Small Actions that Make a World of Difference: Peter Reynolds: The Dot and Playing from the Heart.

 'Just make a mark and see where it takes you', the Teacher tells Vashti

Sometimes in life, we are lucky enough to find an adult in Institutions who believe in us and invite us along a path towards self-discovery and empowerment. We all know the huge influence adults have in shaping the lives of children in their care, whether directly or indirectly. Children look up to them in their formative years, believe in and hang on to their every word - whether harmful or healing. Of course, there are countless cases of children defying the negativity transmitted by adults to prove they cannot be placed in a box and labelled FAILURE. 

This book emerges from the trendy, hugely popular American strain of empowerment books for kids. Kids need to be motivated, kids need to be encouraged, kids need to see light when they are in the dark...and when they do, they will spread this light to others, making our world a better place. What a lovely message..and the dot, a little black mark on a white page can become and assume the dimensions we give to it..if only we dare to try, if only we are given the first nudge in the right direction. 

'Well, maybe I can't draw, but I CAN sign my name', thinks Vashti

Little Vashti is hopeless at art. Her teacher believes in her student and encourages her through kindness and support. It's up to Vashti to discover her skill and the teacher  is ready and waiting to showcase it to..everyone. Meanwhile, Vashti is now convinced that art and any other talent is there to be discovered and appropriated...yes, by anyone!

'Hmmph! I can make a better dot than THAT!'

...

'If I can make little dots, I can make BIG dots, too.'

A feel-good book, playfully and colourfully illustrated. The drawings stay away from explicitly identifying and limiting the work to ethnicities and skin colour..and the name Vashti is able to free itself from any /foreigner/ethnic undertones. In this sense, the book appeals and reaches out to all kids, without falling into the trap of 'immigrants'=underprivileged or  'immigrants'=disadvantaged, and therefore needing the benevolence of authority and institutions to patronise them. 

A simple message that is cleverly illustrated which helps it to soar across and make borders more porous.

When one person is inspired, it never stops there, in fact, we never know where it will end and what it will spiral into. So leave your mark and ...sign it, tells us Peter Reynolds.

Afterthought - This is a simple book introducing kids to colours, frustration, patience, motivation, hard-work and reward. The underlying message is we all have the potential, we just need the nudge and encouragement to explore it or find it. There are so many kids who succumb to pressures of all kinds - class/social inequalities, unrealistic, demanding expectations from adults, peer pressure, etc and who never get the chance or opportunity to find their true calling, if there is really something like that. In this light, the book is a celebration of the free spirit and pays hommage to teachers and adults that encourage children to find their own path.

However, in all honesty, although the message is quite inspirational, the book itself lacks real creativity and this is something that is very common in children's books - creativity becomes a hostage to a message we think kids desperately need - a message of hope, of love, of caring, etc. In other words, while it pays hommage to this one child's creativity, it actually does so in an ...uncreative way-

Children do need positive examples and role models, they do need to see positive self-representations reflected back at them...but I wonder if that's enough, if we are selling them short...

Playing from the Heart - Peter Reynolds

'Could you play a song for me?'

'these notes reminded him of zoo animals peering through bars...wanting to escape'

On the back cover, there is a note from the author, which I reproduce here:

'When I wrote this story, I hoped it would resonate with those who are looking to be reminded to be playful, to channel joy- not perfection. Then it took on new meaning when my father suffered two strokes. Seeing him in discomfort, I wanted to see that sparkle in his eyes again. there were no words. Just feelings. Like music'.

Here we have a writer who comes close to losing his father and explores the use of music as a way to connect people in times when words or actions may seem futile. 

A boy named Raj slowly grows up and has all but forgotten the love and passion with which he played the piano. The piano, this instrument sitting in the living room, this connection of joy in silence, without words, between father and son. The son moves out, has his own successful life and receives a call one day informing him that his father is sick. He immediately leaves in the pouring rain to see his old man. Will music - that one thing that stood long ago as a symbol of their bond - be able to revive their connection?

'His father heard the dreamy music floating through the house. He was amazed that his son was playing beautifully without ever having taken a lesson'

... 'Although Raj played better and better he got more and more tired...until the day that even looking at the piano made him exhausted'.

Playing that song without a  name

What do you do when you think you see a talent in a child, you invest a lot to nurture this talent, the child goes along, having fun, probably wanting to please you, and after the child has also invested a lot of time and energy and patience and is doing well, (s)he suddenly gets tired and then...stops altogether?

How easy is it to accept this, not label it as resignation, failure, lack of discipline, laziness..and trust that the child has the right to follow the path (s)he has chosen?

Having expectations, becoming disappointed or frustrated or even angry and violent when they are not met, dealing with all these emotions in a healthy environment and trusting that passions are things that never die, they just lie low sometimes, ready to burst back out when we least expect it. Killing or stifling or deforming this passion is one of the great harms we adults can sometimes do to kids, even with the best intentions. 

'Finally, Raj closed the cover over the keys. He was finished. The piano was silent'.

