Wonder Ponder illustrator Daniela Martagón to co-create an interactive Philosophy for children exhibit with the UTEP Philosophy for Children in the Borderlands program

At Wonder Ponder we are very excited to announce that our illustrator Daniela Martagón will be working with the University of El Paso Philosophy for Children in the Borderlands program on an exciting project to co-create an Interactive Philosophy for Children exhibit for local children and families in the Museo Urbano in El Paso.

A Diversity and Inclusiveness Grant from the American Philosophical Association awarded to the UTEP Philosophy for Children in the Borderlands will make this special collaboration possible.

From the start of the Wonder Ponder project, we have explored all possible forms of presenting our Visual Philosophy for Children concept besides from our books-in-a-box, and museums were always on our radar. We are thrilled that this first concrete project in this direction is in collaboration with the founder of the UTEP Philosophy for Children in the US-Mexico Borderlands program, Amy Reed-Sandoval.

Amy Reed-Sandoval and Daniela Martagón met last year in Oaxaca.

"Daniela shared with me", says Amy, "the fabulous work that she and Ellen Duthie having been doing through Wonder Ponder. I was struck by how wonderfully they work together as a team, and also by the captivating images that Daniela produces, as the illustrator for Wonder Ponder, to inspire philosophical conversation. In El Paso I found that the Wonder Ponder "boxes"--which include images and accompanying philosophical questions--were excellent tools for getting very young kids engaged philosophically. I decided that the UTEP Philosophy for Children in the Borderlands program would benefit immensely from Daniela's talents as an illustrator. For that reason, we are bringing her to El Paso to set up an interactive Philosophy for Children museum exhibit at the Museo Urbano--so that children and families from both sides of the Mexico-U.S. border can become philosophically engaged through viewing and discussing Daniela's visual creations".

At Wonder Ponder, we had been following the work of Amy Reed-Sandoval, through her Oaxaca Philosophy for Children Initiative and her Philosophy for Children in the Borderlines program for a few years, and it is an honour for Daniela to have the chance to work with her. Though currently based in Spain, Daniela is herself Mexican, and is very much looking forward to working with Amy and her team on this project.  

"It is a privilege", says Daniela, "to have the chance to design an exibition for Philosophy in the Borderlands and the community the program works with. One of the important things for me is the very positive feedback we have received about how the children and the facilitators working for the program have used and become familiar with Wonder Ponder's materials (see the pictures of the materials in use at Rayito de Sol, as part of the program). Although I have never been there, I already feel a relationship has been established. In May, we'll have the chance to build on that connection and go beyond it. How will we take advantage of having a physical space for visual philosophy? I am curious. Up until now our work has focused on the book-person relationship and this is an opportunity to explore the space-person relationship. At Wonder Ponder we are very aware of the importance of format, so this is a new challenge, with different scales, conditions and possibilities. We have a community that is curious and open to the experiment, the support of the University of El Paso and a great deal of interest and enthusiasm on all sides. What more could we ask for? I'll be working on the border of my country and the target community is mostly Mexican-Chicano, which makes the project particularly exciting for me."

Christmas wonderpondering: a free, downloadable and printable booklet for thinking about Christmas

This Christmas,
Open! Look! Think! 
with
Wonder Ponder's
Visual Philosophy for Children. 

The Wonder Ponder team has made a special Christmas gift for everyone to share. A downloadable and printable booklet chock-a-block with questions and ideas for thinking about Christmas. Enjoy!

Click on the image above to download full PDF file. 

Wishing you all a wonderful, ponderful, Christmas!

Bringing the brain-bending experience of philosophical thinking into the school, playground and home

Over the moon with the fantastic review in The Look Book by Anita Ridley!

Photo from Look Book review

"Wonder Ponder’s wonderfully open-ended box sets take philosophy into the classroom as well as out into the playground and into the home, immediately engaging children and adults alike in the satisfying, brain-bending experience that is philosophical thinking. Added extras, including blank cards and a poster for children to visualise their thought processes and arguments with, make Wonder Ponder box sets even more powerful, becoming a lens through which players can understand more about themselves and they way they think."

Photo from Look Book review

"Posing questions, both obvious and off-centre, Wonder Ponder presents 'players' with a variety of different trains of thought. The process of answering is as revealing as one might expect, as those involved attempt to put into words often quite deeply felt positions and try to justify the logic (or not, as the case may be) that they used to arrive at them. Using situations that are as close to home as possible, I, Person tacles what it is that makes us human, while Cruelty Bites ponders issues as broad as family relationships, the treatment of animals, as well as abstract concepts such as consious and unconscuous decision-making." 

Photo from Look Book review

Read the full review here.

World Philosophy and Toilet Day!

Today is World Toilet Day and at Wonder Ponder we are celebrating by taking it very seriously. 

Our team members' best thinking, reading and sometimes even writing is often done on the toilet.

On the toilet -an indoor one, that is- we feel safe. We know nobody is going to barge in on us, for instance. We can lock the door without anyone asking why. This feeling of safety makes us relax and relaxation makes ideas flow more easily. We go to the toilet, therefore we think, therefore we are. 

With 2.4 billion people in the world lacking adequate sanitation and 1 billion people still defecating in the open, at Wonder Ponder, we are aware of how privileged we are to have the time and space to wonder and ponder. Poor sanitation increases the risk of disease and malnutrition, especially for women and children. Women and girls risk rape and abuse, because they have no toilet that offers privacy. Could poor sanitation also affect men, women and children's opportunities to pause for reflection?

The aim of World Toilet Day, according to the UN site is "to raise awareness about the people in the world who don’t have access to a toilet, despite the fact that it is a human right to have clean , water and sanitation", and, we would add, to have a space to think. 

Did we forget to mention that today is also World Philosophy Day? 

World Philosophy Day was introduced in 2002 by UNESCO to honour philosophical reflection in the entire world by opening up free and accessible spaces. Its objective is to encourage the peoples of the world to share their philosophical heritage and to open their minds to new ideas, as well as to inspire a public debate between intellectuals and civil society on the challenges confronting our society.

