always be prepared? Should we always think about all the “what ifs”? Is it ridiculous thinking the worst might happen? Why would you want to be prepared for the worst? What do you need to be well prepared? What do you see as “the worst”? How else can we prepare us for the “worst”? This book lends itself to numerous questions and at least an hour’s discussion with children. One of the “what ifs” in this book really happened at the end! That was the dog…but the frogs were already gone and not there to see the dog…

If you want to leave your point of view about these questions, it would be well received!

Image: frogsonice
Please click HERE to read a story about two frogs..do enjoy

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An African Tale

The Lion and the Snake

The lion and the snake were fighting. The snake escaped the lion’s claws before the lion could kill it, and fled to the man’s house. The snake begged the man to hide it because the lion was pursuing it. The man hid the snake in his cupboard and the lion never found it, although he searched the house.When the lion had gone, the snake took his leave from the man, saying, “How are good deeds rewarded?” The man said, “Normally good deeds are rewarded with money, but since you have no money, you may give me an animal as soon as you have been successful at hunting.” The snake said, “But do you not know that snakes reward good with evil? I am going to devour you, man!” The man said, “No, no, that isn’t fair. We men always reward good with gratitude and useful goods. Let’s ask the bee first.” The bee said, “I never get any gratitude. Man just takes my honey after having smoked me out of my own house.” The man said, “Let’s ask the mango tree.” The mango tree said, “I never receive thanks. Man takes my fruits, and when I bear no more, he cuts me down and throws me into his fire.” The man said, “Let’s ask the coconut palm.” The coconut palm said, “It is true, good is rewarded with evil. Man takes my nuts, taps my sap, and to cap it all off, he cuts off my leaves for his roof.”The snake said to the man, “You see, now I will eat you.” The man said, “Wait until I have said goodbye to my wife.” The snake agreed and they went to the man’s house. The man said, “Dear wife, the snake is going to eat me, goodbye!” The wife said, “Surely, Mr. Snake, you would like some eggs as a hors d’ouevre?” She took a bag of eggs and held it open for the snake. The snake put in his head to take an egg. The woman pulled the string tight and so caught the snake with its head in the bag. Then she took a knife and cut its throat, saving her husband’s life. But the husband divorced her, for men reward the good women do them with evil.

Image: robartgallery.com

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