2023 - early reading tips for today's and yesterday's children

Good morning everyone and happy start to the (Gregorian) year and a new week! The Wondering Wandering Writer last year, though, one of the resolutions is to start blogging again more frequently about all the reading I can do, as if I were talking to a Best Friend. I have never had a single "Best Friend," but cyclically I have had friendly relationships with several people. At the age of 35, with two daughters, a job, and a failed marriage behind me, living in a foreign country, I decided to let non-reciprocal friendships die and continue to be in touch only with those who can find five minutes to talk (or write) with me. The people who asked me how the operation under general anesthesia had gone, were not the ones who wanted to see the scans because they didn't think I was sick enough. But this first article is not meant to be pessimistic, because I'm going to tell you about the first two books of an up-and-coming writer whom I had the privilege of the meeting via social and sharing with her in particular a passion for Michael Ende's books! Just as one of the characters said to the protagonist of the novel Momo, sometimes you have a very long road ahead of you. One believes that it is too long and that it can never be finished, one thinks. "He looked a little forward in front of him and then continued, "And then you start to hurry. And every time you look up you see that the road has not become less. And you try even harder and you get scared and eventually, you get breathless...and you can't take it anymore...and the road is always ahead there. That's not the way to do it." He thought some more and then continued, "You can never think about the road all at once, the whole thing you know?

One must only think about the next step, the next breath, the next sweep. Always only the act that comes next. Then there is satisfaction; that is important because then you do the work well. That's how it should be."

Marta Capello is the author of "A Lucky Bottle" and "The Verses of the Planet," two very interesting books with which to introduce children to the big topic of ecology. With nursery rhymes, it is possible to help children and even us adults to make responsible and conscious choices to try to improve the situation! I especially recommend this book to teachers and educators, because with short but effective nursery rhymes to memorize you can connect a word to a deed and, day by day, improve your daily routine and make your own contribution!

Below you can read the Wandering Writer's first interview with Marta Capello! Following the Facebook page and Instagram there will be skits with characters that Santa's helper Jojo brought us, so if you are curious to meet new characters and Marta's nursery rhymes in this year that, according to Chinese horoscope is the year of the rabbit (like 1987, the year when both Marta and the Wandering Writer saw the light), follow me on all the other social media!

Name: Marta

City of birth and where I live: Ivrea

Date of birth: April 29, 1987

Family: two brothers who put up with me and two grandchildren

When I started writing: after tutoring at an association in Turin that does science workshops for schools. From there I tried to think about how to make the studies I did (master's degree in environmental biology) interesting for children, even the youngest ones. At first, it was a starting point to try to combine workshops with activities but then it became a pleasure to write because I can put down thoughts, ideas, and dreams in a free and different way than I can do verbally.

I write because it makes me lighter, often freeing me from stress or sad moments, and because I enjoy it as a hobby. I read a little bit of everything, lately, I am very interested in oriental authors, but if I have to say a favorite genre is a thriller

My favorite books are:

50 Ways to Say Rain

The Neverending Story

Momo (because it reminds me of childhood but has a very good point about the importance of time and how to manage it)

Nesbo's books with no particular distinction for the thriller genre

The quote I am most fond of and that guides me through life is by Michael Ende: "No one realized that by saving the time he was actually saving anything else. No one wanted to admit that his life was getting poorer and poorer, more and more monotonous, and colder and colder. The children realized it, however, because no one had more time for them. But time is life. And life resides in the heart. And the more they saved, the less they had." MICHAEL ENDE

Advice: if you enjoy writing, do it even if it will then remain something that is just for you, a sad or happy memory, try it and have the nerve to make yourself know what you are interested in if you believe that what you have written may have a message you want to share. I did it without any hope and it turned out well in the end; With the books, I published I would like to bring the attention of respecting the planet to the youngest children as well because they are our future and they are the ones who can best learn quickly what are the best actions that can be done to preserve our planet. I think that a child, talking at home and starting to behave in a simple but correct way can also be a great example for parents and all the people around them.

To purchase Marta's books, click on these links! https://www.amazon.it/dp/8833541908/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=23R1B10STIVFO&keywords=marta+capello&qid=1669713572&qu=eyJxc2MiOiwLjQ1IiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=%2Caps%2C524&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.it/bottiglia-davvero-fortunata-Marta-Capello/dp/8833541924/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=1X9DF1SMMPZES&keywords=marta+hair&qid=1669657152&qu=eyJxc2MiOiwLjQ1IiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=%2Caps%2C122&sr=8-1