Years later, 'Raj found the sustain pedal and dove into a place he had not been in many years. The notes emerged whispery and sweet'.

Afterthought: I like the idea of having a close but silent relationship between a father and a son, one characterised by loneliness and emptiness...which is suddenly filled with music..only to become silent and lonely again. Life drags on, kids grow up, everyone goes their separate ways and then suddenly, this relationship which we have taken for granted, suddenly threatens to rupture for good. Is there still a chance to revive it and how? We are all given little intangible gifts from our parents, some of them we never manage to discover but that doesnt mean they arent in us. Sometimes these gifts (trust, free spirit) rest close to our hearts and come out just when we need them, sparking and reviving something in us.

I respect this book as a hommage to the author's father and the serenity the characters found in music. However, as a story, I think it reads a little flat and the idea of following your passion without the pressure of perfection (the father loved the song with 'no name') could have been more playfully and creatively explored. 

WHY WE ARE HERE; THE BIG QUESTION BY WOLF ERLBRUCH

 Die große Frage, Wolf Erlbruch. Finding out just why you are here

Accepting yourself just the way you are..because you are special

Erlbruch is an internationally acclaimed German writer and illustrator who has received numerous awards and praise for both his drawing style and books. He is perhaps most known for his 'the story of the little mole who went in search of whodunit'. In this post, I will briefly discuss 'the big question', a children's book which was published by the German Peter Hammer publishing house in 2015. Erlbruch has suggested that the moral of his stories is that people should regard themselves from a distance and accept even what is not so beautiful about themselves, but what is special.

the brother says: you are in the world to celebrate your birthday

the cat says: you are here to purr...if anything, to catch mice

 the pilot says: you are here to kiss the clouds

the grandmother says: of course you are here so that I can spoil you rotten

the bird says: you are here to sing your song

the fat man says: you are here to eat

and so on..the number 3, the soldier, the dog, the captain, Death (you are here to love life), the Stone (you are here to be here), the father, the gardener, the Blind Man, the Baker, the Duck (I have no idea), the sister (to love yourself), the rabbit, the boxer and finally the Mother all speak to the Reader, engaging him or her to the multiple beauties and experiences of life, from the perspective of each animal, person or thing. They all tell you why YOU are here, but in reality, it's the reason THEY see themselves and their purpose here. In the end, no one can really tell you your purpose...you have to seek it out yourself, combine the reasons, question them, go on your own journey of self-discovery.

the collection of figures is indeed strange and quite unique, from a stone to Death to the Number Three. It's light philosophical twist, it's endearing message, the string of professions (Baker, Gardener, Pilot, Captain) and people (Father, Mother, Brother, Sister) give both young and old something to contemplate on... a very BIG question, namely why we are here! There is no one answer just as their is no one template for any thing or person. We are all different and we mostly see the world and understand our place in it from our own immediate experiences and surroundings. The little book about this big question invites the reader to step out of himself and experience our place in it...from quite different angles. 

A nice little reminder about our diversity, about our small but significant existence in this immense and the beauty that comes from the interaction between and among us all.

The book ends with a few blank pages to fill in when you discover more reasons for why you are here in the world.

Compare The Big Question with another book Maybe from Kobi Yamada and Gabriella Barouch (illustration).

The book opens with the same question - Have you ever wondered why you are here?

The answer, that will be repeated and explored throughout the book, comes on the next page - 'You are you. There has never been anyone like you and there never will be. There is so much potential in you.'

These inspirational trendy books target both children and adults, encouraging them to embrace their individuality and explore it without fear or restraint. But the sentences ring hollow, despite the wonderful, free-spirited illustrations and one has the feeling that the words are just too superficial and big to resonate in the mind and body of a child...The images alone tell a wonderful story of flight, experimenting, exploring and determination that the words somehow drown in them. 

'Maybe you will discover something that no one has yet seen, maybe you will build things that will soar in the sky, your life is yours, try out as many things as you can...wherever you go, take your hopes with you, pack your dreams with you, and don't ever forget - you will discover things when you travel'.

'Maybe you will help others see the beauty in each day, maybe you will infect people with your enthusiasm..'

'Let love be your guiding force, follow your heart and see where it leads you'

And reminiscent of Erlbruch's Big Question, 'maybe you are here to bring light to places that have been for too long dark? Maybe you will raise your voice for those who can't themselves speak?'

'Maybe you are here to help in a way only you can?'

'On this discovery path, you will meet travails but this world needs all your talents and skills and ideas'.

'If you are at the beginning of your journey, and haven't yet discovered or chosen your path, then you should know that you have all you need inside of you..if you are still in doubt, maybe the world has been waiting for someone just like you to come along'.

Here is a comment by the illustrator about the bird head-piece worn by the girl protagonist:

Interview Question: The detail in the artwork is exquisite. The bird headpiece worn by the young girl particularly enamors me. How did you come up with the idea of a headpiece made of leaves? It’s breathtakingly special.

