B is for Bomb

In India some children are learning the alphabet from a book in which "B is for Bomb" according to an article in the Guardian.

So could we be looking at: A is for Anthrax, B is for Bomb, C is for Carjacking, D is for Doom... No. It'll never catch on. They don't all make for good pictures.

I think I prefer B is for Butterfly. What do you think?

Something wrong here?

Children in the UK are to be tested on their reading abilities by reading nonsense words. It's already happening; I've overheard the tests going on in school.

Meanwhile, in other news, baboons can be taught to distinguish real words from nonsense words, despite not understanding the meaning of the real words.

Am I the only one seeing something wrong in this?

How to be more creative

Photo by epSos.de

Do you want to be more creative? Then pretend to be a child. In a recent study it was found that

Individuals imagining themselves as children subsequently produced more original responses

So, there you have it. Out with the finger paints and away you go!

As An Alligator

I saw As An Alligator online some time ago and now the author has made it possible to order direct for delivery to the UK. My copy came today and it is even more delightful in real life than it is online. Deanna Molinor kindly agreed to sign it to my sister and has included an alligator in the signature. Her whole site is worth a look and I was very taken with another book of hers: That Story About the Rabbit, which is definitely not a children's story.