Reading Club: Children’s Book (7-9 years old) | Kafka and the Doll - Εικόνα

In November, the Children’s Book Club for our young booklovers resumes facilitated by Kali Kavvatha. A kindergarten teacher and theatre games animateur for children and adults, Kali Kavvatha is the author of the book Excursion with Federico: A teaching approach to the poems of Federico Garcia Lorca for kindergarten students.

The book to read for November is Larissa Theule’s Kafka and the Doll, a tale of loss, empathy and the life-changing power of storytelling.

On Sunday, November 20, our young booklovers will meet to share impressions, feelings and thoughts, as well as to embark on an imaginary journey, sparked by the book of the month, into the fascinating worlds emerging from its pages. 

The book
Berlin, fall 1923. Franz Kafka is taking a walk in the park when he encounters a distraught little girl, who is crying because she has lost her doll.

“Your doll is not lost, she is travelling; dolls love to travel. She wrote you a letter...”

To console the young girl, Kafka becomes a volunteer postman, writing and delivering letters to the girl from her doll.

Larissa Theule writes letters to the girl as if she were Kafka, and as we read the story we feel as though we are there ourselves, sitting on a bench in that Berlin park, watching on…

Can this be a true story? Read the book and decide for yourself.

The author
Larissa Theule holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is the author of the books Born to Ride: A Story About Bicycle Face; A Way with Wild Things; and How Do You Do? She lives in Pasadena, California, USA.

The facilitator
Kali Kavvatha is a kindergarten teacher and a theatre games animateur for children and adults. She was trained in theatre games under Lakis Kouretzis and was a member of Parodos Art Company. She has taught theatre games and animation of creative activities for children to teachers of kindergarten and primary school, at the Regional Training Centers (PEKs) and the Institute of Adult Continuing Education (IDEKE) of the Greek Ministry of Education, as well as at private educational institutions.
She is a collaborator of Dimitris Papaioannou and participated as an assistant creative producer at the 2004 Athens Olympics Opening and Closing Ceremonies.
In 2022, she was awarded by the Greek Section of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) with the “Koula Kouloumbi” Award as an active kindergarten teacher who introduces children of pre-school age into the world of children’s books in the most imaginative ways. She has edited the production of educational materials for kindergarten teachers and animators of IDEKE. She has written the book Excursion with Federico: A teaching approach to the poems of Federico Garcia Lorca for kindergarten students (self-published, 2021).

Activities for children before the Book Club meeting

•    I suggest that you start reading the book from its penultimate page; that is, read Franz Kafka’s bio first, and then the author’s note.
Then start reading normally, from the beginning of the book.
•    Sometimes, the magic of a story lies in things that are not explicitly described in it, but left to our imagination. Can you step into Kafka’s shoes for a minute and write a letter to the girl from her doll? Or create a postcard and bring it along to our meeting?
•    If you were a journalist, which character of the story would you like to interview? Write down a question you would like to ask them.
•    Notice the book’s illustrations, created by Rebecca Green. Take note of the colors she has used, the figures, and the expressions of the characters. Which image do you like best?
 

Sunday 20/11 
17.00 - 18.15

 

NLG KIDS LAB

Up to 22 participants | For children aged 7 to 9
Free admission with online pre-registration

Pre-registration starts on 01/11, at 12.00

 

To participate in the Reading Club, it is necessary for those who hold a position to have read the book of the month. (It is also useful to have it with them).

Larissa Theule’s “Kafka and the Doll," illustrated by Rebecca Green, is available in Greek by Dioptra Publications.

Children should always be accompanied by parents or adult attendants who should not be away from the outdoor activity.

As part of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center's collaboration with the National Library of Greece, the book for the Reading Club has been chosen by NLG staff members.

See also

Sunday 23/10, 17:00

Reading Club: Children’s Book (7-9 years old) | The Invisible Tonino

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