Sixteen students from Doroty Dobies’s class created very mature and interesting works. Each child received a gift from the istotne.pl publishing house. Five children were specially recognized by Grażyna Hanaf. Amelia Nieradka, Nina Nowacka, Oskar Wójcik, Zuzanna Niewiadomska and Kinga Zając received board games and fairy tales. The author liked their works the most. The writer rewarded dream machines that produced an exotic island, fairies and their flying dogs, a journey into space, a warm children’s room full of toys, and a girl on stage in the spotlight.
The series of meetings with Grażyna Hanaf and the exhibition of illustrations for the fairy tale “Garbuska,” created by Anny Chaberek, were organized by librarian Ewa Wiśniewska. Fifth- and third-grade students took part in the meetings and workshops. In this way, the school celebrated International Writers’ Day, which always falls on March 3.
During several meetings with students, the author presented two of her fairy tales: “Garbuska” and “Zaginieni rodzice,” a new detective story for children. In Grażyna Hanaf’s new fairy tale, an elderly woman, together with her grandson and Detective Darek, searches for parents who have disappeared under unknown circumstances. The excerpts read by the author strongly intrigued the fifth-graders. Many of them bought the book to find out how the search for the parents ended. All the students liked Antonina, the magical, dream-reading and feisty grandmother—the heroine of “Zaginieni rodzice,” as one student described her.
There was also time for creative thinking and activity during the fairy-tale therapy workshops. The students explored their personalities through an interesting and simple exercise. The children had to consider which traits of their character they could turn into superpowers and become a superhero who uses their power to do good. Armed with crayons, the fifth-graders carefully created colorful self-portraits, depicting themselves as heroes.
Marysia Reguła, a third-grade student, wrote a short review of the new fairy tale “Zaginieni rodzice,” for which she also received thanks and a book. Marysia is a very well-read girl and loves discovering new stories. Below, we present Marysia’s review.
The book “Zaginieni rodzice” is a detective story. Parents are disappearing throughout the city. It is not known how or where. Did they deliberately leave their families? Was there a kidnapping? Private detective Grandma Antonina and her grandson try to solve the mystery.
I think this is not a book for younger children, because at some moments it can be frightening, but I liked the story very much because I love suspenseful books.
My favorite character in the book was Grandma Antonina. I like her because she is very unusual. A detective grandmother—it sounds strange. I cannot express her character in words. I am sure there are grandmothers with similar personalities. Grandma Antonina is a little like both of my grandmothers. They are energetic, almost excessively so. Of course, I also liked the other characters. One of the kidnapped mothers reminds me a little of my mother. I mean the one who worked all day and whose children did not notice that she was gone. My mother always has time for me, but she also works a lot. Later, she comes home tired. One of the boys whose mother was kidnapped took great care of his younger siblings. He reminded me of my parents. They always look after me with care. I recommend this book to readers who like adventure stories with a touch of magic.
Grażyna Hanaf donated a complete set of her fairy tales to the school library so that students could borrow them freely. Fairy-tale therapy workshops are educational developmental activities for children that support the building of pedagogical competencies. Their aim is to work with emotions, name feelings, learn how to cope with emotions, get to know oneself, promote fairy-tale therapy, and connect with the creator of the stories being read. This is a useful tool for acquiring new competencies, integrating the class group, and getting to know the student.