Potatoes for the prince??

The recent issue of "Parent Edge" has a feature dedicated to “Handling fussy eaters” and most hapless parents of fussy eaters know that a child is either born a “hearty” or a “picky” eater – and there’s not much you can do until they grow out of it! J If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you’d probably know that Abhay is legendarily fussy about food! I had even done a week-long special on books on picky eaters! I’m sorry I know …I am not helping myself by labeling my seven year old a “fussy” eater…he’ll only grow comfortable with that tag …and will probably get stuck with it his entire life!:-) To be fair, I must say that it gets better with age……I mean Abhay’s list of food declared unacceptable has drastically come down over the years. For instance, in fruits, mango and papaya have progressed from the “Hate it” list to the “Love it” list, while water-melon is still on the “Last choice’ list. Similarly, the mandatory soya milk has given way to once-in-a-while regular dairy milk or brinjal has definitely moved up the tolerance scale and drumstick is at least on “Will have if the last choice on the earth” list! But no matter what, there will always be some kind of food, be it vegetable or fruit….that’s not only an absolute ‘no-no’ but also on the “rather perish than eat it” list…..and for Abhay, that food is ……the ubiquitous aloo (potatoe)!!!! So you see….no parenting magazine can help me!!!

 

Though I know this book, like all my earlier books on picky eaters would be of no help when it comes to Abhay’s food fuss factor, I went about reading this one anyway. “The Princess and the Peas” by Caryl hart and Sarah Warburton, as the caption goes “funny tale for royally fussy eaters everywhere” is a fun spin off on the age old fairy tale narrated in hilarious rhyming verse. Lily Rose May is a prim and proper girl who is always at her best behavior except when she is offered peas, she throws a fit! So her father dashes off to the library to find a book (like me!) on the perfect peas recipe, but nothing can make her eat her peas. So the doctor is called on who believes she is afflicted with "Princessites", a condition that is supposed to have arisen out of the “Princess and the pea” story, with a ban issued on eating peas for all the princesses! As princess Lily-Rose May  sets off to enjoy her royal stay at a a palace which is obviously is a “No-pea-zone”,  she realizes that the peas are greener on the other side, as she’d much rather try to eat her father’s peas than try the cold cabbage stew that is offered day in and day out at the palace! So now Lily Rose May is an expert in peas and is seen eating her peas dipped with ketch-up, chocolate and cheese! So how about potatoes for our prince?? Hmm..........that will probably  only stew up a another blogpost!!!  :-)

A Twist in the Fairy Tale!

I have always had and made known my reservations about the relevance of certain fairy tales to the kids of today.  Fairy tale classics may have held the fascination of kids of the previous generations, but I am not sure if they still do hold the same charm with the current generation, given the wide ranging genre of children’s literature today. At the same time, I find that there is an increasing trend these days to turn around an age old fairy tale and adapt the same to suit contemporary beliefs and ideologies. While it still may revolve around the protagonist like Cinderalla or the Sleeping beauty…..your little one may be delighted to find that Cinderalla too has certain issues with “sharing” or “stage fright”….something that your little princess can relate much better to! So it may still be a princess story but not a damsel in distress waiting to rescued by a Prince Charming only to happily married soon after  …which now we (grown up princesses) know …..if only things were as simple as that…..isnt it??

 

Every once in while, you may come across a title that owes its basic idea to a fairy tale, but don’t be deceived …..it may just be unlike any fairy tale you’ve ever read. So when I found “Goldilocks and just one Bear” by Leigh Hodkinson, I had to pick it up. This book is like a sequel to the original fairy tale, and about the little bear (from Goldilocks and the three bears) who is now all-grown up and enters the concrete jungle (that resembles a big city downtown) and barges into “Snooty towers” as he is  quite lost in the big city. As he steps into the elevator the building, unknowingly the elevator takes him to the topmost floor and he enters a swanky roof-top apartment, away from the noise...and just like in the fairy tale finds the food, couch, and the bed meant  for the little member of the family just right and dozes off therein. Just then a family of father, mother and a little girl walk in to find everything messed up and a bear sleeping in the little one's bed. But it soon turns out that the mother person and the bear recognise each other as the former has had a similar experience in the bear's house as little Goldilocks! So the grown up Goldilocks offers the grown-up not-so-little bear a big bowl of porridge which is neither hot, nor cold but is just right. It made the grown-up-not-so-little bear almost forget about that once-upon-time when Goldilocks had behaved so badly in the bear household. Although the now- grown-up-not-so-little bear has a nice time with grown-up Goldilocks and her family, the bear decides to finally head home to the forest, after all it is his home sweet home!  

