Link Ed In by Steve Way

 The great language teacher Michel Thomas often said that you learn a lot more about your own language when learning another. Although only semi-fluent in French, I am able to teach beginners (as my dad used to say, ‘In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king’) and often tell them that ‘most posh English comes from French’. Despite that I still feel uncomfortable saying ‘Je demande’ even though in French that merely means ‘I ask’ rather than that I’m being argumentative!

As an adjunct to Michel’s statement you could perhaps add learning more about your own language when you teach it. In my case, teaching mainly Spanish speakers, it’s made me more acutely aware of how unintuitive the pronunciation of English words is. Previously, though the habit of familiarity, it had never occurred to me that the pronunciation of the mass of words ending in -ed are never in fact pronounced as ‘Ed’, as in the abbreviation of Edward. Understandably, until I make my best effort to explain, my students ask-Ed or answer-Ed (also sounding the w) etc. Given that my teaching colleagues and I are only explaining this to a fraction of Spanish speakers, adopted English words ending in -ed also end up dedicated to Ed. Our most frequent discussions revolve around the professionals’ social media platform ‘LinkedIn’. Spanish speakers refer to it as ‘Link Ed In’.* One of my students responded to my explanation of this error by saying, “Ok Steve, I get it. It should be pronounced ‘Link-t In’ but I’ll have to carry on calling it ‘Link Ed In’ with my friends, otherwise they won’t know what I’m talking about!”

A different English term that has been changed in pronunciation by Spanish speakers is ‘WiFi’. They pronounce it as ‘wiffy’. I first discovered this from a student who was excited about going to a conference in London. “I’ll have to do some work while I’m in England,” he told me. “So when I get to the hotel, I’ll have to ask them if they’ve got a really strong wiffy!” In order to maintain cordial diplomatic relations between our two countries, I gently suggested that he didn’t do that.

Even though we state some acronyms as though they are words, such as ‘NASA’, Spanish speakers do so far more frequently. When I asked one student where he had been on holiday, he seemed to say that he had been to ‘Ossa’. Being desperately ignorant when it comes to geography, I wondered if he was referring to an eastern European city. Fortunately all became clear as he continued speaking, “Yes, we visited New York and then we went to Boston…” “Ah!” I declared. “You mean the U.S.A.” emphasising each letter. On other occasions some students talk about an important executive at the company by referring to them as the ‘See-oh’. You’ve probably deduced they were speaking about their C.E.O.

Something else interesting I’ve seen from teaching English is that it seems that the various schemes and courses used for teaching the language have certain idiosyncratic commonalities. It seems that all of them suggest that we all use one particular phrase, more or less in unison, when it begins raining. On the – increasingly rare – occasions when it’s raining on the plain or elsewhere in Spain, every student announces that, “it’s raining cats and dogs,” in the proud manner of a toddler exclaiming, “look, no stabilisers!” Now I know the phrase exists… but when did you last hear anyone using it? Also – astonishingly – the word ‘astonish’ is normally unknown to my students until I introduce them to it, which seems to indicate that for some reason this word has been excluded from all the standard courses. (I do tend to go off piste with my teaching, which is why I’ve discovered this.)

*Could that be misconstrued as ‘Link Ed in to a WhatsApp group?’ or does that could as splitting your social media sites rather than infinitives?

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Recently published

 

The original idea behind Reluctant Writers Resource was to provide an 'idea-a-week' to support creative writing lessons during the 38 weeks of the school year. However the concept mushroomed and the resource now provides considerably more than 38 weeks worth of ideas. The resource is divided into four sections. The 'Get the Pen Moving' section provides short, snappy ideas to help stir up the creative juices and support writers by getting words on the page, ideas include 'Nutty New Year Resolutions' and 'Silly Rules' (including those for teachers, which children seem to love writing!) The 'Standard ideas' section provides accessible, punchy ideas like 'Crazy Superheroes (and a few villains)' and 'Very Short Stories' and is followed by the 'Advanced ideas' section, providing more extended and sophisticated pieces as writers gain more confidence, including 'Letters to Aunt Agatha' (an agony aunt who receives bizarre letters from her readers) and 'Fairy-sized Fairy Tales', comically foreshortened versions of popular tales. The final section contains examples of 'Structured Stories' ranging from a series of short stories following a very distinct format to a piece (Hank Bullman rides into Certain City) clearly requiring a sequel. (What happens when he rides into Uncertain City?) Writers are encouraged to become co-authors of the structured stories and authors of increasing confidence to compose the Hank Bullman sequel.