Happy World Philosophy and Toilet Day! Let's do something about both!

More toilets, more thinking!

(c) Wonder Ponder, Visual Philosophy for Children. 

Competition: Win a signed copy of Cruelty Bites, with a drawing by the illustrator, Daniela Martagón

Are you ready to take part in our competition and get a chance to win a copy of Cruelty Bites, of our Visual Philosophy for Children series, specially signed and dedicated by the authors, with a drawing by the illustrator, Daniela Martagón? 

It's easy! Answer these three questions on the post on our Facebook page and enter the draw from among all the correct answers we get.   

1. Who is this invigoratingly versatile, perfectly irreverent children's literature classic author and illustrator, reading Cruelty Bites in the photograph below? 

2. Can you spot our homage to the above author in the poster included in our Cruelty Bites box of Visual Philosophy for Children? Take a good look at the poster below. You need to name the character and the title of the book he/she belongs to.  

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3. Look for, spot and point our three other references in the Cruelty Bites poster to children's literature stories or books. 

The prize? Your very own copy of Cruelty Bites signed, with a special drawing by the illustrator, sent out to wherever you are! 

Remember you need to answer all three questions on our Facebook page! 

The draw from among all the correct answers will take place on Friday 23rd of October, 2015.

'Story Philosophy Intensive Course and Workshop for Adults in Madrid: An Introduction to Picture-book based Philosophical Dialogue with Children

Wonder Ponder Academy presents...

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INTENSIVE WORKSHOP

Story Philosophy

An Introduction to picture-book based philosophical dialogue with children, for adults 

MADRID

Sat. 24th & Sun. 25th of October, 2015

ELLEN DUTHIE and DANIELA MARTAGÓN to teach an intensive weekend workshop on philosophical dialogue with children in formal and information educational contexts, in the home and in children's literature, using word and image as springboards for discussion, play and creativity. 

TITLE OF THE COURSE: Story Philosophy (Filosofía de cuento)
LANGUAGE: Spanish
DATE: Sat 24th & Sun 25th October in Madrid. 
LENGTH: 12 hours, divided into three 4 hour sessions (Saturday 10 to 2 and 4 to 8 and Sunday 10 to 2). 
VENUE: El Patio de la Pierna. Pizarro, 24. 28004. Madrid. 
PRICE: 120 € [Early bird bookings before 30th of September benefit from a reduced price of 100 €]  Includes mid-morning and afternoon hot/cold drinks and snacks . 
PLACES: 15 max
INFORMATION & BOOKINGS:
info@wonderponderonline.com or 680 587 759


AIMED AT: Teachers, librarians, writers, illustrations, parents and other curious adults interested in learning about the possibilities of philosophical dialogue with children or simply keen on exploring ways of incorporating elements of philosophical dialogue and questioning in their work or interaction with children.

DESCRIPTION: This intensive course is an introduction to philosophical dialogue with children, that combines theory and practice and is aimed at teachers, librarians, parents, writers and illustrations, as well as any other curious adults interested in learning about this practice or simply in incorporating elements of philosophical dialogue and questioning in different activities and levels of education for preschool and primary years, or in literary and artistic creations. 

We will read and discuss picture books, listen to philosophical dialogues among kids, and hold our own philosophical dialogues, with a view to providing basic indications and tools for introducing philosophical dialogue in the classroom, in the library, at home or in books.  

This workshop is a chance to explore and imagine how one might put into practice the many varied and interesting possibilites offered by the unique combination of creativity and rigour brought by philosophy.  
 

CONTENT OF THE WORKSHOP

§ Philosophy with children: why and what for? The unavoidability of philosophy and the direct and indirect benefits of philosophical practice with children. 

§ Introduction to the concept, the history and the practice of philosophy with children. 

§ Basic principles for facilitating philosophical dialogue among children or with children and  basic rules for facilitating sessions or simply incorporating dynamics in the classroom or at home. The facilitator's role. 

§ The group as a community of inquiry. How does one build a community of inquiry? The model of co-operation and joint construction of meaning versus the knowledge transmission model.

§ Listening in philosophical practice with children. 

§ How to encourage and give a central role to questions as starting points but also as arrival points. 

§ Images as vehicles for questions.    

§ Creative thinking. Philosophical flights of fantasy anchored in internal consistency. 

§ Questioning reality and given truths compared to transmitting values. How to distinguish material for 'transmitting values' from material for philosophical dialogue. 

§ Guidelines for selecting good picture books (and other stimuli) for philosophical dialogue. How to tell a good stimulus from a poor one. 

§ Theoretical and practical references.

WHO IS RUNNING THE WORKSHOP?

ELLEN DUTHIE (Cádiz, 1974). Born in Spain of British parents, Ellen holds an MA in Mental Philosophy from the University of Edinburgh.

A writer, teacher, blogger and translator, her interests are focused on children’s literature and philosophy for children. Over the last ten years, she has been developing material to stimulate philosophical dialogue with and among children, using children’s literature and visual stimuli as prompts for discussion. She is the author of the concept and texts of the Wonder Ponder series of Visual Philosophy for Children. 

She has taught several philosophy programs designed and developed for state and private institutions. She currently runs Filosofía a la de tres (filosofiaaladetres.blogspot.com) and Filosofía de cuento (filosofiadecuento.blogspot.com) for preschool and primary school children respectively. 

She has also translated Maurice Sendak's classic work Outside over There (Al otro lado, Kalandraka, 2015) and is the author of the bilingual blog We Read it Like This (wereaditlikethis.blogspot,com), where she reviews picture books, focusing on the experience of reading aloud. 

DANIELA MARTAGÓN (México, 1986).

Daniela is a graduate of Visual Arts from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and holds a Graduate Diploma in Drawing, Graphic Design and Web Design.

Interested in visuals, play and alternative education, her work encompass image, philosophy, narrative and communication.

