“The Geronimo Stilton series, authored by Elisabetta Dami”

This is a delightful and engaging collection of children’s books that have captivated young readers’ imaginations for years. These books are known for their unique and visually appealing format, which combines colorful illustrations, whimsical fonts, and exciting adventures to create a memorable reading experience.

Geronimo Stilton, the series’ protagonist, is a timid but endearing mouse who works as a journalist for the fictional newspaper, “The Rodent’s Gazette.” The stories are set in the bustling town of New Mouse City and often involve Geronimo finding himself reluctantly embroiled in thrilling escapades. Each book is presented as Geronimo’s own autobiography, adding a personal touch to the storytelling.

Conclusions:

1. The characters in the series are charming and relatable, each with their own quirks and personalities.
2. The writing style is accessible and easy to follow, making it suitable for children transitioning from picture books to chapter books.
3. This series is a beloved and enduring collection of children’s books that skillfully combines humor, adventure, and educational content.

These books have played a pivotal role in fostering a love for reading among children, and they continue to be a staple in many young readers’ libraries.

Thanks!

Happy Reading!

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We are at that time of the year where festivals will rule our lives for the next few months. As we move from the summer months to the winters the little chill in the air only adds to the mood. Festivals have a way of bringing out the best in us. The colorful clothes, the festivities and the delicacies have their own charm. Have you noticed that the festivals of India put a smile on your face? They’re all about celebrations at the individual level as well as at the community level. Can you imagine celebrating Janamashtmi, Gurpurab , Christmas or Ganesh Chaturthi in your homes ? No way. The carefully and joyfully decorated temple, Church and Gurudwara beckon you. Even if you’re not in the mood you dress up and venture outside and come back refreshed. You don’t just come rejuvenated but also come back with your belly full and taste buds satiated. The food stalls and the vendors offer common ware, but the moments are such that you end up devouring all. We have realised the importance of celebrating together more after Corona. We realised how isolation could wreck havoc with our physical and mental health.

Festivals in India are all about family, community and neighbourhood. They help us to connect with each other. For kids growing in apartments these festivals are a lesson in sharing and caring. Gone are the days when delicacies were exchanged simply over the wall of the neighbours. Whatever was made in one house was expected to be shared with the neighbours. This was reciprocated by one and all. Flats and apartments have cloistered children within the four walls. It is only during festivals that we get to meet each other. Thus, festivals assume an even greater role in community building. With more and more children as well as their elders spending time with that little instrument called the mobile phone, islands of isolation are on the rise. Many amongst the young are happy with their virtual friends and families. They do not realise that virtual cannot take the place of the real.

We have to end this temptation of being isolated and the concept of ‘breathing space’. Festivals can help us get in touch with reality. Make the children step into the market, let them deal with the crowds. They will know how to deal with people. They have to deal with people in their schools, public parks, birthday parties and later in their workplaces. Festivals help children learn the fine art of bargaining and buying. Involve kids in decorating the homes. The colourful rangoli, the decoration with flowers will not only give the home a new look but will also help the child develop a new, fresh perspective. The expensive crystal showpieces can be kept for later. The decoration during the festivals is personal. Children can learn through these projects that it does not take much money to decorate a home, what is needed is lots of love and brains to turn the same home into a slice of heaven. No event manager could do this task. And what have the children learnt from this exercise ? They would have learnt to coordinate and put together lots of things.

Every festival starts with some or the other ritual or a prayer. Children might be lazy but when it comes to the auspicious occasion they dress up in the traditional attire and strut proudly. The colour of the festivals just catches on absorbing each and every individual into their folds. The children come out of their rooms, touch the feet of the elders, blush at the blessings ,revel in the joy and the pride which is bestowed on them. Families which pull the children into all the festivities assigning some or the other role to their children are actually gifting their children values of a lifetime. Festivals test the social skills of one and all, especially of the children. But it also helps them prepare for the future. As we grown ups realise, festivals are indeed a great stress buster. In the humdrum of life in which we get lost It is these festivals which help us connect with each other as well as with Nature. Remember how our grandparents pulled us along when they visited relatives and friends in the festival season? They carried simple gifts but gifts which were laced with love . It felt like torture back then but it is these relatives and friends who have stood with us in moments of joy and sorrow.

We have to work in the same manner with our children. We have to teach them that festivals are not all about money, pomp and splendour. It is feelings that matter. Festivals can help spread the message that traditional rituals have a charm of their own. When guests come over to wish on Diwali let the children serve sweets. You might have umpteen servants but when children serve they learn lessons in humbleness. Let your children go and serve in the community kitchen(langar) whenever they can. When you give gifts to the house help , let the children be around. Let them notice how people’s eyes light up with gratitude over things that our children take for granted. Let your children accompany you to those trips to the market where they can see how vendors try to sell their wares so that they can celebrate a festival with their families. Your children will learn the value of hard-work and honest living.