Hardback ISBN: 979-8242528680

Paperback ISBN: 979-8241950987

Kindle ASIN: B0GF8RQ7WX    (The 0 is a zero)

Monkey and Me, by Emily Gravett, reviewed by Pippa Goodhart

 

    This isn't a new book, but it's new to me in board book form. Clever Emily Gravett, both author and illustrator, gives us a fun game that children can join-in with -

    Monkey and me,

    Monkey and me,

    Monkey and me,

    We went to see,

    We went to see some ... Turn the page

And we go from the child and her toy monkey acting out animal actions that let us guess what they are going to see this time. 

    Great fun! And we slow down at the end to leave the book and your child audience feeling suitably sleepy to make this a perfect bedtime read -

    Highly recommended. Tested on a one year old who immediately wanted to read it again.

Is post-literacy really coming? Anne Rooney

 

One of my children wanted to learn to read so that she could navigate the menus on the computer to load the game she liked (Zoombinis) and read the captions and instructions. That wouldn't be necessary now. It would be clicking on an icon and listening to the audio. Even ten years ago, when kids were already spending too much time on screens, they were still reading and writing on them. Now they watch short-form video and leave voice notes. A recent article in The Atlantic proclaimed the end of literacy.  Are we nearly there yet?

Around 2,500 years ago, Socrates (according to Plato) bemoaned the advent of literacy as corrosive to our memories: “[reading] will create forgetfulness in the learners’ souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves.” He was right, but literacy, on the whole, was a good thing for society. (And we wouldn't have known what Socrate thought without it.) Literacy has been a source of power for two millennia. In societies where only a few can read, they dominate  as they control the flow of information (and misinformation). Today, audio and video communication have given that power to everyone with a smart phone. Democratising the power to spread misinformation is of doubtful value, but at least we can now all find three ways to put on our eyeliner or clear a blocked drain without the aggro of having to read. 

So far, children still have to learn to read and write, though the reading they are set becomes ever briefer and less challenging. For decades we have seen children complain that they don't need to learn arithmetic as they can use a calculator. How long before they say they don't need to read and write because everything either is or can be audio/visual? And what does that mean for children's writers and children's books? 

Picture books are rooted in oral tradition. They use word play, often rhyme, alliteration, repetition and musicality just as oral storytellers and poets have done for millennia. And to the recipient (the child) they are orally delivered, read by an adult or older sibling. Picture books are already giving children the tools they need to live in an oral culture. As authors and parents, we hope the pleasure they get from hearing picture books will prompt them to want to learn to read, to be able to repeat that pleasure whenever they want, without the assistance of a reading adult.

Many adults read very little, taking audio books, movies, TV, online video and music as their principal sources of both entertainment and information. But somone has to write all those still, at least for now. AI can produce derivative slop, but nothing wholly original, so it will all get increasingly samey as it feeds on itself (this is 'model collapse' in AI jargon). It's unlikely everyone will be content with slop so there should be some market for thoughtful creativity still. And no one can write who does not read.

But the outcome of writing is not just articulating what you think, it's working out what you think. Socrates could, no doubt, work out his thoughts using spoken language, but I don't think we could do that now — precisely because the ability to record things, either in writing or digitally, has eroded those skills we once had.  The human brain hasn't changed in 2,500 years, though. We could still develop those skills from infancy if we lived in an environment where it was necessary. And perhaps our descendants will again, after the apocalpyse when they can't read or write or have any access to digital repositories of information. For now, though, it's important to nurture the skills and pleasures of reading and writing. In the worst-case scenario, those children who grow up reading and writing when others don't will be those with power and knowledge. It's our books they will have been reading. What they read will show them how to think and suggest what they should think. We need to make our books count because the future of the world depends on them. — literally. No pressure, then.

And maybe it's time to re-read Ong's Orality and Literacy (1982)...

