Where he carries on sitting under his favourite tree. He prefers to smell the flowers in the ladies’ hair. Closely followed by Ferdinand, who sits down and refuses to fight. The Banderilleros, Picadores and Matador troop into the bullring. The day of the bullfight dawns, with flags flying and bands playing. His reaction is so fierce that the men choose him without a second thought. Ferdinand makes the mistake of sitting on a bumblebee, which promptly stings him. Ferdinand’s mother worries that he might be lonely but can see that he’s happy and leaves him be.Įverything’s fine until men arrive to select the biggest bull to fight in the bullfights in Madrid. But Ferdinand prefers to sit quietly under his favourite cork tree and smell the flowers. The other bulls like to fight each other all the time. The story revolves around Ferdinand, a young bull. Published in 1936, it’s been translated into over 60 different languages and is still widely read today. ‘Timeless classic’ is an over-used phrase, but this is an absolute treat. Written by Munro Leaf and illustrated by Robert Lawson, it’s a wonderful picture book about a bull named Ferdinand who lives in the Spanish countryside. I vividly remember my first encounter with The Story of Ferdinand.

But which also seek to develop a sense of morality and social responsibility, and which offer a subversive perspective on the world. For many years, authors of children’s literature have sought to write stories that relate to children’s needs, desires and emotional capabilities.

It is the best means they have for taming Wild Things.Ĭhildren’s fiction can also develop in other, more radical, directions. And it is through fantasy that children achieve catharsis. They help us deal with the inevitable challenges that life throws at us and prepare us for the adult world.Īs the great children’s writer Maurice Sendak said,įrom their earliest years, children live on familiar terms with disrupting emotions, fear and anxiety are an intrinsic part of their everyday lives, they continually cope with frustrations as best they can. They opened our eyes to the richness and diversity of life around us.Ĭhildren’s books stimulate our imagination and provide a vital space to explore fear, hope and friendship.

They introduced us to different places, different cultures and different people. We were all children once. And we remember the stories we heard or read as we grew up.

The book ferdinand