Mitchell Guido

EECE 340
Exploring Leo Lionni

Part I

Leo Lionni led a very unique life, beginning with his birth in Amsterdam to a
father who was an accountant and a mother who was an opera singer. Leo Lionni
lived an exciting and diverse life that children would find fascinating.
As a young child, Leo Lionni created his own zoo in the attic of his house.
He collected all kinds of small animals as well plants and various rocks and pebbles
to create habitats for the animals. To a child, the zoo is one of the most interesting
and exciting places to go. I remember visiting the zoo and being amazed by all the
different animals that were on display there. So, it would certainly be interesting for
a child to discover that the author of the books they have been reading had his own
personal zoo. Since many young kids collect electronics and other non-organic
material in todays society, I think it is important to emphasize nature to students.
Children are naturally inquisitive about nature, however, can be easily distracted by
flashy electronics and toys. Learning that one of their favorite authors collected his
own assortment of animals (and plants and fish and insects) could bring their focus
back to nature.
As a child, Leo Lionni learned five languages: Dutch, German, French, English,
and Italian. This was due to the fact that his fathers job often required the family to
move to different locations in different countries. If there are any bilingual children
in the classroom, they will appreciate how useful and impressive this skill is. In
addition to this, these children will gain a new appreciation for Leo Lionni, because
they will make a connection with his personal life. There is no better way to peak a
childs interest than by connecting their personal life to outside events or people.
For the students who are not bilingual, the teacher could show the class a clip from a
foreign film (that is age appropriate) or perhaps a clip from an American childrens
show that has been overdubbed in a different language. Then, the teacher can
explain to the students that Lio Leonni could understand both the language used in
the clip, and English, as well as three other languages.
Most schools include a music program for their young students, where they
sing basic childrens songs. Since the students already have an appreciation for
music, informing them that Leo Lionnis mother was an opera singer should impress
them. To make sure that all the students know what opera is, though, the teacher
should play a short segment of an opera recording for the students. While opera
singing is not something that is considered cool by children, the teacher can make
this factoid more interesting by asking: Can you imagine what it would be like if
your mother was an opera singer? This would probably cause lots of laughter as
they thought about their mom singing in an operatic style all of the time. Laughter is
good, though, as it expresses that the students have properly internalized the
subject enough that they can understand that it is funny.
Ever since he was a child, Leo Lionni knew he wanted to be an artist. He
became a great avant-garde painter and sculptor, thus fulfilling that dream. It was
not until he almost fifty, though, that the idea of writing childrens books presented
itself to him. Leo Lionni had decided that the was going to retire on his fiftieth
birthday and move to Italy, but, after improvising a story and characters out of
magazine scraps for his grandchildren, he realized that he could write childrens
books. Often, children think of people going to school and emerging from school as
who they will be for the rest of their life. However, people often change much later
in their life. Since this concept is something that is contrary to the common belief of
children, they will find it interesting. The teacher can also use this fact about Leo
Lionni to tell the students that change is not always bad: it is not inherently bad that
things dont always go according to plan.
A good childrens book is, inevitably, autobiography (BOOK SOURCE).
While this is not necessarily a fact, but rather a quote from Leo Lionni, I think it is a
relevant point. At first, children might not find this very interesting, but with some
help from the teacher they will be able to see the importance of this quote. For
example, if the teacher asks the question: What part of Fredrick do you think comes
from Leo Lionnis life?, the students must think critically about the book and they
might look at the books in a different way. While Im sure they wont understand or
come to the conclusion that Inch by Inch is about Leo Lionnis job in marketing, the
children will create their own meaning as to how each book pertains to real-life
which is just as important.

Sources:
http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/lionni/aboutlionni.php

American Writers for Children Since 1960: Poets, Illustrators, and Nonfiction Authors. Ed. Glenn
E. Estes. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 61. Detroit: Gale Research, 1987. p139-152
Part II

What might your street look like? snowy, deserted, icy, white (ground) and
black (sky), barren trees
How does the air feel? Dry, cold, visible, heavy, thick
What happens to the plants, yards, cars,
and streets?
The trees are barren and perhaps bowed
down with the weight of the snow, the
yard is covered in snow with footprints
of various animals in it, the cars are not
even visible under the snow, the streets
have been paved but a new layer of snow
has already started settling on them.
or
The trees only have patches of snow on
them, the yard is covered mostly in
undisrupted snow, the cars have a thin
layer of snow on them and the streets
only have snow pushed to the sides of
them by the plows that have already run
through them.
How would you keep yourself warm,
both indoors and out?
Outdoors: I would wear a scarf, a heavy
jacket (with multiple layers), gloves, a
hat (in addition to the hood on my heavy
jacket), boots, two pairs of sweat pants,
and two pairs of socks.
Indoors: I would wear a long sleeve shirt,
sweatpants, sit in the kitchen (with the
oven cooking dinner or lunch), and drink
hot chocolate.


Brainstorming:
I would need the previously listed clothes (jackets, gloves, boots, etc).
A house (or some sort of shelter) would help me survive the winter.
A fire place, or some source of heat
A family or a group of friends. Some group of people that I can get along with
and talk to throughout the cold times.
Some form of art, whether its music or drawing or writing.
the materials for any of the art
Food, and different types of foodhot and cold, vegetables, meat and wheat
water


List of what I would need:

1.) Jacket (one for indoor and one for outdoor)
2.) Gloves
3.) Boots
4.) Socks
5.) Family and/or friends
6.) Fire
7.) Oven
8.) Water
9.) Food
a. Soup
b. Chicken, steak, beef
c. Bread, bread crumbs, crackers
10.) Art
a. Paintings and cartoons
b. Music
c. Books
11.) Materials needed for creating art
a. Instruments, paper, pens and pencils, ink, a computer
12.) A house or igloo; some form of shelter