Children's books
Out of the mouths of babes
Mary Kenny
'It is fascinating to notice the difference between the books that children choose for themselves and the books that adults choose for children,' observed a serious-minded mother — one of those conscientious parents who take infinite pains with the child. We agreed that it was rather like the difference between the women that other women consider attractive, and the women that men consider attractive; women think of Ingrid Bergman; men think of Joan Collins. Children, alas, just like men, often seem to like the luridly obvious, the gaudy, the sentimental, the common, the dramatic and they want masses of unsubtle visual impact.
'I often think', continued the conscientious mother, 'that reviewers of children's books ought to let the children themselves choose.' So, for this selection, I directed my four-year-old to say which books he would choose himself. I was consequently astonished when the first book he picked out of the pack was one called Teach Your Baby Maths. by Dr Glenn Doman (Cape f3.50). It was, in fact, the accompanying kit — The Teach Your Baby Maths Kit (£4.95) — which really interested him. The kit is a sheaf of papers with dots on one side and corresponding numbers on the other (a large 12 on one side, 12 dots on the other). The side showing the number also shows some sums resulting in that number (2+2+4+4 on the sheet showing 12). It is, in a word, mathematics as a counting game, mathematics as fun, and while I would remain sceptical about the effectiveness of this principle of teaching, I must confess that my four-year-old and several of his friends responded very well to it. (I am merely sceptical of the principle because I do not think it has proved effective in the area of reading — Dr Doman has also produced a highly successful Teach Your Baby to Read. The idea that reading is fun bypasses a concept which seems to me essential: learning also involves work. But I am prepared to admit that there must be much more creative ways of teaching mathematics than the way in which many of us were taught, and Teach Your Baby Maths may well be one of them.) Anyway, it is a very good book for the three-to-six age group, although the author thinks that children can start absorbing information about maths and reading from two.
The next book the child selected was a new set of stories about Babar the elephant. Babar is much beloved by child ren, although I thought the first story I read about Babar was dreadfully sad and cruel. It was all about Babar's mother being shot by a great white hunter in Africa, and how Babar was obliged to make his own way in the world after that. The stories are French in origin, which explains their compelling mixture of fantasy and cruel realism. The new Babar is simply called Babar's Little Story Book by Jean de Brunhoff and Laurent de Brunhoff (Metheun £2.95). It is a series of stories — Babar the Gardener, Babar at the Seaside, Babar in the Snow. Whatever is the secret of communicating directly with a child's mind, the de Brunhoffs have it. At one point. Babar's children build a snowman, who is, of course, a snow-elephant. 'You see,' said the four-year-old, 'they build snowmen in the shape of elephants because they are elephants themselves.' Anthropomorphism glimpsed and understood in one simple allegory. Another remarkably successful writer and illustrator for children is Roger Hargreaves, who produces the Mr Merl series, published by Hodder and Stoughton. The Mr Mens are pretty agressively marketed, accompanied -by all sorts of artefacts like Mr Men plasticine, posters, and what have you. All the same, children like them. He has now produced a new series called the Timbuctoo series, consisting of funny animals called Bleat, Meow, Growl, Grizzle, Quack and Baa and so on (Hodders 40p each). Baa in particularly raised howls of laughter at a gathering of children, and I've been obliged to read it so often that I've resorted to hiding it. If you want to make a child laugh, buy Baa.
Other books chosen by the child were Rat Trickery, an attractively illustrated book about the travelling adventures of some rats by Walter Kreye with illustrations by Mette Newth (Dent £3.95) and a slightly babyish series about Mr and Mrs Slimtail, two cute little brown mice.
Mrs Slimtail Goes Shopping, Slimtails' Picnic, Slimtails' New House and Edwin's Adventures are written by Mary Chell, illustrated by Tamasin Cole (A. & C. Black £1.35 each).
But adults should choose some books for children, if only because it is good for them to be introduced to new ideas. I think Martin Is Our Friend by Eveline Hasler and Dorothea Desmarowitz (Methuen £2.95) is a very attractive book about a little boy who is handicapped. It is important for children to learn about human disadvantages and this seems to me to be a valuable way of teaching them. Sometimes they develop, then, a sense of sympathy for the underdog, Which considering the growing problem of bullying, may become a vital instinct. I also loved Errol Le Cain's illustrations for the new edition of The Snow Queen, Naomi Lewis's adaption of the Hans Christian Andersen story (Kestrel £3.25).
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