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Children's Story Sharing
Resources from Podcasts
(for parents, teachers, and their kids)
Below are links to resources for parents and teachers
to supplement the materials covered in the playful
My Baby Monsters Children's Story Sharing PODCAST.
Season 2: making a children's book
It's episode/page 7 of our new, fun children's book,
Wild Animal Stories (fun tails for kids and other wild animals).
Storytelling Game: comparing the Real World to an Imaginary One
African Giraffes verses the classic children's book, Gulliver's Travels.
- Who's the real giant? Gulliver or Giraffes?
It all depends on which world you live in.
- In our world, not-storybook-land, Giraffes are about 18 feet tall, or three times the size of a human adult (I'm 6 feet), so in the Real World, Giraffes are bigger.
- However in Lilliput, the first land Gulliver was shipwrecked on in the story, Gulliver's Travels, the story changes. Here, the people were "not six inches high." So if Lilliputian Giraffes as still 3 times the size of Lilliputian adults, they would now be 18 inches, or a foot and a half (apx. 45 cm). Since Gulliver's size has not changed, he is now a giant and 4 times the size of these literary giraffes (12 times the size of Lilliputians).
- But in Brobdingnag, the second land Gulliver was shipwrecked on in the story, Gulliver's Travels, the story changes once again. Here, the Brobdingnagians (compared to Gulliver) are giants as tall as a Real World churches, and all of the other animals and plants are super-sized in proportion. So Brobdingnag rats are the size of large Real World dogs and Brobdingnag flies are the size of Real World birds. So while Brobdingnag people are 60 feet (18 meters) and Giraffes are 180 feet (55 meters), Gulliver is still the same (but now small) 6 feet.
- Who's older and where are they from?
No real comparison.
- Gulliver was written by Jonathan Swift in 1726... about 280 years ago... or 90 before Mary Shelly Wrote Frankenstein and his book has been enjoyed by children and adults since then.
- While that may seem like a long time ago, the prehistoric Giraffe, pre-dates people. Around 30-50 million years ago, Giraffes evolved from a 10-foot-tall deer that wandered around Europe and Asia. Modern Giraffes are much younger, as they only first appeared on the African savanna around 1 million years ago. And today's Giraffes are younger still... they live to be 25 years old and were made by their mommy's and daddy's.
- Who faces the biggest Threat?
Once again, no real comparison.
- Giraffes are hunted for their meat, coat, and tails. Unlucky for the giraffe, their tails are perceived by some to be good luck bracelets, fly whisks, and string for sewing beads. Their coat is also used for shield coverings. In addition to these problems, habitat destruction also threatens giraffes' populations.
- As for Gulliver's problems, it all depends on which of the four islands he is currently on... but I don't want to spoil the book.
Learn more about GIRAFFES:
Learn more about GULLIVER'S TRAVELS and Jonathan Swift:
Guest Artists and Songs in this Episode:
- Am I Awake? is a great song by the incredible They Might Be Giants... a band that just oozes creativity and fun [enjoy They Might Be Giants now]
- G is for Giraffes: Wild Alphabet Story, "Good Morning giraffe, you're grande latte tall. You drink there above us, we drink up below. Good Morning giraffe, your neck is so long. So it takes you extra time to wake and sing your early morning drinking song." This fun story is a coffee parody of the song, Good Morning Starshine, from the 1960s musical and movie Hair.
LISTEN NOW to season 2, episode G (and read it's children's stories).
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