Tag: children

School Considers Removing 200 ‘Sexist’ Books From Library

Purging libraries of books considered harmful to children isn’t anything new. It can be for violent content, sexual themes or even due to being written by a controversial author. One group in Barcelona is considering purging books for another big reason: sexism.

The Guardian reported that the Associació Espai i Lleure has reviewed close to 600 books in The Taber School in Barcelona as part of their Library and Gender project, which aims to highlight the hidden sexist content found in most children’s books.

The group found that around 200 of the books at the school’s library contained hidden sexist themes. As a result, the books is considering removing from the library. Some of the removed books include Little Red Riding Hood and Sleeping Beauty.

The group said that the purpose of this review was not to target specific books, but to address the larger issue of sexism in children’s books. There have been studies conducted about gender bias in children’s books, in which males are more likely to be the protagonist of a children’s story and get more speaking roles than female characters. Espai i Lleure hopes to shine a light on the casual sexism in certain stories in order for children to learn these earlier in life in order to counter sexism when they are older.

You can read for about the group’s efforts here.

Do you agree with what Espai i Lleure is doing?

 

 

Featured Image Via Pacific Standard

Lego’s Newest Toy ‘Once-Upon-a-Brick’ Looks Magical

Fairy tales, pop-up books, and legos. These three staples of childhood come together in Lego’s newest toy “Once Upon A Brick”.

 

Related image

You can close the toy like it’s a book. Good for carrying it around on any family adventures. | Image via The Lego Store

 

The 859-piece set lets kids build scenes from two classic tales: Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk. Five mini-figure characters are included in the set, including Little Red Riding Hood, Grandmother, the Wolf, the Giant, and Jack.

 

LEGO

Image via The Lego Store.

 

This perfectly combines story time with the creative challenge that Lego toys bring.

Earlier this month Lego announced the release of “Once Upon A Brick” on Twitter.

 

 

Although the promotion is similar to Samsung’s $2000 Galaxy Fold phone, thankfully the price is much more reasonable at 79.95 Euro, roughly 90 US dollars.

 

It may be a little too early to start Holiday shopping, but this looks like a pretty darn good gift!

 

 

Featured Image via Stuck In Plastic.

Larson and his handmade creation

11-Year-Old Influencer Lands Crocheting Book Deal

Anybody here know how to crochet? Crocheting is the art of tying yarn and wool together with a crochet hook in order to create blankets, hats, and other fun products. An 11-year-old boy named Jonah Larson has gone viral for his crocheting skills… and his leap into the spotlight has now landed him a book deal. 

 

Image result for jonah larson crochet

Image Via Forbes

 

Independent publisher KWiL announced in a press release that they will be publishing Jonah’s autobiography, entitled Hello, Crochet Friends! Making Art, Being Mindful, Giving Back: Do What Makes You Happy. The book features a series of photographs detailing Larson’s crocheting skills along with his life story from his early education to his present day success.

Larson was adopted from Ethiopia by the Larson family; after moving to Wisconsin with his family, he began crocheting at age five. His creations garnered the attention of several media outlets. After reporting on his creations, his Instagram and Youtube following grew exponentially… let’s clarify: that’s 123,000 Instagram followers. Look at this picture, and you’ll understand why.

 

 

Larson’s book is the first in a planned series of photographed autobiographies. You can preorder the book on Amazon now before its release on July 23rd.

 

 

Featured Image Via Shoppe Black

Image via The New York Times

‘Where the Wild Things Are’ Author Maurice Sendak Lives on with New Children’s Book

Whether he was bringing us along through the jungle with Max and the monsters in Where the Wild Things Are or swimming through giant vats of batter and milk in In the Night Kitchen, beloved children’s author Maurice Sendak always managed to capture the attention and minds of children through his captivating literature and illustrations. During his time on this Earth, he created numerous works for children’s literature.  Though Sendak has passed on, he is lives on with his newly published book entitled Presto & Zesto in Limboland.

 

 

Via Harper Collins

Image via HarperCollins

 

 

Longtime friends, Arthur Yorinks and Maurice Sendak collaborated to create a book from old drawings by Sendak, based on Czech nonsense rhymes which he was commissioned to do in 1990 for a performance of Leos Janacek’s Rikalda, a musical based on Czech nursery rhymes. The book, completed before his death, focuses on the story of two friends in search of a wedding present and cake. The book takes on the two author’s nicknames for one another, Presto and Zesto, the two characters are thrown into a world of complete fantasy. The two witness a sugar beet wedding, meet goats, befriend fire-loving monsters and bagpipes. Arthur Yorinks hopes that the book will showcase how “Friendship makes the oddities of life bearable, and sometimes fun.”

 

 

Via Publisher's Weekly

Image via Publisher’s Weekly

 

 

Featured Image Via The New York Times

Wilbur the Pig Crying

5 Books From My Childhood That Still Make Me Cry

When I remember my mother reading these stories to me or paging through them under the covers in the dark with my tiny reading light, it brings a tear to my eye. Okay, maybe several tears. Alright, alright, maybe I completely break down from the overwhelming nostalgia. We should all take a look back at the five books that stole our hearts as kids.

 

1. Corduroy by Don Freeman
 

 

Children Books

Image Via Amazon

 

 

The story of a teddy bear named Corduroy who lives in a department store and is missing a button. The missing button stops the bear from being sold, so he goes on a quest to find it. He never does find that button, which I find to be so incredibly depressing. It’s a void which he was never able to fill. Fortunately for the bear, the kind girl from earlier in the story uses all of her piggy bank savings to buy the bear and sews in one of her own buttons, leading to the happy ending.

 

 
 
 
2. Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel
 
 
 
Children Books

Image Via Amazon

 
Our two amphibian friends in these stories share such a powerful friendship that it’s hard to conceive of them apart. Their adventures were always exploring the value of comradery in the face of things like loneliness, insecurity, and existential dread… all packaged in the pages of a children’s book.

 

 
 
 
3. The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
 
 
 
Children Books

Image Via Amazon

 

 

By the same author as Goodnight Moon, this one features a rabbit who imagines himself being much more than just a rabbit until he comes to the realization that he has to stay with his mother and that he will always remain her child. A testament to a child’s imagination and the call to adventure.

 

 

 
4. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams and William Nicholson
 
 

 

Children Books

 Image Via Amazon

 

Another leporine tale. This one is even worse than the Runaway one because it’s about a cute little stuffed rabbit that so desperately wants to become real before almost being burned to ash when the little boy who owns him falls sick and needs to have all his things disinfected. Naturally, a magic fairy comes to save the day and turns the rabbit into a real one.

 

 

 

5. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
 
 

 

Children Books

 Image Via Amazon

 

This one is a classic, and the illustrations are absolutely beautiful. Perhaps you saw the very strange film adaptation, but regardless, it’s a tearjerker of epic proportions. A lesson that even when you are surrounded by people, or in this case monsters, it’s still possible to feel incredibly lonely. And that’s okay.

 

 

Okay, it’s over. I’m sorry for the waterworks. Here’s a tissue.

 

 

Featured Image Via SuperKent’s 9 Deuce Blog