 

Another such book that turns around the “Sleeping beauty” into a charming tale of a poor prince is “Sleeping Nasty” by Tony Bradman and illustrated by Richard Watson that also doubles as an early chapter book by the White wolves series by A & C Black London.  Prince Oscar is a prince who wants to explore the world but is disappointed when asked to go looking for a rich princess to marry so that his royal family would be uplifted from state of royal penury. Though reluctant prince, a dutiful son that he is to his parents, Oscar sets off on a bride-finding adventure. Oscar searches everywhere but cannot find the right princess. Either they are married or didn’t want to talk to him. Then one sunny afternoon, he meets an old shepherd who tells him about the sleeping beauty, a princess who has been sleeping for over hundred years as a bad fairy had cast a spell on her that can only be broken by a prince’s kiss. Oscar thinks this to be an ideal proposition and heads off to find her. As he enters the castle, braving the hedge of thorns, he finds the castle spooky and dingy with a few people having fallen asleep in the middle of whatever they had been doing. At last he finds the princess who is snoring and even has a bit of dribble running from her mouth. As he kisses her, the princess opens her eyes, she yells "Who are you and what took you so long"? Oscar was hoping for meet a grateful princess, but instead finds her bad-tempered and mean.  As she heads out to meet her parents to tell them of the news, he finds that her parents too are snooty and bad tempered and didn't think too much of him. Just then a fairy appears who turns out to be the bad fairy who had cursed the princess earlier and consequently suffered ignominy and isolation amongst other fairy colleagues. So in an attempt at atonement, she decides to help people and not harm them and thus to help Oscar whom she sees as needing some desperate measures!  So Oscar wishes for the sleeping nasty to be put back to sleep till she is “a bit nicer” and wishes that his parents were to be rich once again so that he is free to do what he likes. So Oscar travelled the world and saw wonderful sights and met lots of interesting people, including a princess who was beautiful as well as sweet natured and they were married off in a week. This goes to show that things never turn out quite as you might think! A great message to start the new year with …don’t you think?:-)

 

 

 

 

Poetry for kids!

I had read in the recent issue of Books and more that children are natural with poetry and though they are exposed to catchy rhyming verses quite early in their childhood the form of nursery rhymes, the same trend does not continue as they grow up. Vaishali Shroff, the  writer laments that poetry seems to have gone out of the lives of children these days and emphasizes the importance of reading age appropriate poems to children. In introspection, I am not a great fan of poetry myself, partly because I am guilty of harboring the belief that that poems are profound and layered sometimes making the same a difficult read for us adults, let alone for the kids. I found myself able to relate much better to prose rather than the poetry prescribed for study at school or college.  Anyway, while it is true that the essence of a great poem lies in its underlying meaning, it is also true that all poems need not be deep and weighty, especially poems for the young. As mentioned, parents have been advised to read poems that children can easily relate to – poems which make them happy, make them laugh or cry, or poems that get them to think and reflect – in short poems that connect with them! As once they grow up with poetry, poetry grows on them too!:-)

Taking a cue from Vaishali Shroff, I looked up some works of poetry for the young, besides the recommendations featured in her article. I have delightful “Beastly tales from here and there” by Vikram Seth…which of course deserves another post altogether! Co-incidentally, last week was Roald Dahl’s birth anniversary and I happen to find at the British Library the hilarious “Revolting Rhymes” by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake. This book features six classic tales recited in verse with a unique twist in the end. I particularly liked “Cinderalla” and the “Goldilocks and the three bears” retold from the perspective of the bears and Abhay’s favorite was the “The three little pigs” that has even Red Riding Hood making a cameo appearance!  It’s not just the magic of words in verses but the unconventional yet realistic treatment of the story’s ending that makes it a “must-read” for your little one on her way  to  discovering Roald Dahl! Take for instance, when the fairy Godmother meets Cinderalla, “Cindy” sounds just like a kid of today’s generation – she wants it all!

“She beat her fist against the wall,

And Shouted “Get me to the ball!”!

There is a Disco at the palace

The rest have gone and I am jalous

I want a dress, I want a coach!

And earrings and a diamond brooch!

And silver slippers, two of those!

And lovely nylon panty-hose!

Done up like that I’ll guarantee

The handsome prince will fall for me!

The fairy said “Hang on a tick!

She gave her wand a mighty flick”

With each line better than the previous one,  you know it’s nothing but the master story-teller’s sheer brilliance that translates into a whole lot of “LOL” and “ROFL” moments for you as  and your little one!  Roald Dahl’s poetic rendition of age old fairy tales has not only the kids but the parents enthralled….especially after a revolting day like I had today!J

Fairy Tales retold!