The freshness and humour in Daniela’s illustrations are the result of a self-demanding process which brings together theoretical research and learning of the craft. One of the most striking things about her work is her ability to thoughtfully digest theory from a broad variety of disciplines and then bring it back in the form of deceivingly simple art.

In recent years she has specialised in children’s and YA literature and holds a Masters in Picture books from ‘i con i’ (Madrid). Daniela’s work was selected for the 2013 Iberoamerican Catalogue of Illustration. 

She is the coauthor and illustrator of the Wonder Ponder series of Visual Philosophy for Children. 

Humans in Zoos?

One of the Visual Philosophy for Children scenes in our book "Cruelty Bites" features an alien zoo exhibiting earthlings -including a human-. 

This alone always leads to a rich and lively discussion, but you can make it even richer by pairing it with actual photographs and stories of humans in zoos and 'exhibitions' from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The above photograph shows Ota Benga, a pygmy who was exhibited in the Bronx Zoo for two weeks in September 1906 in the Apes cage. This was how The New York Times reported it. 

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This other picture shows a small girl from Congo, on show and possibly being fed at Expo 1958, Brussel's World Fair, as part of the Congolese 'village' on display. 

How's that for a prompt for discussion? 

Should robots be allowed to adopt humans?

So you think your family is human? Are you absolutely sure? Think about it...

I, Person, the second title in the Visual Philosophy Children series by Wonder Ponder invites readers to explore two BIG questions: Who am I? and What am I? 

This video shows the making of the followng scene in the I, Person box: 

One of the fourteen scenes contained in I, Person, the second title in the Visual Philosophy for Children series by Wonder Ponder, desgined to invite readers to wonder and ponder about who they are and what they are. 

In the video, illustrator Daniela Martagón shares the different stages in the sketches, composition and colour of the scene, and in this blog post, she has also wanted to share her 'private script' for the scene, the story she imagined behind the scene: 

When a refined English robot from the turn of the 20th century tires of its solitude, it decides to adopt a robot cat in the 20s. For a few decades they live happily in each other's company, but in the 60s they decide they could do with a bit of a romantic, youthful, and dreamy spirit around the house, and they adopt a teenage hippy robot daughter. The charm lasts for a couple of decades, but they soon start to feel the need a mother's touch, so they adopt an 80s robot mother. Towards the end of the 90s, the try to bring some balance to the family with an athletic university student robot son. The family is almost complete. But with the arrival of the 21st century they have a wild idea. Wouldn't it be exciting to have something live? Something different, distingushed, like an Afghan dog. Not bad at all. Nice and obedient. 

But there is still something missing from their family. The latest fashion, truly unique and original: a small human child. Yes, a real child. 

Find out more about I, Person here. 

ABOUT THE WONDER PONDER VISUAL PHILOSOPHY FOR CHILDREN SERIES

Wonder Ponder introduces readers to philosophy's big questions in a way that is playful and appealing. Engaging scenes and intriguing questions prompt reflection and discussion, encouraging children to develop their own thoughts and arguments and to build a visual and conceptual map of the issue addressed in each box. 

Wonder Ponder boxes are designed for children to look at, read and think about by themselves and with others, in educational, play or family settings. 
 

The Ultimate Person-Building Kit!

Imagine you could build a person. 

The poster that comes with the second Visual Philosophy for Children series by Wonder Ponder, I, Person, suggests you might be able to do just this. 

Poster included in the second title of the Visual Philosophy for Children Series by Wonder Ponder

An advert for no less than a 'Person-building kit'. And it's not any old 'person-building kit', no: it's the ultimate one! 

It's the latest addition to the Think & Build series...

It offers no end of possibilities:

All you have to decide is 'what makes a person'. And to get to the minimum necessary parts a person must have, the game proposes a sort of mikado. How many parts can you remove from a person before they stop being a person?   

Think and build...

It includes suggested 'person' models:  

And a final warning:

The authors of the Wonder Ponder Visual Philsophy Series take the posters that come in the boxes very seriously and make them much more than an attractive gift. They take a great deal of work and seek to complement the rest of the content in a way that is fun and interesting. Cruelty Bites, the first title in the series, also has a fantastic poster, a sort of cross between Where's Wally and The Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch, which includes several of the characters from Cruelty Bites and many others from children's literature to look for.   

More information about I, Person. 
More information about Cruelty Bites.

And the winner of the 'How do you know you are not a robot?' competition, by Koiné Filosófica and Wonder Ponder is...

Last month, Koiné Filosófica, in collaboration with Wonder Ponder, launched the competition 'How do you know you are not a robot?', echoing the cover of the our latest Visual Philosophy for Children title, I, Person:  

The instructions were clear:

1.- 'Like' the Wonder Ponder and Koiné Filosófica Facebook pages
2.- Share
3.- Send us an image/video of your children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, cousins, etc. with the answer to the question: 'How do you know you are not a robot?'

The prize? A free copy of I, Person!

Wonder Ponder creators Ellen Duthie and Daniela Martagón were given the hard task of being the jury in the competition and choosing the winning entry. After a lot of thinking and many 'oh! but we like them all! they had to choose one.

The winner is..

Xiana! Congratulations from all the Wonder Ponder team. Here is the picture she sent with her answer. Below is a translation into English of what she said and an explanation of why the jury chose this entry. 

'I know that I am not a robot because: I can feel it when I'm sad or serious or happy and because I change shape every year. Robots are always the same shape, height and width. When I was three, I had short hair, I was shorter and my face was flatter I wore shoe size 12. Now I am ten years old, I have long hair, my nails are growing and I wear shoe size 32. Robots, on the other hand, are always the same shape. For example: 20 cm wide, 1 metre 40 cm tall and 29 shoe size. They are always that shape until they break and shatter into little pieces. Their nails and their hair don't grow either." 

