Vivlio-life: Presentation by Virginia Avgerinou
Our page hosts books belonging to Children's and youth literature. And we have mentioned again the fact that children's literature is quite a difficult genre of literature. The sensitive age of the readership they are aiming for requires not only special attention but also a special way of writing, a special handling of language and expression, inventive images that coexist with the text and a strong story that will "hold" on its pages and " teach" spontaneously to young and truly discerning readers. Because, as we have said before, books aimed at children should both entertain and include ideas and virtues that will create clear consciences and develop healthy personalities, without however being didactic but each teaching passing through the pages discreetly and seamlessly.
We will deal with this admittedly difficult type of literature today on the occasion of Sofianna Paidousi' s book with title "Ice Wonder", Penelope Lazari's illustration, published by Ocelotos Publications
And since our presentation is addressed to parents and teachers, adults who will choose the book for children, we will refer directly to the essential elements of the project.
Immediately, upon opening the book, the author's dedication to a child who was lost due to the bullying of his fellow students and who moved the entire country stands out, while, instead of a preface, two renowned scientists write excellently about bullying. Emmanuel Sfakianakis, Founder and President of the International Institute of Cyber Security, an expert in Electronic Crimes and founder of the Electronic Prosecution Department of the Hellenic Police and Kalliopi Ioannou, Clinical Criminologist and Director of the International Institute of Cyber Security.
And just before the story of the small and so sweet student of the first high school Ice Wonder begins, the Dalai Lama's quote:
"Don't let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace."
The play is about the story of little Ice Wonder who knows the first change in his life, going to a warm country. The second change is his school. His dad takes him on the first day. The teacher introduces him to his classmates, but his diversity is evident in the school community. And it becomes the reason for Ice Wonder to be approached by the clique of the bully and his group. Their mockery and intentions are obvious. Loneliness and isolation enter the life of the little hero. A single child, Tom, who has experienced something similar in the past and fought it by becoming better himself, approaches him. He is the only child who talks to him and who will become his friend. But everyday life at school becomes unbearable. The problem grows bigger as the child experiences it. Sadness settles in his soul and Ice Wonder will begin to reminisce about his past life, experiencing various emotions, among them anger, an anger that will soon erupt in his home.
The marginalization of the young student. The preparations for their 5-day excursion. The perpetrator and the victim. The original mockery became violence and which the mother herself accidentally experienced as a witness. The revelation of what happens every day and the consequence of school refusal torment Ice Wonder and the dynamic of his relationships with everyone.
Who is the school bully? Why is he behaving like this? Who is his own mother and how will she react to all this? And the school? What stance will he take? Especially the principal. Will Ice Wonder stay at school? What will happen with the excursion? Will he be accepted, will he hear an apology? Will there be regret?
A rich well-written and well-crafted text written by an author-educator. A complete work on its subject, through which all the negative emotions experienced by the victims of bullying are presented. Fear, anger, ridicule, sadness and loneliness. Anger and silence. Acceptance, diversity, regret, adoption, friendship are concepts that pass through the pages of the book.
Ms. Paidousi's writing, the plot and flow of the work, the entire fiction is worthy of attention. In many places, the adult reader will also stand, such as for example the excellent scene of the hospital and its imaginative description. But what is also worthy of attention is what this book includes as a whole, which seems to have been working on with a lot of attention and even more passion. Why, when Ice Wonder's story ends, there are pages of activities and discussions with specific goals, creative writing activities and theatrical improvisations, coloring pages, while at the end four psychologists, "separately and differently take a position in the story, with the perspective of the expert, sketching characters of their choice and deposit thoughts, concerns and feelings with scattered experiential references." The goal remains the awakening of empathy, the emotional education of children, the cultivation of their emotional maturity, the awareness of their uniqueness and the development of the culture of reaction to bullying inside and outside school.
The book deals with the emotional world of children who are bullied but does not simply state the problem. It aims to help children recognize and manage what they are feeling, but above all to understand that they should speak up whenever something similar happens in their own life or in the life of a peer.
Finally, it is worth mentioning the "gift" of the book. The recorded narration and the exclusive song, in QR code, for which a 7-member all-star team (musicians, educators, writers, actors & dramatists) took part and tells the story (at Studio Dare). The songwriter Michaela Kyrgiafinis gives us exclusively her musical "child", the musician, Vasso Michailidou, writes music with her accordion.
Source:Vivlio-life.gr, May 12, 2020