Festivals help us to connect with each other. With so much competition the children have forgotten to take pleasure in small joys of life. The cut-throat competition leaves no room for compassion and empathy. But it is these values that are going to stand in good stead. One needs a certain set of social skills to tide through life. As our world becomes more technologically driven, more mechanical there are people who feel that we can do with a fetus- like approach. But look at the crowds in the market, the decorated markets and the festivities around and you will beg to differ. No machine can take the place of human touch, speech and smell. So all you children over there, step out of your rooms and go and enjoy with your families. It is that time of the year when the Gods descend to bless us all. We are lucky that we belong to a country whose each festival brings a smile on our faces. So why sit and ponder?

Festival time is bonding time, With the family, friends and the neighbourhood. Go and discover new friends. Go and give chocolates to that little child who is selling flowers in the corner. Spend time with the old couple around the corner whose children have settled abroad. Their blessings will do wonders. Festivals are all about caring, sharing and loving. These festivals teach you how to talk and live life to the fullest. They leave you with memories of a lifetime. So go and cherish these moments.

In the previous part of the series we delved into the categorisation of 21st century skills and their importance. The next logical question would be – What can be done to make kids learn these skills? This article looks at various ways that parents can adopt to facilitate an atmosphere conducive to learn these skills.

We as parents always want to provide the best of everything to our kids. It is our constant endeavor to make them aware of their surroundings and provide opportunities to learn. All these efforts are nothing but a part of making our kids learn new things, form opinions and be an informed child.

It would help however, to make conscious efforts to take structured steps to equip our kids to face today’s ever changing world. Simple steps done on a regular basis would help achieve this.

1. Let the child’s interests drive the interactions – Kids have a mind of their own. Their affinities or interests would vary depending on the environment, personality and available resources. Gauging the area of interest and indulging in interactions around it would help the child learn 21st century skills.For eg. a child may be interested in plants. Parents could encourage the child to do activities like leaf painting, watch a documentary or animation on plants, visit a garden or play a game of identifying different types of plants.
2. Participative Approach – One of the most important 21st century skills is communication and collaboration. It is imperative that we include kids in activities of various kinds and varied groups for their skill development. For example, involving kids in household chores helps them realize that all tasks are important. Interactions with their friends, family members, grandparents help them learn to communicate with different age groups.
3. Learning by doing – As parents we often tend to go overboard in trying to give the best to kids. While the intention is understandable, it is detrimental to their development. Allow the kids to learn by doing things themselves, let them fail and learn. Practical approach to doing things would make them learn creativity, critical and logical thinking.
4. Reward Curiosity – We get tired of answering questions by our kids. It can be overwhelming. Yet, this trait of kids needs to be nurtured. A curious child would automatically become a solution seeker, problem solver and critical thinker, all are needed to survive today.
5. Allow them to create a schedule – We often feel that kids need to have a time bound schedule to pursue the different activities. It’s more so for adolescents and teens. Parents need to give the kids freedom to decide what they want to do and when. It is often the parental fear that kids would indulge only in recreational activities and essentials would be left behind. This may not be true. Allowing them to create their own schedule helps them learn time management skills . They understand the importance of decision making and its consequences.
6. The digitally literate parent – With the ever changing digital world around us, kids do not have any other option but to adapt to it. They might not be aware of all its pitfalls . That is where a digitally literate parent would help them navigate. In order to make our kids learn 21st century skills, we must equip ourselves with the knowledge of the same. While this may not be possible for all, it must be done to the maximum possible extent. One of the ways of doing so is learning with them.This helps them understand that learning is a lifelong process. They also open up more to us when they see us acknowledging our willingness to accept that we do not know and learn.

There are no set approaches to make today’s kids ready for tomorrow. Every parent takes an approach that he / she feels would yield maximum results. The paths chosen may be different, yet the goal remains the same – a happy and positive child who learns about oneself while exploring different things, understands the surroundings and the changing paradigms. A child who is ready to adapt to changes, seek answers, put on a creative hat and look at things from a whole new perspective.

It is certainly not a walk in the park. There are many unknown variables, known constraints, fears and dogmas that need to be dealt with. Despite all this, we must not forget that with the changing times our responsibility towards our kids is changing too. We must do our best to ensure that they learn these skills and be ready to face all that comes their way. Let us not be the parents who teach them to live the life as we perceive. Let us be the parent who teaches them to live a life that they believe in! In order for this to happen they need to equip themselves with the new age skill sets!

“I do not fix problems. I fix my thinking. Then problems fix themselves.” – Louise Hay.

