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Reading for Kids (VII)

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  Today is the first reading-for-kids event this academic year. I did not go to T's class but ventured into a different group.  I chose to read "Monkey Puzzle" by Julia Donaldson. The story has been a superb delight to me since I first read it. The twist in the story is a smart scientific turn.  I even gave it as a Christmas present to T's cousin, but I wonder if she and her dad appreciated the humor in the story. Just like today, every audience seemed to have followed along to know the fact that the kind butterfly continues to make mistakes, but I couldn't be sure whether the audience understood the reason behind the butterfly's mistakes.
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"Do you think you are the greatest person in the world?"

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Around 4 pm yesterday afternoon, Y asked me if she could have snacks and watch TV. I gave her a negative answer, given that she had watched a movie with her dad in the early afternoon. Her TV allowance had been spent for the day. She was persistent, begging, nagging, complaining, and then blaming in the end. Our conversation went on and went astray as below.  -------------------------------------------------------- Y: Why can't I watch TV?  Mom: You've seen a movie with dad today, and the movie was about 2 hours. You can have snacks though.  Y: Mom is stupid!!! （ママはバカ！） M: I don't think so. I am probably the smartest in this household.  Y: Mom is stupid!　（ママは「ㄅㄨㄣˋ」（笨）蛋） M: Ok, let's see. Who can drive a car in our family?  Y: Mom. (Emphatically.) M: Who can cook in our family? Y: Mom, and sometimes dad.  M: Who can speak mandarin? Y: Mom and I and T.  M: Who takes you to ballet lessons?  Y: Mom.  M: Who takes you to piano lessons?  Y: Mo...
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Reading for Kids (VIII)

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  Surtout N’entrez Pas Dans Le Sac In the regular events of the Reading to Kids group in the spring term 2025, one of the books that I read to children was a picture book in French, Surtout N’entrez Pas Dans Le Sac , or, Never Ever Should You Enter into the Bag , by a Togolese author, Gnimdewa Atakpama.   The story is about a lion and a goat, both of whom want to build their respective homes on the same piece of land. The two animals, one herbivorous and the other carnivorous, resolve the conflicts by some violent means in the end. A perspective lens of the illustration helps distance the dramatic moment of physical force. My audience, including the two classes of the 5th- and 6th-graders and their homeroom teachers, gasped at the resolution. Although the climax is meant to be witty, funny and surprising, each time when I read up to the moment of climax, I somehow felt that I was obliged to apologize for the development, so I made a comment, “sorry” (ごめんね!).   Why did I h...
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