In the recent issue of “Books and more”, the young readers’ section carried a feature on children’s non-fiction and noted how all kids do not necessarily connect with fairy tales. Well, I must confess that I was never into fairy tales while I was little and thus never really fond of reading the same to my little one.  I concede that fairy tales are moral based stories, but in an attempt to drive home the point, the children are sometimes exposed to needless brutality or led into believing in outdated stereotypes. I had read some time ago that the US Supreme Court, while deciding on the constitutionality of a California legislation that intended to ban the sale of certain violent video games to children without parental supervision, had questioned as to whether violent video games are any different from other forms of media with similar violence exposed to children, such as fairy tales of "Hansel and Gretel" or Grim's fairy tales. Given the wide range of children's literature we have, the stories of  “Pinocchio” and “Rapunzel” seem hackneyed when juxtaposed with picture books like “The Gruffalo” or “Knuffle Bunny”. I’m not sure how we were as kids, but today’s children seem a lot more discerning than to simply blindly believe in fairies and witchcraft! How long can your little one believe that lying can cause his nose to grow like Pinocchio’s or that the ultimate purpose of Snow White is to meet her prince?:-) 

Speaking of fairy tales, I recently found two books by Anthony Browne that beautifully adapts the vintage tales into something much more interesting. “Me and You” by Children's Laureate Anthony Browne is as described  “an enchanting new take on the Goldilocks story”.  “Ella” by Alex T Smith, touted as “A Cinderella story with a difference” breaks the usual mould of “waiting for the prince” of the Cinderella story and ideal for young girls. Abhay’s favorite though is “Into the Forest”, that seems like dream sequence inspired by the story of Red Riding Hood story. Narrated in first person, a young boy is woken up by a terrible sound to find his father missing with his mother having no idea of his return and is then asked to take a food basket to his sick grandma who lives on the other side of the forest. In a classic Red-Riding Hood style, the boy decides to cut across the forest where he meet familiar fairy tale characters on the way, including, a boy with a cow  who tries to lure him into exchanging his cake for a cow (who I presumed was the Gingerbread boy), or a girl with golden hair, (who I thought to be Goldilocks without the locks) or two abandoned children (who were most definitely Hansel and Gretel), each of whom appears at every turn or corner of the strange forest with ghostly trees. As he proceeds, it begins to get very cold making him wish he’d bought a coat when he spots a red coat hanging from tree. He puts on the coat but instantly gets an eerie feeling that he is being followed reminding him of his grandma’s story about a bad wolf. After braving the snow and nearly getting lost, he finally reaches grandma’s. But as the boy calls out for his grandma pushing the door open, he finds a surprise waiting for him! Read on as your little one discovers the real magic behind this age old fairy tale – the magic of a young mind’s imagination!

A hat-trick of plays!

We have always enjoyed watching live theatre or a play but were either too lazy to drive all the way to Chowdaiah Memorial Hall or Alliance Francaise ( where most plays in English are staged) or felt daunted by how much the tickets cost both of which discouraged us from turning into “theatre-buffs” as we would’ve very much liked! But ever since Rangashankara sprung up literally at a stone’s throw off from our house and  began to stage a wide range of plays both in English and regional languages on a regular basis, with cost of tickets easy on the pocket too, what else could we ask for! In fact, there have been times (before Abhay was born of course!), when I had nothing to do on a weekday evening as my husband was stuck in conference calls, I’d walk up to Rangashankara and watch the play of the day and return home just before dinner! Anyway, parenthood changes a lot of things and so did our penchant for plays as most shows at Rangashankara place a strict age limit of 8 and above. Though we do manage to catch a show or two leaving Abhay with my in-laws or with my parents, these are nothing compared to the hey-days of pre-parenthood freedom! :-) But whenever there is a play meant for children, I make it a point to take Abhay as I was once told by Arundhati Rao herself  that getting your kids to watch plays will only ignite their imagination further!

 

So this weekend saw a hat trick of children’s plays for Abhay, with two of them in Kannada staged by the Sanchari theatre group at Rangashankara and one in English put up by Rafiki  at Gambola children’s centre. The English play is titled “Fabulous Adventures of Aditi and her friends” which is a confluence of the first five books in the Aditi and her friends series by Suniti Namjoshi, was performed in a unique non linear format and the narrative unfolding with the aid of shadow puppets and live singing by the actors. We heard that there is another show playing at Jagriti two weeks later. Anyway, Abhay quite enjoyed all of them and liked the performance of “Narigaligeke Kodilla” (Why don’t foxes have horns?) the best! This is a play written by the most celebrated Kannada writer and poet “Kuvempu” and directed by Mangala.N and beautifully complemented by some foot-tapping live music along with fantastic performances by the cast of the Sanchari theater troupe. The same group put up a performance of the fairy tale of “Pinocchio”, translated and adapted to appeal to today’s children. So I read the tale of “Pinnochio” brought out by Omkidz publications. We all know the story of a talking wooden doll whose falls prey to temptation and cuts school to watch a puppet show only to have him land in trouble and later saved by a fairy.  But when you watch the characters come alive on stage with the aid of creative and colourful props and peppy music and not to mention Pinocchio’s expressions mirroring your little one’s when he makes those false promises in exchange for something he badly wants or fusses over bitter medicine or plays truant with school or lies to save his skin, believe me, this is a play not just for the little ones! :-)