A powerful quote that will make one wonder and ponder on whether it is really possible to fix his/her thinking. What if I tell you that we can consciously learn and inculcate the process of determinedly arriving at the solutions rather than focusing on the problem, would you not be intrigued to know more? Well, STEM is known to be the magical spell , rather a tool that can make this happen.

To be honest, I too had the same inquisitiveness, when I first heard about STEM a few years ago. Since then, I have explored a lot about this topic and it never seizes to amaze me. It has created a curiosity and willingness to understand the things around me clearer and better. The best part of STEM is I could directly relate and apply it to my everyday activities too.

STEM is an acronym for Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics. As the name suggests, it relates to innovation, problem solving , critical thinking and reasoning. Wait! Aren’t these attributed to logic and the left side of our brain? As humans, who need to survive through many problems and situations. Lo and behold! STEM delivers with all the skills you need. It directs us to the path of critical thinking and offers different pathways to arrive at the best possible solution.

A judge will have to factor in all scenarios, situations, equations, evidences, laws and sections of IPC etc., before delivering a verdict. This is an example of critical thinking. Of course, some are quite natural at it. But believe me STEM education can and will point us all towards the ability to analyze, evaluate, reason, decide and solve complex problems. This experimental learning through logical understanding of the concepts is the best possible method of imparting knowledge.

Children like us are able to grasp concepts with extreme ease which seemed quite difficult and complex for our age. STEM offers a strong foundation to students of all grades, promotes experimentation and application of the concepts learned, helping them to carry the knowledge with them forever, which is quite exemplary. Over and beyond, STEM is known for exercising our logic to extents where we start thinking like Sherlock Holmes.

As opposed to the traditional approach and learning, STEM guides children to use their creativity and take an innovative approach towards a problem across different fields including history , geography and art which are in general considered as boring and tiring. When children like us draw correlations, form opinions and then make informed decisions, we are progressing not only as independent thinkers but also as confident individuals.

STEM keeps the entire classroom engaged with tools such as AI and VR. Students get to play active role in learning, test their hypotheses, make connections and arrive at their conclusions. It makes sure all the children contribute and are given equal opportunities. Creating curiosity and encouraging inquisitiveness are the main goals thereby driving the children towards analytical and logical reasoning and thinking. Children are exposed to the advancement of technology in a positive environment and are driven to be future ready.

Many schools and colleges require a lot of entrance tests which in turn requires tons of preparation both technically and academically over many years. STEM education is a wholesome package that paves the path to build a better aptitude in children and crack these tests with little effort compared to the rote learning method.

Now, if you can scroll up and read the quote at the beginning, it would all make sense and the
With all these advantages and rewards to its side, there is no doubt that STEM learning impacts and improves our logical thinking to a greater extent. STEM has cultivated a huge group of intellectuals already and is definitely not related to any particular age group. The more we embrace STEM education, the more we better the future of our generation and many more to come thereby guaranteeing a better future for this beautiful world.

“Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I’ll have a long beard by the time I read them.”

Mr Lobel states he cannot think of any other work that could be more agreeable and fun than making books for children. And yes, he daydreams, describing his very job as that of a daydreamer.

Arnold Stark Lobel, popularly known for his ‘Frog and Toad’ series, was an American author and illustrator of children’s books. His stories centered around friendship and love, unfolding in a fantastical world, with creatures inheriting human emotions, and spreading goodness.

The fact that Lobel and his wife resided in an apartment right opposite to a zoo, and his occasional visits to this zoo with kids along, helped him draw inspirations from the animals inhabiting the very same zoo. These influences in some form or shape found a mention in his writings.

Lobel’s long writing and illustrating journey, spanning across hundreds of books, begin with ‘A zoo for mister muster’. Not too difficult to connect the dots here? (Just as mentioned above). The book revolves around the supremely pure bond between humans and animals, as the mister muster who regularly visits his animal friends across the street right into a zoo, fails to make it one day due to poor weather, leading to the animals missing him and his presence, and eventually they decide upon visiting his apartment themselves. And the drama continues to unfold further. Quite a sweet, heartwarming premise!

Lobel went on to write a number of books in the following years, ‘Prince Bertram the bad’, ‘A holiday for mister muster’, ‘Giant John’, ‘Lucille’, ‘The bears of the air’, ‘Martha the movie mouse’, and many more.

Lobel’s highly acclaimed ‘Frog and Toad’ series consists of a collection of short stories in every book, which revolve around an overlap between human and animal world. Simple, sweet, innocent situations and conflicts fill our heart with joy, as we move from one book over to the next. This series of books teaches us the value of kindness, friendship, love and humanity.

Borrowing heavily from his own life and experiences, Lobel wrote about things relatable to him on a personal level, and gave it a childlike flavor, making it accessible from an all round perspective. The writing style always stayed simple in terms of the vocabulary, easy to comprehend, and fun to read. A cozy, comforting vibe accompanied Lobel’s books and illustrations all throughout.

