Dear Rewriters,
here we are with a new book to offer you dedicated to girls and boys of different ages. He, today’s book, is titled Holly and it is an illustrated book by Matthew Cordell published by Clichy with the translation by Maria Pia Secciani.
Holly it is a book that very recently won the Italian Andersen prize for best book for 3/6 year olds but which can find its life and permanence of reading even beyond this age range. In fact, given that all books do not have aage but they can be encountered by male and female readers at different moments in their lives of readings, Holly In my opinion, it is a book that also lends itself very well to reading in primary schools because it presents a particularly long text, for an illustrated book, which holds up well to reading aloud but which can also be very satisfying in independent manual reading. as you learn to master the decoding of written text.
Holly the squirrel who
he is afraid of everything
Holly he is a squirrel who is afraid of everything and even more, one day his mother sends him to bring a hot soup to his sick grandmother… does it remind you of anything?
Holly he would very willingly choose to take the road that DOES NOT pass through the woods and yet he has no choice, he has to cross the Butcher’s Broom wood holding the acorn with the soup inside nice and firm between his paws.
Along the way he will come across one danger (or apparent danger) after another, the forest, as we know, is full of dangers and Holly not only will he have to come out unscathed but he will have to do it without spilling even a drop of soup.
What makes Holly such a successful narrative is that the explicit reference to the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood and everything that it carries with it in the collective imagination corresponds to a series of misunderstandings. Holly he is afraid of things that turn out not to be scary at all, terrible and unknown verses that reveal friendly animals that instead of hindering the protagonist’s journey will make him easier by also making him experience various unexpected adventures (undesired but all in all positive).
The reference to the comedy of errors
Perhaps more than the classic fairy tale Holly it really refers to the comedy of errors until the last meeting which constitutes a plot twist very, very well done (which he will never reveal to you!) which will surprise readers and make them laugh out loud.
One misunderstanding after another, who knows what will remain Holly of this fortunate series of events.
The book ends in a circular way: Holly he returns home, takes off his red cape, just in time for his mother to ask him for help in bringing a medicinal soup to Aunt Acero.
Is there a moral in Holly?
Frankly, I don’t know and I would like to say that I don’t even care. Luckily Cordell is a great author and leaves that we are the ones who interpret and imagine and deduce from history what we think it says. My favorite reading of a book is always the one given by boys and girls, the one that starts from the literal meaning to lead them to deduce, infer and then, perhaps, verbalize to tell something that, starting from the story, tells us something about him, or her.
Who knows what kind of chatter he will be able to stir up HollyI would try it with the boys and girls at home and in class, what do you think?
Happy reading and… watch out for appearances and unfulfilled expectations!