We really loved Xiana's answer. Daniela (the illustrator) was particularly taken with the nail growth argument. Ellen (the writer) was very interested in the thoughts on change. And we would like to suggest another question for us to wonder and ponder about some more: If you have changed so much (almost entirely) since the age of three, are you actually the same person? What has remained the same in you all along? 

Thank you very much to everybody for taking part. We have loved watching/reading and listening to all your answers.  

Until next time!

We leave you with some of the other entries we have also loved. .

The video sent to us by Artesanos del pensamiento, in México (which was unfortunately not in the territory for the competition) was WONDERFUL!. They also told us how they talked about the competition question at school:  

This is what they told us on Facebook: Today in our last school session, we have been talking about ROBOTS. We have behaved like robots, drawn robots and spoken a bit about how we know that we are NOT robots. We also made robots out of plasticine. We  had a great time. We want to thank Wonder Ponder and Koiné Filosofica for asking us the question! Here are some of the answers that came up.
Armando "I'm not a robot because I have blood"
Luigi "Humans have cells that protect us from viruses and robots do not"
Juan Pablo "I am not a robot because I don't have any wires on my head"
Angel "I am not a robot because I don't have an owner to tell me what to do"
Cony "I have hair; robots don't"
Santi "I have shoes and robots have boots"

We have also really enjoyed the entries from Margarita and Ángela:

In particular, there was one argument given by Margarita that we thought was very interesting. 'I know I am not a robot because I always get stung by mosquitoes.'  Thank you, Margarita!

Ángela says: 'I know I am nota robot because I robot doesn't have a heart and I know I do have one. And if a robot does not have a heart, they cannot feel love or feelings'. Thank you very much, Ángela!

And last but not least, here are some questions so that we can wonder and ponder some more: 

IF SOMEONE COPIED ALL THE INFORMATION FROM YOUR BRAIN ON TO A HARD DISK AND INSERTED IT IN A ROBOT, WOULD THE ROBOT BECOME YOU? 

IF YOU WERE ACTUALLY A ROBOT, WOULD YOU RATHER NOT KNOW THE TRUTH? 

WOULD THERE BE ANY ADVANTAGES TO BEING A ROBOT RATHER THAN BEING A PERSON? 

WHAT DO YOU THINK? 

MORE INFORMATION ON I, PERSON. 

The Disturbing Awesomeness of Wonder Ponder

Last June, author and researcher Clémentine Beauvais wrote this fantastic review of Wonder Ponder, focused on our first title, Cruelty Bites.  

Quotes: 
"Let me introduce you to the disturbing awesomeness of Wonder Ponder" 
"Wonder Ponder is different, in its daringness, to other works I've seen of philosophy for children. The graphic style, to start with. The pictures are decidedly dark, hectic, perturbing. Daniela Martagón's visual identity is that of a cheeky, misbehaving, imaginative child." 

"The provocativeness is brilliant".

"Perhaps it's because of the iconoclastic, deliciously naughty feel of it. Perhaps it's because I like Duthie's coherent, plucky position, displayed both in the cards adn in the exra-textual material -online, in her promotion plan, etc. Perhaps it's because I'm always in awe of people taking risks to launch cultural and educational projects like these, especially when they're sure to make at least a few people squirmish. But also more simply perhaps, because it makes me want to sit down with some kids, and adults, and play the game with them."

Read the full review here

Wonder Ponder launches 'I, Person', the second title in its Visual Philosophy for Children series

It's here!
I, Person, the second title in Wonder Ponder's Visual Philosophy for Children series arrived from the printers just yesterday. After Cruelty Bites, the book-in-a-box that prompted readers to think about cruelty in a seriously fun way, comes I, Person, the book-in-a-box that invites readers to think about who they are and what they are.  How do you know that you are not really a robot? Would you have been a different person if you had been born the opposite sex? Could a robot be a better footballer than a human? What would an alien have to have, or what would they have to be like, for us to consider them a person or at least deserving of the same rights as a person? What do you think? 

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I, PERSON

Text and concept: Ellen Duthie
Illustrations: Daniela Martagón

Who are you? and What are you? 

Are you absolutely certain you are a person?
How do you know you are not really a robot?
If you had more than one brain, would you be more than one person?

What do you think? 

The second title by the Cruelty Bites author and illustrator team. 

For ages 8+ to adults

I, PERSON is the second title in the Wonder Ponder Visual Philosophy for Children series.

It is a cross between a book and a game that comes in a box and invites readers to play and think about two Big Questions: Who am I? and What am I?

The questions prompted by the scenes in the box allow the reader/player to go building their own definition of ‘person’ and go establishing the implications of being a person in terms of rights and responsibilities, intelligence and emotions and knowledge and learning.

Like all titles in the Wonder Ponder Visual Philosophy Children series, I, Person is designed for children to look at, read and think about by themselves or with others, in company, in educational, play or family settings.  

Technical Details
17.5 cm x 17.5 cm, 40 pages, €17,95
I, Person
ISBN: 978-84-943167-3-9

THEMES: Robots, Identity, Artificial Intelligence, Personhood, Philosophy for Children, Imagined Worlds
GENRE: Non-fiction, Inquiry, Philosophy Fiction

CONTENTS OF THE BOX: 

• 14 cards with scenes for wondering and pondering. 
• More than 100 questions for curious minds. 
• 3 blank cards for desgining your own scenes. 
• A companion guide for children and adults. 
• Ideas for wonderpondering. 
• I, Person poster. 

ABOUT THE WONDER PONDER VISUAL PHILOSOPHY FOR CHILDREN SERIES
Wonder Ponder introduces readers to philosophy's big questions in a way that is playful and appealing. Engaging scenes and intriguing questions prompt reflection and discussion, encouraging children to develop their own thoughts and arguments and to build a visual and conceptual map of the issue addressed in each box. 
Wonder Ponder boxes are designed for children to look at, read and think about by themselves and with others, in educational, play or family settings. 

