Wednesday, January 26, 2011

The Importance of Reading in School : Judith Kerr, books & resources







Judith Kerr
credits: Tolga Akmen/AFP
Andrew Crowley
via The Telegraph

Writer and illustrator of the much-loved English children's picture books The Tiger Who Came to Tea  Judith Kerr discusses her drawing life, the genesis of The Tiger Who Came to Tea and the Mog stories, the anniversary of her childhood memoir, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit - and her new book, a "jolly" take on widowhood.






The Tiger Who Came to Tea 
Judith Kerr (writer & illustrator)






Mog the Forgetful Cat
Judith Kerr (writer & illustrator)
https://www.amazon.com/

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, Judith will be appearing for an interview at The New End Theatre in Hampstead, on 26 January 2011. The interview will begin at 6.00pm and will be followed by a book signing at 7:00pm. 






When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit
Judith Kerr, author & illustrator

Synopsis:

Anna is not sure who Hitler is, but she sees his face on posters all over Berlin. Then one morning, Anna and her brother awake to find her father gone! Her mother explains that their father has had to leave and soon they will secretly join him. Anna just doesn't understand. Why do their parents keep insisting that Germany is no longer safe for Jews like them? Because of Hitler, Anna must leave everything behind. 

All profits from tickets sales will go to the Holocaust Educational Trust to help mark Holocaust Memorial Day on 27th January.







The Tiger Who Came to Tea
 Judith Kerr 
credits: Kerr-Kneale Productions


Education:

If you teach near Hampstead, don't miss the opportunity to go there with your students. Let the students talk with the writer who they certainly know well from her books they are reading at school.


Students are very curious about autobiographical books and they love to hear from the writers themselves the true story of their life and books.








To motivate your students, display the video with Judith Kerr reading some pages of When Hitler stole the Pink Rabbitt based on her childhood, and the favorite toy she left in Germany. Why not to talk about her work as author and illustrator.





Judith Kerr [1923-2019]
credits: © AFP/File | Tolga Akmen

Note: The beloved children's books author, Judith Kerr passed away on the 23 May 2019, aged 95.

"Over a 50-year career she published more than 30 further books, immortalizing a succession of family cats through the naughty but lovable Mog, and bringing to life her family’s flight across Europe as the Nazis came to power in the novel When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit."

So, inform your new students and let them to express about the author, her books and life.





Ilse Losa [1903-2006]
Portuguese/German author

  • Go further: 
If you want to go further with your students, after the talk live with Judith Kerr, or the preview of the video, (if you don't teach near Hampstead), ask your students, after watching the video in the classroom, to compare Judith Kerr to the Portuguese children's book novelist Ilse Losa, an interesting German-Portuguese writer who has written a book about her personal life as a refugee of the Holocaust.




Ilse Losa and books


Ilse Losa : some biographical notes:

Ilse Lieblich Losa was born in Bauer, near Hanover, Germany March 20th 1913. She left her country with her parents in 1934. They were refugees and they came to Portugal. Later, she became a Portuguese citizen.





O Mundo em que Vivi
Ilse Losa
Editors: Afrontamento
https://www.amazon.com/

Ilse Losa is well known by Portuguese students from her children's books. She died in 2006 in Portugal.

Losa wrote O Mundo em que Vivi, an autobiographical book similar to Judith Kerr's book When Hitler stole Pink Rabitt

You can access here to some excerpts from her book (Portuguese language).





Holocaust's children
credits: UNESCO


My thoughts: 

Two books based on the gripping real-life stories of two writers, those poignant back lists staple gets a brand new look for a new generation of readers just in time to Holocaust Remembrance Month.

  • Reading Level:  students aged 9-15 
  • Elementary education:

Younger students (Elementary school) can watch the video below, telling the story The Tiger who came to tea, and teachers will introduce in a sensitive way Judith Kerr's life and her books remembering the International Holocaust Rembrance Day on 27th January.

The beloved children's book writer and illustrator Judith Kerr has died aged 95. In July last year she talked about five-decade career, in which she always worked in the same room, producing all her books from the same table.

But let them watch the video below:







Some useful links: Teachers

The students with teacher's help can learn History of Europe during World War 2 on the website of The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

There are important resources for teachers as well, to include into school curriculum. Teachers must organize a previously guide to visit the website.

Teachers can propose older students to complete their research, visiting the Rembrance and Beyond United Nations website.

"Denying historical facts, especially on such an important subject as the Holocaust, is just not acceptable."

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Press Conference SG/2120, 14 December 2006

 
 G-Souto
26.01.2011
Copyright © 2011G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

Licença Creative Commons
The importance of reading in school : Judith Kerr, books & resources bby GinaSouto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.



References:

Pauli, Michelle; Fernando, Shehani, Judith Kerr 'I was enchanted by the strangeness of cats', The Guardian, 20 January 2011
http://www.guardian.co.uk

Holocaust Remembrance Day UN


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