Gabriella (Illustrator): It was actually Kobi’s idea, a part of his vision for the girl—a child that creates her own adventures. The bird hat represents her dreams and creativity for me since she made it herself.

I especially felt connected to the sewing leaves part, since my grandmother used to tell me that when she was young they used to play in the woods, collect leaves, and sew them into dresses. That’s what they had back then, and I find that to be charming. I was lucky enough to draw it in the book.

Afterthought: Both books invite the reader (young and old) to position and question their place and purpose in the world. The first - The Big Question- doesn't hope to inspire, persuade, encourage, it  just simply recognises and celebrates the differences that we are and the passion each one carries in them, all in harmony (pilot, stone, duck, number 3). 

Maybe... this little word that could be the start and trigger to discovering what lies in you, soaring, excelling, helping, discovering. Encouraging words that we will be confronted with throughout life. Trendy messages that hope to resonate with the reader - you are smart, you are beautiful, you are unique, you have talents and gifts...all abstract words imposed and heaped on children from a very early age.

Let's complement the above mentioned books with another one by the German writer and illustrator Katrin Stangl 'Does Bread swim in Milk?' (Schwimmt Brot in Milch?)

The book consists of a series of questions which invite the reader to .....yes, question things, wonder at things we take for granted, explore, experiment and yes...we learn when we are having fun, when we try new things out, when we free up our bodies and our minds.

The book is also a little poetic ode to children and their world of imagination - how often must teddy bears bathe? does the colour red taste better than blue? Can all the children come to my birthday party? How many raisins are in the muesli cereals?

It also references all the rules (kann man, darf man...) that are imposed on children at a very young age. Of course, rules are necessary but questioning them is equally so.

This book pays tribute to kids' curiosity, experimentation and indirectly encourages them to never stop asking questions. 

Diversifying the Writing and Reading Circles

'When we put down a story, we will never be zero' (Roy)

From the independently published book Princess and the Power of Melanin (2018)

Why we read and why writers write...beautifully told by Arundhati Roy: 'Sometimes I need to write to think – to love, to be loved, to never forget your own insignificance, to never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you, to seek joy in the saddest places, to pursue beauty to its lair, to never simplify what is complicated, or complicate what is simple, to respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch, to try and understand, to never look away. And never, never to forget'.

And here is why a more diverse place for writers and readers is needed - because the world has never only been white, Christian, middle-class and heterosexual; because Black and People of Colour are very much part of national (w)holes, because children of all shades and hues have a right to see themselves represented as they are, to see their colour and religion in the police officers there to protect us, in the doctors there to heal us and in the parents and teachers there to nurture us and most importantly, a diverse place of union is needed because it doesn't yet exist. Far too many children's books here in Germany where I live, alienate and pathologise difference, reproduce and perpetuate a fake, partial and biased world which many kids cannot identify with. In this light, I would like to mention this book list to support anti-racist activism, reposted from the Official Journal Blog.

Here are some alarming observations quoted in the text:

'As early as 3–6 months of age, babies begin to notice and express preference by race (Bar-Haim, 2006). Between the ages of 3 and 5, children begin to apply stereotypes, categorize people by race, and express racial bias (Winkler, 2009). White North American children begin to report negative explicit attitudes toward people of color as early as age 3 (Baron, 2006). By age 3, children also use racist language intentionally — and use it to create social hierarchies, evoke emotional reactions in people of color, and produce harmful results (Van Ausdale, 2001). By 6 years of age, children demonstrate a pro-white/anti-Black bias (Baron, 2006). Adolescents, when looking at Black people’s faces, show higher levels of activity in the area of the brain known for its fight-flight reactions (Telzer, 2013).

The text further emphasises: 'To counter racist socialization and racial bias, experts recommend acknowledging and naming race and racism with children as early and as often as possible. Children’s books are one of the most effective and practical tools for initiating these critical conversations, and can also be used to model what it means to resist and dismantle oppression'

The 31 children's books listed in the Official Journal Blog consist mostly of empowering Black figures in American history whose stories have been 'fictionalised' in picture books for children. Names include Malcolm X, Lena Horne, Arturo Schomburg, Viola Desmond and Florence Mills. The discrimination and segregation faced by Hispanic Americans are also thematised in a few of the listed books. This is an example of how we can start to empower our kids and try to seek out local examples to reinforce the message, while counteracting mainstream, harmful examples.

Empowerment does not only start with selecting appropriate material and ensuring that your child has a broad range of 'mirror' and 'window' books. It is also about discussing the books you may find unworthy, about daring to criticise a book with a child and saying what you would have liked to see happen, about saying how sick and tired you are of only blonde, blue-eyed protagonists and inviting your child to change the hair and skin colour in the 'sacred' text, it's about daring to change the pronouns in the stories you read and being astonished by the deep-rooted patriarchy and established gender roles....it's about opening your child's imagination to the reality of books - pictures and stories that someone made up...but these stories can be changed, adjusted and rewritten when it doesn't represent you!