THE AUTHORS
Ellen Duthie is the author of the Wonder Ponder concept and texts. She is a writer, teacher, blogger and translator and is specialised in children's literature and philosophy for children. A British citizen born in Spain, she holds an MA (Hons) in Mental Philosophy from the University of Edinburgh. She has recently published Cruelty Bites (Wonder Ponder, 2014) and the Spanish translation of Maurice Sendak's Outside Over There (Kalandraka, 2015). 

Daniela Martagón is the illustrator and co-author of the Wonder Ponder project. An artist and a toy inventor, Daniela was born in Mexico City. She graduated in Visual Arts from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and holds a degree in drawing, grapic design and website design. She has recently published La casa del ciempiés (Narval, 2013), with Ignacio Sanz, and Cruelty Bites (Wonder Ponder, 2014). 

ONLINE SHOP
 

RIGHTS
Claudia Bernaldo de Quirós
Agencia CBQ
info@agencialiterariacbq.com
Tel: (+34) 91 355 3484

MEDIA
Raquel Martínez Uña
rmartinez@wonderponderonline.com
Tel: (+34) 680 587 759

DISTRIBUTION (SPAIN)
Roberto Masi
info@libriealtro.com
Tel.: (+34) 600 214 481

DISTRIBUTION UK
(coming soon)

New Visual Philosophy for Children title, 'I, Person', to be released in June

Our new Wonder Ponder, Visual Philosophy for Children title, 'I, Person' will be available from June 2015.

It's not long to go now for the release of our new Visual Philosophy for Children box, I, Person, about two rather BIG questions: Who am I? and What am I? 

I, Person will be available for sale from our online shop from 11 June, 2015. 

Check out the front and back cover of our I, Person box below. 

Front cover of I, Person, our new Visual Philosophy for Children title out to be released in June 2015. 

Back cover of I, Person, to be released in June 2015

Why we'd never do a box on 'kindness' or 'accepting diversity'

Before we launched our first title, Cruelty Bites, we wrote the post Who's got the guts it takes not to indoctrinate? where we addressed the difference between starting with an idea or value we, as adult authorities, deem necessary and desirable to instill in children and starting with a genuine problem, doubt or question which we, as adult guiding companions believe might be interesting to inquire into together with children.  

When we do a workshop or presentation of Cruelty Bites and the Wonder Ponder Visual Philosophy for Children in general, at the end, we often ask participants to suggest topics for future Wonder Ponder boxes they would be interested in exploring.  

Almost without exception, all suggestions come from a perceived need for children to learn how to think 'properly' about certain realities. Thinking 'properly' here means thinking what we think they should think. In recent presentations with children and parents, for instance, two of the suggestions put forward were 'kindness' and 'accepting diversity'.

LET US START WITH KINDNESS.

Her new robochild is the epitome of kindness. 

'Besides cruelty, you could also do a box on a nicer topic, like kindness'.  Although the suggestion came from a child, several of the parents there agreed. They liked the idea of visual philosophy for children, they liked the approach and the way of prompting dialogue and thought, but was is really called for to start off the series with cruelty? 'That's my only doubt', one mother said to us.  

So why didn't we start with kindness or something more 'positive'? The fact is that kindness is, philosophically, rather less interesting than cruelty, or rather, it is so only in so far as it is the flip side of cruelty or 'evil'. Why? Mainly, because we don't tend to have trouble explaining kindness. Cruelty, on the other hand, we find unsettling. Gratuitous cruelty leaves us, quite literally, without words. How can we accept these acts as part of human nature without feeling shaken? How can we even recognise ourselves in certain cruel or even 'evil' behaviours and still claim that we are generally decent people? There is a clash of concepts, a clash of ideals and a clash of goals. And that's what lights the spark that leads to our concern, to our philosophical engagement and to our desire to search for answers through reflection. Imagine a box with 14 scenes on kindness. What would it be like? How would it engage? Interest? Provoke thought?  

When people suggest we might want to do boxes on topics such as kindness or generosity, what they are really asking of us is to provide positive models rather than models deemed as negative. But at Wonder Ponder, we do not consider that the cruelty scenes included in our first title present negative models. Rather, they show models recognisable as ourselves or as someone we might know in attitudes we find difficult to come to terms with and understand. Our need to understand them better is what makes them genuinely thought-provoking. 

The children's literature market is full of positive models of kindness, generosity and tolerance. Children are fed these messages non-stop: be good, be accepting of others, share. 

To understand to what extent children are bombarded with these commandments and messages, check out a 6-7 year old's comment on the scene below:  

-Is it cruel?
-Yes.
-Why?
-Because he's not sharing it with the baby lions.  

AND WHAT ABOUT ACCEPTING DIVERSITY? 

Here the wording itself is problematic. We could do a box about diversity, or about 'otherness'. A lot to think about there. But we cannot 'think' about accepting diversity. We cannot 'think' about tolerance. Expressed this way, what is really wanted here is a commandment dressed up as thought process: 'be tolerant', 'accept those different from you'. At Wonder Ponder we are not interested in commandments, but rather in scratching those commandments and seeing what's underneath. We are interested in nuances, in exceptions, in doubts. We are interested in thinking about situations where our initial impulse clashes with the commandment, analysing the validity of our initial impulse, understanding the reasons behind our impulses, thinking about them. Is it possible that this thought process might end up reinforcing the commandment some wanted to instill in the first place? In many cases, it is highly probable, indeed. But the path covered before taking on the 'commandment' is very different in one case and another.  

As we said in the post Who's got the guts it takes not to indoctrinate?  we mentioned at the start, we are far more interested in the depth, complexity and authenticity of values and positions when they are the result of a free, uncensored process of reflection rather than of a process of indoctrination, imposition or even gentle prod or influence in the 'suitable' direction.  

Having said this, we love getting suggestions for future boxes! We'd love to hear them on our Facebook page.  

Wonder Ponder's Cruelty Bites reviewed in journal of applied philosophy HASER

Today number 6 of the applied philosophy journal HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, was published, containing the following review of Cruelty Bites written by Jorge Sánchez-Manjavacas Mellado. Full translation below.  

