Metaphorical stories and parables result in an indirect language more effective than the direct language of
reason, affirms Carmen Filipi in a new book. In her literary work titled The marvelous fountain and other
stories my grandma told me, Filipi —a Phoenix educator with several decades of experience in the school
system— recovers and presents the oral tradition in which narrations communicated and taught ethical,
moral and civic values to children, mainly told by grandmothers and other family members in the past.
“Teachers, social workers and parents notice a great emptiness in the civic, moral and ethical development
of today’s children,” explains Filipi, an elementary and music teacher for the Roosevelt School District, in
Phoenix. “We all agree that children desperately need a guide for such an education. But how to do this
without giving pretentious lectures or long-winded speeches about what they should or should not do or
creating new punishments to force them to change their behavior?” —questions the author. Based on her
extensive experience in working with hundreds of children, the author considers that all these sermons,
speeches and punishments seldom have an effect on children.
The marvelous fountain and other stories my grandma told me, is a bilingual book that Carmen Filipi
conceived based on her own experience. Having grown up in an isolated, remote military outpost in the
Paraguayan Chaco, near the border with Bolivia, Filipi spent her childhood with no TV, radio, toys or books.
Her only distraction was listening to stories told by her grandmother and other grandmothers of the area.
It was through these stories that Filipi learned many valuable lessons that guided and enriched her life.
“More than entertaining me, the stories taught me. Their purpose was to teach children life lessons and
moral lessons of ethics, civics, and justice. Through these narrations we were taught how to be good
members of the community: honest, honorable, just and compassionate” —reflects Filipi about the benefit
these stories had in shaping her character. Her motivation in writing the book was to preserve this
tradition, as well as to deal with the social tendency in which the majority of grandmothers no longer live
close to their children or their children’s children. “Many mothers must work away from the house to
support their children —laments Filipi— and their children spend many hours in front of the TV, playing
videogames or on the street.”
The marvelous fountain and other stories my grandma told me is a children’s book that blends oral
tradition, the strength of the English and Spanish languages, and the beauty of digital art to illustrate it.
The author includes activities and suggestions for educators and parents. Published by the Arizona-based
Hispanic Institute of Social Issues, this literary work documents one of the most distinctive cultural customs
of Latin America, and contributes to fill the need for bilingual texts for schools, institutions, and families
who seek to not only teach moral values and character-building lessons, but also to maintain the
tradition.
reason, affirms Carmen Filipi in a new book. In her literary work titled The marvelous fountain and other
stories my grandma told me, Filipi —a Phoenix educator with several decades of experience in the school
system— recovers and presents the oral tradition in which narrations communicated and taught ethical,
moral and civic values to children, mainly told by grandmothers and other family members in the past.
“Teachers, social workers and parents notice a great emptiness in the civic, moral and ethical development
of today’s children,” explains Filipi, an elementary and music teacher for the Roosevelt School District, in
Phoenix. “We all agree that children desperately need a guide for such an education. But how to do this
without giving pretentious lectures or long-winded speeches about what they should or should not do or
creating new punishments to force them to change their behavior?” —questions the author. Based on her
extensive experience in working with hundreds of children, the author considers that all these sermons,
speeches and punishments seldom have an effect on children.
The marvelous fountain and other stories my grandma told me, is a bilingual book that Carmen Filipi
conceived based on her own experience. Having grown up in an isolated, remote military outpost in the
Paraguayan Chaco, near the border with Bolivia, Filipi spent her childhood with no TV, radio, toys or books.
Her only distraction was listening to stories told by her grandmother and other grandmothers of the area.
It was through these stories that Filipi learned many valuable lessons that guided and enriched her life.
“More than entertaining me, the stories taught me. Their purpose was to teach children life lessons and
moral lessons of ethics, civics, and justice. Through these narrations we were taught how to be good
members of the community: honest, honorable, just and compassionate” —reflects Filipi about the benefit
these stories had in shaping her character. Her motivation in writing the book was to preserve this
tradition, as well as to deal with the social tendency in which the majority of grandmothers no longer live
close to their children or their children’s children. “Many mothers must work away from the house to
support their children —laments Filipi— and their children spend many hours in front of the TV, playing
videogames or on the street.”
The marvelous fountain and other stories my grandma told me is a children’s book that blends oral
tradition, the strength of the English and Spanish languages, and the beauty of digital art to illustrate it.
The author includes activities and suggestions for educators and parents. Published by the Arizona-based
Hispanic Institute of Social Issues, this literary work documents one of the most distinctive cultural customs
of Latin America, and contributes to fill the need for bilingual texts for schools, institutions, and families
who seek to not only teach moral values and character-building lessons, but also to maintain the
tradition.
Author: Carmen Filipi
Illustrator: Dave Long
Título: The marvelous fountain and other stories my grandma told me
Pages: 55
Illustrations: 5
languages: Bilingual; English/Spanish
Size: 25.5 cm
ISBN: 13: 978-0-9797814-0-7
Price: $ 14.99 (+ 3.00 s/h; 0.75 for each aditional book)
Illustrator: Dave Long
Título: The marvelous fountain and other stories my grandma told me
Pages: 55
Illustrations: 5
languages: Bilingual; English/Spanish
Size: 25.5 cm
ISBN: 13: 978-0-9797814-0-7
Price: $ 14.99 (+ 3.00 s/h; 0.75 for each aditional book)
The Marvelous Fountain and other stories my grandma told me
| book details |
| To receive more information or to order this book by mail, call 480 - 983-1445 Personal checks or Money Orders must be made payable to: HISI PO Box 50553 Mesa, Arizona 85208-0028 |
| Hispanic Institute of Social Issues ©2005-2007 All rights reserved. webmaster@hisi.org |
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