Anne Rooney 

website

Coming soon: Science Museum Space Annual 2027, published August 2026 

 

 

 

 

USING FOLKLORE IN MODERN CHILDREN'S STORIES by Sharon Tregenza

 I think folklore is an absolute gift to children's authors. The more I dip into it, the more wonderful stories come to light sparking ideas galore for new books.  Where else can you find so many ghosts, witches, giants and mermaids. 

Dragging these tales into the modern world is an interesting exercise in itself. Think of a giant struggling with an iphone, a mermaid having to deal with plastic pollution and a witch going viral with her TikTok dance. 

Old myths and legends feel fresh when they're transported into modern life. It also works well for creating a strong sense of place - mysterious caves, dangerous cliffs and creepy woods. All luscious stuff. 

The issues and themes haven't changed. I can look for the the greed, the courage and the kindness and they're all there. Just a twist of time here, and an update there, and before you know it you got a fun, scary story that everyone will enjoy.

* The illustrations I've used here are the artwork of Caitlin Turner. I bought these cards on my latest trip to Cornwall. I found them scary but beautiful.

Email: sharontregenza@gmail.com

www.sharontregenza.com

Members' News July

Congratulations to all Scattered Authors with books out this month. There's lots for younger children here, nicely timed for summer reading.

Animagicals: Noah's Bear, by Paula Harrison, illustrated by Erwin Madrid

Book two in Paula's magical series published by Nosy Crow, follows the adventures of children who can turn into animals.

Noah loves changing into a bear! He’s sure it’s the animal he’s destined to be. So why do his friends at Wild Haven School say he should choose something else? A mysterious magic brings a terrible storm to the land of Animagia, putting every animal in danger. Noah is determined to help. Can he stay true to himself and prove how great he can be as a bear?

Details here

Tales of the Wild: Animal Families by Alice Harman, illustrated by Becca Hall

Published by Post Wave Children's books, 9th July.

A comic book with five short stories for 5 - 7 year-olds.

In the suburbs, a red fox encourages his cubs to take their first steps towards independence. In Botswana, an elephant matriarch must trust the youngest member of the herd to find water.

This charming collection of five beautifully illustrated stories celebrates the incredible bonds between animal families as they navigate the challenges of survival in the wild. With themes of conservation, climate change and rewilding woven throughout, and non-fiction pages after every story, each tale is as educational as it is heartwarming.

Alice Harman's warm storytelling pairs perfectly with Becca Hall's adorable illustrations, making this mix of a comic book and picture book a delight for young readers.

Details here

How to Build a Human by Moria Butterfield, illustrated by Clare Elsom

Another in the Builderbot series, published by Ladybird, 2nd July.

Meet the Builderbots – the best building crew in the universe! They can build just about anything.... but can they build a human?

Take a fascinating tour through the incredible body, and discover all the things that make a human – from the weird to the wonderful!

Packed with facts about the human body – from what the tiniest bone in our body is to why we have nostril hairs – this is the perfect book for budding scientists.

Details here.

Leaving the House by Sally Nicholls, illustrated by Ellie Snowdon

The first in a new series, published by Andersen Press, 16th July.

Little bunny brothers Jackson and Harley love to create chaos and fun in the mornings, from superhero playtimes and breakfast mishaps, to wardrobe dilemmas and toothpaste trouble... and not a lot of listening to Mum and Dad. No wonder they are always late to leave the house! Will today be any different?

Details here.

Congratulations all!

If you have any news you'd like to share in the August round-up, please send the details to Claire Fayers

Frogs and Toads by Paul May

On my allotment in Friern Barnet I have an old cast-iron bath. When Friern Hospital closed in 1993 an Italian named Mario laid claim to the bath, and transported it a few hundred metres to the allotment site. The hospital was originally known as Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum and at one time had more than 2000 inmates and hundreds of staff.

There are many Italians who have allotment plots near mine. Many of them arrived after WW2 when the British government was recruiting staff for places like Friern Hospital. Others, like Mario, followed family members or friends who were already here. Mario came from Naples in the early 1960s to work on the hospital's farm. Yes, a farm! On its 75 acres the hospital had extensive workshops, kitchens, recreation grounds, a gasworks and a brewery. It had its own water supply, chapel and cemetery, and even its own railway station. Where once there was farmland, now there is a huge retail park stretching down to the North Circular Road. The hospital also had the longest corridor in Britain and quite a few cast-iron baths, one of which ended up on my allotment.