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"Its authors", says Sánchez-Manjavacas, "have created a new level of philosophical and creative interaction with young chldren." 

He calls it "the great revelation of 2014" and assures that it "revolutionises the Philosophy for Children scene including something that is often overlooked: learning to read images". 

"This product brings innovation of the kind that ensures that Philosophy for Children doesn’t lie in the slumber of the same didactic methodologies". 

Transaltion of full review follows: 

Review of Cruelty Bites HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada
DUTHIE, ELLEN and MARTAGÓN, DANIELA, Cruelty Bites, Traje de lobo S.L., Madrid, 2014. 42 pages.
By Jorge Sánchez-Manjavacas Mellado

It is quite common today to come across places where Philosophy for Children activities are organised. Sites such as libraries, bookshops, schools, collective and artistic venues where Philosophy, of an educational and playful sort, has acquired increasing importance and where there is increasing concern regarding the creation of future societies with critical skills, collaboration skills and where dialogue prevails over violence. Perhaps Matthew Lipman would think his methodological proposal of the late 70s bore little resemblance to some of what is happening today, or perhaps this would have been a reason for joy, given that Philosophy for Children continues to evolve, to move and to make progress in many different directions.

Today we bring you what might be termed the great revelation of 2014, a year that has been characterised by significant innovations in the field of philosophical and artistic education, which might be seen as interestingly paradoxical in the light of the decreasing weight of philosophy and art in Spain’s formal education system, with the approval of the new Education Law (LOMCE). This year a new way of doing Philosophy for Children has been launched: Visual Philosophy for Children. Its authors, Ellen Duthie responsible for the philosophy and the didactic side of it, and Daniela Martagón, responsible for the illustration, have created a new level of philosophical and creative interaction with young children.

The Wonder Ponder universe has just arrived with a series of cards, with no apparent order but plenty of sense of unity, where different scenes are put to the reader, together with a caption that helps prompt conceptualisation, dialogue and criticism. In addition, each card contains enough questions, directly or indirectly related to the image and which provide keys for delving deeper and interaction and reflection of the child with other children or of the child with the adult.

Questions such as: “Should aliens be allowed to keep children in cages?; Is it more cruel to keep a boy in a cage o to keep an animal in a cage?; Would eating humans be cruel? Why? Can animals be cruel? Is it sometimes OK to kill ants?”, etc.

It is thus easy to state that Cruelty Bites is much more than a box, a game or a book of Philosophy for Children illustrations. Simply the format chosen has transformed into cards, all of which together help us discuss concepts with young children such as victim, aggressor, power, motivation, emotions, empathy, person, choice, freedom, etc.

This material revolutionises the Philosophy for Children scene including something that is often overlooked: learning to read images. This aspect of the “game” is so important that the box even comes with a map which readers are recommended to look at with a looking glass in order to catch every little detail and dialogue about what they see.

As we have already mentioned, this book is designed to address the concept of cruelty, but from its many everyday options and areas, in educational settings or at home: animal cruelty, self-cruelty, cruelty with other humans, with our siblings, parents, grandparents or even cruelty in the stories we have all been told since we were very young children.

Here, children will find proposals, problems, dilemmas and questions that will make them reconsider, rediscover and redefine what they go considering as cruel. It is a great way for young children to establish their own limits in areas where parents don’t tend to intervene, as it is often assumed that children don’t ask themselves questions about certain things.

The box/book also includes suggestions and ideas for wonderpondering (a verb meaning to ask ourselves questions while we descover). Among the suggestions recommended, we’d like to note the one where the reader is invited to stand in the characters’ shoes, the one where they can make their own Wall of Cruelty, and the one where they are invited to make their very own Cruelty Bites scene, for which the box includes three blank cards for children’s own drawings, captions and where the box can be “completed”, that is, the reader is ultimately responsible for finishing the first title of Wonder Ponder, with the ideas they add to it.

And it seems that this is not the end of the journey for this adventurous writer and illustrator team. Wonder Ponder is preparing new titles: I, Person (on personal identity and the difference between persons and robots), No Way! (impossibility and impossibility), Freedom in a Box (on freedom),The Real Thing (on reality, imagination and dream); What’s it All For? (on happiness and the meaning of life). And so we hope that more and more themes are added to this new way of doing philosophy and thinking in groups with young, curious minds. These issues are also accompanied with detailed philosophical guides, further suggestions for use, guides to creating one’s own scenes, spaces for sharing creations, specific respurces for language learning, as well as for using Wonder Ponder in the classroom and much more. This is all in the website: www.wonderponderonline.com.

Visual Philosophy for Children looks set to be successful and lasting, with this first proposal already being a great potential innovation that deserved to garner attention from all spheres and support from public and private institutions, as well as from the general public.

This product brings innovation of the kind that ensures that Philosophy for Children doesn’t allow itself to lie in the slumber of the same didactic methodologies, but rather is a bold step forward for educating not only in narrative reading but also in the reading of images in a society that is increasingly entering virtual, audiovisual and imaginative and creative spheres. 

JORGE SÁNCHEZ-MANJAVACAS MELLADO
UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE EDUCACIÓN A DISTANCIA

Visit HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada

Cruelty Bites reviewed in El Cultural supplement of daily Spanish newspaper El Mundo

Review of Spanish version of Cruelty Bites (Mundo cruel) in leading cultural supplement in Spain, El Cultural, of the daily newspaper El Mundo. By Cecilia Frías. Published on 13.02.2015. 

English translation provided below. 

Cruelty Bites
Ellen Duthie and Daniela Martagón
Wonder Ponder, 17,95€. (8 and up)

Entering Cruelty Bites is like looking at yourself in a mirror where you don't always like what you see. All this in fourteen cards representing a series of apparently inoffensive scenes. But all you need to do it stop and look at each of the images to discover situations that exude cruelty. Thus, we have the picture of a girl squashing an ant’s head with the point of her pencil, a scene of a father forcing his son to bathe despite the boy's desperate cries for help, or the scene of some siblings teasing a baby caged in its cot, defenceless. This is only a sample, but the questions on the back of each scene give us food for thought for months. Is it cruel to make someone do something they don’t want to do? Why can being cruel sometimes be fun? Are some lives worth more than others? Can one be cruel without meaning to? Does it make sense to punish cruelty with cruelty?

