Wednesday, 13 November 2013

The Emperor’s New Clothes-Stephanie True Peters

Stephanie True Peters, The Emperor’s New Clothes, U.S.A. Stone Arch 2010, 40pp, ISBN 978-1-4342-1744-8

Age:6-10
Rating: 4.5/5
The Emperor's New Clothes

This graphic novel book is retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic tale about an emperor who loved clothes more than anything else, and spent his fortune and energy to purchase new clothes. One day while he traveled in the market, he met two weavers who promise to give him special clothes, clothes that can be seeing only by clever people. Those two weaves appear as big swindlers, are they will be able to cheat everyone?
The story is very close to the traditional telling of the classic with clear and bright illustrations, this book made from high-quality paper, and it makes the painted colours leap off the page. In the first page, the children will find the cast of characters, in the end of the story, they can find a brief glossary and a short biography of Andersen, about the retelling author and the illustrator. This graphic novel exposes the young readers to the unique genre, in a simple way with little text that not confuses the reader, it is also good for students who are not fun readers and never seem to finish a book on their own. This book will be enjoyed by both boys and girls. 
Although the story is short and amusing, he carries important moral for all, this is a good opportunity for parents and educators to create a discussion about the story, about the pressure of public and group on the individual's discretion. This story presents extreme situation where people prefer to be accepted, not to be - unique. People ignore what they see because they are afraid to be considering as fools. As society/ parents/ teachers, we need to create an atmosphere that encourages critical thinking and expressing an opinion even if it differs from the conventional and stand in opposition. In the last two pages of the book, there are discussion questions and writ prompts that can help to start the discussion

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