Little Voices, Big Ideas: The Giving Tree

Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s book, Where the Wild Things Are,takes readers on an extraordinary journey into the imagination of the wildest thing of all--the young and precocious Max. Banished to his bedroom for bad behavior, Max sails across weeks and over a year to the land of the wild things, a bunch of misbehaving creatures who want nothing more than to rumpus till they can rumps no more. But when the bandying about is over, Max discovers he misses his home, and the very person who banished him in the first place: his mother. In this episode, we explore what makes this tale so endearing--and enduring--and why Where the Wild Things Are presents parents and children to have tame talks about the pain of punishment, and the healing power of the imagination.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s plenty of attention given to the pursuit of “happily ever after” in stories of all sorts. But how should we go about acquiring happiness? Is there a right or wrong way to do it? Anansi the spider, the thieving trickster at the heart of Eric Kimmel’s Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock, offers up an opportunity for pushing past mere moralizing toward more nuanced conversations about when tricks cross over into deception territory--and even when a seemingly harmless little lie may not be seen as such by others. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Of all the difficult subjects deserving of discussion with children, race and racism are perhaps the most required, and least easy to address. In fact, most parents believe the subject should be outright avoided until children are at least of elementary school age. But babies notice differences like skin color. And by the time they’re three, children express racial biases. How can parents do better? In this episode, we discuss Jacqueline Woodson’s The Other Side, a beautifully illustrated picture book set during the segregation era--and how to use it to invite safe, non-didactic conversations about how our racial differences have divided us, and how we could all do better.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The big bad wolf shows up in many forms in children’s stories - even disguised as grandma - with the intention of teaching children to be wary of the bad guys out there. But is the big bad wolf really all that big and bad, or has he just been given a bad rap? And when we paint the bad guy with so broad a stroke, might we fostering binary thinking?  In Episode 3 of “Little Voices, Big Ideas,” we hear from the big bad wolf, himself, in John Scieszka’s The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, and offer strategies for encouraging kids to think critically before jumping to conclusions.   Abram and Simone Himelstein join the podcast to share their insights into this traditional character and untraditional story.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 2 of “Little Voices, Big Ideas,” makes the case for discussing the big ideas found in the book that everyone loves to love--or loves to hate--Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree. Criticized for its seeming endorsement of feminine/maternal stereotypes, the book, argues our panel, nonetheless presents parents and children with a unique opportunity to hone critical thinking skills, and to discuss sustainability. Mother and daughter Beth Rosch and Celeste Lavender again join the podcast to illustrate the big ideas that can emerge through discussing “little” books.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode 1 of “Little Voices, Big Ideas,” we take on the Cinderella myth through Fanny’s Dream a retelling of that tale by Caralyn Buehner. Mother and daughter Beth Rosch and Celeste Lavender join our hosts to illustrate the big ideas that emerge when we talk about the humanities themes found in children’s books.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.