The winds unleashed turn into this flood of questions that do not always find unequivocal answers, but which, through these familiar scenes, make us aware of the dark corners of human behaviour, of how any one of us can become a victim, of how revenge, entertainment or curiosity can lead us to cruel behaviour or of whether animal cruelty is not as important. A work of “visual philosophy” that prompts dialogue and confrontation of positions. A book-in-a-box that everyone should read. Few things could be more invigorating than the invitation on the box: “Open, look, think.”. CECILIA FRÍAS

The Philosophy Club reviews Cruelty Bites

WONDER PONDER TRIUMPHS

First published here on December 25, 2014 · by David Urbinder · for The Philosophy Club.

Cruelty Bites from Wonder Ponder

Parents often ask us if we can recommend any books or materials to help them engage their children in philosophical dialogue at home. As it happens, most material specifically designed for philosophical dialogue with kids is intended for a group and requires some preparation on the facilitator’s part. Cruelty Bites, the first in the Wonder Ponder Visual Philosophy for Children series, breaks the mould with an entirely new kind of stimulus that can be used at the dinner table as effectively as in the classroom.

The heart of Cruelty Bites is a boxed set of philosophically-themed cards, each with an illustration on one side and a series of related questions on the other. The illustrations present richly-detailed scenarios that are open to philosophical speculation. One such illustration presents a child strapped down in a laboratory while rats in lab coats poke and prod him. “No reaction at all to tickling?” the caption reads. “What about pinching very hard? Any reaction there?” In the background, we can see a couple of children in a cage, and another rat in a lab coat handing a lollipop to a caged girl, bringing a smile to her face.

This whimsically-illustrated inversion of reality gives rise to a set of accompanying questions which prompt us to consider the many ethical quandaries around animal testing:

• “Can something be cruel but still be OK to do?”
  “What do you think the rat is doing with the boy? Is it being cruel?”
  “Are some lives worth more than others?”
  “Human scientists experiment with animals to test and discover things that may help humans live longer or better. Is that cruel?”
  “Is it nice of the scientist rat in the background to give the children lollipops?”

The questions are not presented in a prescribed order. Rather, and in keeping with the overall spirit of the package, the questions are scattered across the card in an attractively random arrangement. This encourages a certain freedom in exploring the issues. Children can select a question that grabs them, raise the question, discuss it or just contemplate an answer and, when they are ready, move on to another question. Each card has at least one basic comprehension question suitable for the youngest little philosophers, and several conceptually challenging questions to pique the interest of even the most sophisticated thinkers in the household.

A sample of contents from Wonder Ponder‘s Cruelty Bites

There are 14 scenarios in the box, and although the theme of cruelty may seem limited at first glance, it doesn’t take long to realise that each card alone can trigger an hours-long discussion. Collectively, the cards embrace a wealth of ideas including bullying, moral authority, animal rights, errors of commission and errors of omission, empathy, instincts and power relations.

Cruelty Bites encourages us to play with ideas in any number of ways. Wonder Ponder’s co-founder and author, Ellen Duthie makes some suggestions on the ‘Ideas for wonderpondering’ card, such as asking yourself the same question from the perspectives of different characters in the pictures. This turns the cards into an excellent resource for exploring empathy and alternative points of view. Another suggestion is for children to use the cards as a basis for interviewing people in their community with whom they may not otherwise have common interests. Using the cards to spark discussions with grandparents, baby-sitters and unsuspecting shop-keepers, children can engage in meaningful inter-generational dialogues in which adults may find themselves as perplexed as their young interviewers.

‘World Map of Cruelty’ poster from Wonder Ponder

However, the suggestions in the box don’t begin to exhaust the possible ways of utilising these cards. They offer an excellent alternative to ‘I Spy’ or ’10 Green Bottles’ on road-trips. Ask your little philosopher to describe the scenario of their choice, and then let them lead the discussion by reading out their choice of questions. Cards can also be used as time-efficient alternatives to the storybook stimuli traditionally used in communities of philosophical enquiry, or as a way of generating interest in ethical questions at the beginning of a learning unit in the classroom.

Everything about the visual design of Cruelty Bites is appealing, from the minimal but vivid colour palette to the playful typography. Daniela Martagón’s lively, naive illustrations effortlessly evoke a child’s point of view without sacrificing conceptual clarity. Her style infuses an otherwise weighty theme with whimsy and humour. Ellen Duthie’s text is clear and concise, bringing abstract concepts within the grasp of young minds.

Text and image are interwoven in a way that encourages continued exploration. For instance, an image portrays a girl being pushed and pulled around by some schoolyard bullies, her basket of sweets hurled to the ground. A question on the back asks “What is worse, the pulling or the stealing?” I had to return to the image to notice the previously overlooked detail of a girl stealthily pinching a sweet from the ground.

Zoom of playground bullying scene from Wonder Ponder

A brief thematic guide is included to help you plumb the depths of each enquiry, along with a Where’s Wally-style poster of acts cruel and kind for further reflection. The package is capped off by three blank cards on which children can draw scenarios of their own imagining and compose their own questions for investigation.

The set is accompanied by a website which promises further resources, articles and an opportunity to share your own reflections on the theme. Themes for future Wonder Ponder releases include personal identity, freedom, happiness and the meaning of life. Given the visual, tactile and intellectual magnetism of Cruelty Bites, we’re looking forward collecting them all.

Boxes of visual philosophy for children, from Wonder Ponder

The Philosophy Club runs co-curricular and extra-curricular workshops for children, and training for workshop facilitators. The Big Questions philosophy mentoring program is their flagship in-school program.