“I cannot see anything.”
“Don’t be silly,” said Frog.
“What you see is the clear warm light of April. And it means that we can begin a whole new year together, Toad. Think of it,” said Frog.
“We will skip through the meadows and run through the woods and swim in the river. In the evenings we will sit right here on this front porch and count the stars.”

An excerpt straight from the master’s desk. A new adventure awaits!

Welcome to the captivating realm of Chinese art! In this article, we will explore the vibrant traditions and masterpieces that have captivated the attention of people all over the world. Chinese artworks are a part of a rich and diverse artistic tradition that spans thousands of years, with distinct styles and themes. The techniques have evolved with time, but the four main categories are distinct in nature and significant in Chinese culture. These four main categories are:
Traditional Chinese Painting,
Landscape Painting,
Figure Painting and
Bird and Flower Painting.

Let us dig deeper into each category and find out more about them.

1. Traditional Chinese Painting, also called Guohua:
The style of painting emphasises meticulous attention and precision in capturing subjects. Artists would use brushes, ink, and rice paper to paint. These paintings delivered emotional messages for viewers to appreciate the subtle details of life.
The 2 main techniques are: Gongbi and Xieyi.

• Gongbi:

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The word ‘Gongbi’ means “meticulous”. The work is characterised with fine brush strokes, highly detailed and realistic depictions. The subject matter includes historic and mythological themes with images portraying figures and landscapes.

• Xieyi:

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The term ‘Xieyi’ means “freehand style” and literally stands for “writing ideas”. Therefore, if you are fond of calligraphy, line drawing and shading, and are fond of emoting through colours, then this style is perfect for you. The technique focuses on capturing the spirit and essence of a subject with looser and more dramatic brushwork.

2. Landscape Painting, also called Shanshui:

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The word ‘Shanshui’ means “mountain-water.” The paintings typically depict natural scenery that focuses on the harmonious relationship between a human and nature. The key elements of the paintings are mountains covered in mist, rivers, trees, and clouds which has a more philosophical meaning than a literal one. The brushstrokes are bold and expressive as the painter wants the viewer to feel a certain way. When you look at such a work of art, you will feel calmer, and more connected to nature.

3. Figure Painting, also called Renwu Hua:

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“Renwu” means “people” in Chinese, and “Hua” means “painting”. Therefore, these paintings are basically depicting people doing different things.
These paintings centre around the lives of people. From historical figures and scholars to the common folk, these paintings portray people in various settings and landscapes performing functions like dancing, working, fighting or simply having fun. Chinese figure paintings reflect societal values, aesthetics, and even cultural diversity. The aim of the artist is to capture personalities, emotions, and stories of individuals they depict.
It is like meeting new friends from long ago through colourful paintings.

4. Bird and Flower Painting, also called Huaniao Hua:

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The word “Huaniao” means “bird’s-eye” and “hua” as mentioned above means “painting.” These paintings celebrate the beauty of the natural world as they depict birds, flowers, insects and other elements of plant and animal kingdom.

These paintings depict what the world would seem from above and depict forests, trees, bridges, and many other structures from a bird’s point of view. Artists aim to capture the lifelike qualities of their subjects while infusing them with symbolic meanings.

Viewing these paintings is like taking a magical flight like a bird through some of the most enchanting places on Earth!

4 Interesting Facts About Chinese Artworks:

• Invention of Paper and Silk: Paper was invented during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE- 220 BCE) which allowed for more accessible and versatile canvases, expanding possibilities for artistic expressions. Prior to paper, silk was the primary medium for Chinese paintings.
• Silk Road Influence: The Silk Road was a trade route that connected China with the Mediterranean region. Therefore, it absorbed elements of different artistic traditions, such as Persian and Indian influences enriching the Chinese artistic repertoire.
• The Four Gentlemen: In Chinese brush painting, the four main classic brush painting subjects are bamboo, orchid, plum blossom, and chrysanthemum. These elements when incorporated in a painting stood for piety, loyalty, humanity, and benevolence.
• Yin-And-Yang Balance: Ying-and-Yang is one of the main elements of Chinese philosophy. While yang is associated with positive principles in the Universe like heaven and light, yin is associated with negative principles like darkness and weakness.
  In Chinese artwork, an artist will depict Yang with a strong dark brush stroke. On the other hand, yin will be depicted by a pale stroke. A balance of the two elements makes a piece of art harmonious and well-balanced to deliver a message.

Chinese painting is a vast and diverse art form with a rich history. Traditional Chinese paintings, landscape paintings, figure paintings and bird flower paintings each offer a unique perspective on Chinese culture, philosophy, and aesthetics. The artform continues to inspire and captivate the attention of art enthusiasts around the world reflecting the enduring appeal of this ancient tradition.