Thinking in a kid's mind
 "I
like nonsense; it wakes up the brain cells." Theodor Seuss Geisel
One of the qualities that make fairytales and nursery rhymes so
resonant is the fact that we cannot get them out of our minds. Sometimes
this is because a story is particularly vivid or poignant, sometimes
because a rhyme, over its history, has become progressively better
crafted and thus easy to remember. We are especially sensitive to the
rhetoric of wordplay in our toddler years, and that is why we are full
of rhymes that seem to have no particular meaning except that we
memorized them at a time when our brains were literally hungry to
acquire language and rhythm.
Geisel's kids
"A person is a person, no matter how small," Theodor Geisel, a.k.a.
Dr. Seuss, would say. "Children want the same things we want; to laugh,
to be challenged,
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Theodor Geisel |
to be entertained and delighted." He published over 60
children's books, which were often characterized by imaginative
characters, rhyme, and frequent use of rhythmic meter. His most
celebrated books include the bestselling 'Green Eggs and Ham', 'The Cat
in the Hat', 'One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish', 'Horton Hears a
Who', and 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'. Numerous adaptations of his
work have been created, including eleven television specials, three
feature films, and a Broadway musical.
Brilliant, playful, and always respectful of children, Dr. Seuss
charmed his way into the consciousness of four generations of youngsters
and parents. In the process, he helped millions of kids learn to read.
Cartoons and articles
Dr. Seuss was born Theodor Geisel in Springfield, Massachusetts, on
March 2, 1904. Geisel used to supply cartoons and humorous articles to
leading US humor magazines. He was also a political cartoonist to
leading newspapers as well.
His first kid's book - 'The Cat in the Hat' became an instant
success. That was done to achieve a challenge, and that was of producing
a book with a limited number of words. Geisel managed to use only 250
words in the book, and therefore that was often used in schools to
overcome the issue of illiteracy.
And after all it was a very funny, educational and positive book.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 and three Academy Awards, Geisel
authored and illustrated 44 children's books. While Theodor Geisel died
on September 24, 1991, Dr. Seuss lives on, inspiring generations of
children of all ages to explore the joys of reading.
Cumaratunga Munidasa
Sinhala writers who dominated the Sri Lankan kids' literature canon
are rare, but the few who are involved is worth to mention. We can name
Cumaratunga Munidasa as the Sri Lankan Dr Seuss, by reviewing his works
for kids. My personal favorite of Cumaratunga is Hawage Waga or commonly
known as Ha Ha Hari Haawa (The Tale of the Cotton Tail). Cumaratunga's
erudite scholarship in Sinhalese, Pali and Sanskrit languages, and his
avidity in the wide reading in English provided him with linguistic
supremacy. Sybil Wettasinghe impresses her readership with stunning
illustrations and brilliant ability of storytelling.
Many children's literature critics point out that children are not
one group, but differ according to gender, ethnicity, religious
background, and so on. Feminist children's literature critics try to
work out how boys and girls read differently, for instance. Other
critics take this idea a step further and argue that children are often
'colonized' by adults, including children's literature critics, because
adults speak on behalf of children instead of letting children express
themselves.
Kids are the future of a nation. Therefore kids' literature holds an
equal position to mainstream literature of a country. The encouragement,
facilitation and identification of best practices towards it are in the
hands of state decision makers. |