This review was published on The Philosophy Club's website on 25th December 2014. 

Presentation for teachers, parents and other curious adults

On Wednesday, January 28th, at 7:30 pm, at La Central de Callao bookshop, we invite you to find out more about our first title, Cruelty Bites, and our Visual Philosophy for Children project in general. (Please note that this event will be in Spanish). However, there will be a chance after the talk to speak personally to the editor and author, both of whom speak English. 

The presentation, by Wonder Ponder editor Raquel Martínez and the author of the concept and texts, Ellen Duthie, is aimed at adults:

(teachers,
parents,
grandparents,
uncles and aunts,
librarians
and other curious adults). 

Come and discover how the project came about, what it is based on and what inspired it, and what on earth we were thinking of when we decided to open the series with a children's book on cruelty. 

Ellen Duthie will talk about our Visual Philosophy for Children project as the author of Wonder Ponder, but also based on her experience as a facilitator of philosophy workshops with children at state schools and other public and private institutions.  

Ellen will also talk about: 

• The use of dialogue in the classroom and in the home. 
• Philosophy as a vehicle for addressing issues we might consider difficult or "hard". 
• The specific contributions of this material compared to other material used as stimulus for dialogue, such as children's literature.  
• The links between fantasy and philosophy. 
• Doubts and insecurities of adults when faced with books that do not give answers and require us to step down from the pedestal of authority. 

We'd love you to come and take part in what we hope is, besides the presentation of our book Cruelty Bites, above all, a chance to talk about the place of philosophy in the lives of children and adults and the role of adults and children in learning.  

What: Wonder Ponder presents Cruelty Bites, the first title in its Visual Philosophy for Children series.
When: January 28th, 7:30 pm. 
Where: La Central de Callao (Postigo de San Martín 8. 28013 Madrid. Metro: Callao). 

With the editor Raquel Martínez Uña and the author Ellen Duthie. 

Take part in the Facebook event here. 

Santa needs your (philosophical) help!

Santa is worried about his weight. Can you help him think of ways he could prove his existence this Christmas that do not involve eating cookies or drinking milk? Could he eat Rudolph's carrots instead? Leave more footprints? Take a selfie while delivering the presents in every living room? Would these things really prove his existence? Why? Why not? 

The Wonder Ponder team wishes you a very happy Christmas full of interesting wonderponderings! 

Cruelty Bites reviewed in El País newspaper (translation below)

EL PAÍS. BABELIA. 13.12.2014.
CHILDREN’S AND YA LITERATURE SPECIAL / Review

Is it cruel to kill ants?

A book-in-a-box enquires into cruelty through play and inoffensive questions.

Mundo cruel
Ellen Duthie & Daniela Martagón. Wonder Ponder. Madrid, 2014. 17,95 euros.
By Nuria Barios

Cruelty is a common theme in children’s literature: abandoned children, hungry wolves, violent parents, bloodthirsty step-mothers, jealous siblings … It’s normal: we are born, we experience joy and suffering in a cruel world and children see the world like it is, and understand it much like we do: that is, not much at all. But in the darkness small lights shine, and a philosopher, an illustrator and an editor have just launched their proposal for talking about cruelty. It is called Cruelty Bites and works like a very modern Pandora’s box, full of tiny, inoffensive questions: Is it sometimes ok to kill ants? When? And how many? Is it cruel to make someone do something they don't want to do? (such as having a bath). Should aliens be allowed to keep humans in cages? Would you feel more guilty if you killed a duck by accident or a snail by accident? If the the huntsman killed Snow White, who would be responsible for her death? The huntsman or the Queen? ... A series of questions leading to others that are far from innocent: Are some lives worth more than others? Does it make sense to punish cruelty with cruelty? Is killing part of life? Is it possible to be cruel without meaning to? Can it sometimes be fun to be cruel? Is punishment sometimes necessary? How do we decide what is OK and what is not OK as a punishment? ...

'Open, look, think', says one of the sides of the box that contains Cruelty Bites. It leaves out one thing, because it is part of the very way the contents are presented: 'play!'. The narrative comes out of its format, opens up, fragments and flows, creating a new and fascinating narrative sequence. Fourteen cards are used to draw a map of cruelty based on scenes familiar to a child; that is, familiar to us all. Like cards from a pack, each of them illustrates a scene and on the back, in black comic-like bubbles, poses several questions. Common scenarios, such as leaving a dog home alone all day, lead to very simple questions that contain very complex issues: is it cruel to make a large dog live in an apartment? We call people who have pets their 'owners'. Can people own other people? Do parents own their children?...

Like a book with loose pages, the fourteen cards can be ordered as the reader wishes. The box also contains three cards laid out for readers to make their own Cruelty Bites scenes. There is another card where, among other suggestions, readers are invited to become a reporter and contribute to the ‘Cruelty Interviews’ by speaking to their grandma, the butcher or their brother’s girlfriend to find out, for example, whether they believe cruelty can sometimes be justified. And the box also includes a fantastic, extraordinary poster, that strikes one as a modern take on Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights. Fantasy, Sendak once said, is the core of all writing for children, for any creative act, perhaps for the act of living.

The authors for Cruelty Bites, the philosopher, the illustrator and the editor, call it ‘visual philosophy for children (and beyond)’. This is the first title of a series they have given an English name, Wonder Ponder, containing the two main concepts of the project whereby a sense of wonder prompts a drive to think. And, of course, to play. The three of them conceive of the book as a transformable and transforming object. The reason why Cruelty Bites is so striking and so much fun, the reason why it combines play and horror so wisely, and the reason it moves with such ease from one to the other, is because its authors look at the world through children’s eyes.

Ellen Duthie, Daniela Martagón and Raquel Martínez chose the 20th of November, World Philosophy Day, to publish Cruelty Bites in English and Mundo cruel in Spanish. Other titles will follow, on subjects including personal identity and the difference between a person and a robot; on possibility and impossiblity; on freedom; on reality, imagination and dream and on happiness and the meaning of life.