Source: Wellcome Collection

I took on the allotment in 2016. Half of it was then planted with grapevines which I quickly discovered had been planted by Mario. Apparently at one time the whole plot had been covered with vines. Mario had taken cuttings from a vine belonging to a neighbour of his with the intention of using the grapes to make wine, only to discover that these particular grapes were useless for winemaking. At one time he had cultivated three adjacent plots but now he only had the one next to mine, from which he dispensed horticultural advice to anyone who'd listen, and where he kept a vast collection of stuff that he'd salvaged from skips because it might come in handy one day. He had also salvaged the bath, which was now partly a water store and partly a seat. Mario sat down often because he was really very ill, but he continued coming to the allotment, digging and grumbling and dispensing unasked-for advice despite the efforts of his family to stop him. Looking at his plot, which, despite all the junk he'd collected, was very picturesque, a friend said to me that it could have been anywhere in rural Europe. 

Mario

It was to try to preserve something of that atmosphere that I took over Mario's plot, in addition to my own, after he died in 2019. I cleared all the junk and turned the bath into a pond. I'd already moved the bath once, from my plot to Mario's, but now I had it back again. I moved it to a new location and planted yellow flag iris and marsh marigold. I made a mound so that wildlife could get to the water, but recently I decided that it would be better if the bath was sunk into the ground, so I started clearing it out in order to move it. That was when I found the frogs. They keep themselves to themselves, those frogs. I never see them out and about, but there were at least four in the bath. Hopefully they've all survived their move to a new location.

I like to think that the frogs are like Arnold Lobel's famous Frog. I love the Frog and Toad books and I was delighted to discover, in a children's bookshop in Bologna, that they have been translated into Italian. It's very good fun reading a book like this, one that I could almost recite with my eyes closed, in another language. Toad sounds great in Italian: "Questa casa è un distastro. Ho un sacco di lavore di fare." It's almost better than the English.

And there's a great story for gardeners where Toad's seeds don't seem to be growing and he shouts at them so loudly that Frog tells him he's scaring them and he needs to leave them alone. Mario didn't need to be told how to grow things and he would no doubt have offered slightly scornful advice to Toad. Like most of my allotment neighbours who come from Kurdistan and Italy, Macedonia and Albania, for Mario growing his own food was just something you did, not a lifestyle choice. Perhaps that was why Mario was so keen to offer advice to those he thought were bungling part-timers. The trouble was, there was only one proper way to do things, and that was HIS way. He also ordered me not to cut the grassy path where the oregano was growing. He'd brought it all the way from the hills above Naples, but he really didn't need to worry about losing it because it has seeded itself everywhere. I also have a very fine white-flowered variety of oregano that was brought by another elderly Italian, Giacomo, from his home in Sicily. Giacomo has also since died. 

Most of the Italians are now in their 80s. Half a dozen have died in the ten years since I came to the allotments. But for at least two of them their memory is preserved in the plants that they brought with them from their childhood homes, and that are now flourishing in North London. And the memory of London's most famous lunatic asylum is preserved in a pond in a bath. The asylum was once a byword or perhaps a synonym for lunacy, and even gets a mention in a children's book. "Three cheers for the Hempress of Colney 'atch," jeer the Londoners in The Magician's Nephew when Jadis, escaped from Narnia, proclaims herself Empress.

Oregano from Naples

Oregano from Sicily

The bath in its new location

* There is a famous philosophical article inspired by the Frog and Toad story Cookies entitled Frog and Toad Lose Control by Jeanette Kennett and Michael Smith which is only available via subscription to JSTOR, but there are also numerous discussions of the story online, and if you search hard enough you might even be able to find the mentioned article republished somewhere. I know I did manage to read it once.

Fair Isle Filling the Well - Joan Lennon

Like Penny's post a few days ago JULY - and NO DAY WITHOUT A LINE, I too have been filling the well, though I was taken in the opposite direction and as far from the delights of cities as it's easy to get.

Time on Fair Isle has become an essential part of my year. The big skies and the sea that change by the moment, the weather and the birds and the flowers and the people - photos give just the barest flavour of how vivid a place and an experience it is - images and sensations to feed me and my writing until I can return - next year! 

Joan Lennon website

Joan Lennon Instagram