Without ever going anywhere near anything more ‘educational’ than picture books about shy dinosaurs, grumpy elephants and bullying bunnies, our children start to build their own sense of right and wrong.
Smart, then, that UNESCO’s new programme for the education of children in need is called My Life Is A Story. In a few spoken or written words, in a handful of drawings, any child can make a link with another young person’s experience. Instead of raising a campaign of heart-rending photographs and keeping the ‘problem’ at arm’s length, the plight of children in greater need is brought right into our child’s own storytime.
At the start of this process children living in countries from China to South America talk about their lives and hopes via a dedicated website and through a special edition of Lauren Child’s award-winning picture book, That Pesky Rat.
Originally published in 2002, That Pesky Rat was one of Lauren Child’s first major successes. She has since become one of the most bankable talents in her field, notably for creations such as Clarice Bean, and the Charlie And Lola stories.
That Pesky Rat echoes the theme of the campaign perfectly. While friends Pierre the chinchilla and Oscar the cat enjoy the life of pampered pets, our brown hero is simply known as ‘that pesky rat’. And, while he would hate to take a bath, perform tricks or be dressed up like a cutesy Scottie dog, he’d do anything to belong to somebody. He makes a case for himself in the window of the pet shop and, happily, old Mr Fortesque, whose eyesight is terribly bad, claims him. ‘I’ve been looking for ages for a brown cat,’ he says, misreading the sign. OK, so the rodent has to wear a jumper and answer to ‘Tiddles’, but at last there is someone to come home to.
‘I definitely believe that books shouldn’t make people feel like they’re being told off!’ says Child. ‘This version of the book is about raising money, but also it’s getting children to think. The rat is such a good character to address this issue. We can see why the rat is left out, but also why he would want those things we take for granted.’
The UNESCO edition of the book comes with notes on the campaign, and the life stories of four children (from Russia, Mexico, Afghanistan and India) whose desires are very simple: time to play football, someone to collect them from school, somewhere quiet to play. Child visited UNESCO projects in Mexico. ‘What surprised me,’ she says, ‘was how they were happy to talk to me and they understood the value of making this link.’
Child hopes that My Life Is A Story will have its own evolving plotline. ‘I think many authors are influenced by their own childhood experience of reading or writing in order to escape difficult realities. Later on, I’d like this project not just to deal with telling real stories, but work with children’s imaginations, to see where that goes next.’
The UNESCO edition of That Pesky Rat is out now, priced Dhs45 from Magrudy’s. www.mylifeisastory.org.
