#uri shulevitz

[haveyoureadthisbook-poll]

Have you read The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship by Arthur Ransome and Uri Shulevitz (1968)?

yes

no

I've never heard of it

Voting ended onMar 21

[guy60660]

Uri Shulevitz

[guy60660]

Uri Shulevitz

[thesandpiper]

The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship

Arthur Ransome/Uri Shulevitz

1968

[tart-pastry]

From "Snow," by Uri Shulevitz.

[vitrinadedudas]

[superjyessi]

How I Learned Geography by Uri Shulevitz

In this story, a young boy and his parents flee their home due to war. They watch as buildings crumble before them and leave quickly with only the clothes on their backs. They travel far to another country and are able to stay with a couple they meet. “Father went to the bazaar to buy bread” (Shulevitz 7). When he returned he had only a map in his hand. Disappointed and hungry the family goes to bed that night with no supper. The next day the father hangs the large map on the wall and the boy becomes fascinated with it. Through the map, he is able to leave behind his hunger and despair and travel through his imagination where he is exploring the world and has plenty of food and fresh water to drink.

This story written and illustrated by Uri Shulevitz is a 2009 Caldecott Honor Book and is based on his memories of World War II. Shulevitz was four when his family fled from Poland and reminisces of when they had to travel to the Soviet Union to what is now called Kazakhstan, where this story takes place. Shulevitz shares with his readers of what life was like when he was a child, not having a home, doesn’t have any belongings, or anything to eat. He shares his pain and suffering through his words and pictures and after being angry with his father for buying a map when they are starving, he later forgives his father and is happy he was able to escape his reality through the map. Shulevitz’s book shares real experiences and allows us to see how life was during that era for thousands of families and helps us understand what they had to go through. A story like this will help us teach not only sympathy and kindness but can also be used to educate children to appreciate what they have.

Here are links from the SAG-AFTRA FOUNDATION, which presents Storyline Online. One link is for a video in which Ed O’Neill reads How I Learned Geography. The other link is also presented by Storyline Online and is an activity guide for the book.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OPrLwTOq7I

http://www.storylineonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/HowILearnedGeography_ActivityGuide.pdf

[prismofgrace]

Every single one of us lives in two different worlds at the same time. One world, of course, is the one of the everyday, the real world where we have to sleep, we have to brush our teeth, and we have to do work. And in order to be in that world, we need food. We need to eat. The other world, in which we also live, is the world of the imagination. And that world, too, has to be fed. And that is where books, and art, and music come in. That is just another reason to come to the Museum, to feed that part of the world in which we live as well.

Uri Shulevitz, Tall Tales and Short Tales exhibit, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art