Book guide: Tesla's mom doesn't want to!
Eat broccoli, brush your teeth - Tesla's mother says no!
Join Tessla and the rowdy and reluctant mother. She doesn't want to go home from the park, not wash herself and not go to bed. How can we do when we want different things or when someone says no!
Questions about conflicts
In the book, Tessla's mother does not want to do as Tessla says. Why do you think she doesn't want that?
Are there things you don't want to do but have to do almost every day anyway? Why don't you enjoy doing it? How would you like to do instead?
Exercise! Try role playing. Let the children be two and two. One must try to get the other to do something. For example: Come and let's draw! Come and let's crawl! The child who is asked the question must say no. Then the first child has to find another way, for example: Come, let's crawl! - No. Ok, but if we jump? - Yes!
Switch roles and discuss whether it was difficult to come up with a proposal, how it felt to say yes and how it felt to say no, and how it felt when someone said yes or no.
Questions about properties and sleeping
How would you describe Tesla? What features does Tesla have? Do you recognize yourself in Tesla? How would you describe yourself?
Do you think Tessla or Tessla's mom is having the most fun this afternoon? Who would you like to be if you could be any of them? Why?
Tesla's mother doesn't want to sleep alone. Why that, do you think? Is there someone you would like to sleep with? Why? Have you slept over at someone's place? How did it feel?
Norms about mothers
In this book, the mother gets to assume a mischievous role and violates both the mother role and the adult role when she does not want to do the everyday chores. In addition, the mother shows that it is fine to play however you want, regardless of gender, for example by becoming "Spiderman" in her play. Mothers appear more often in books with smaller children than fathers. They are more often caring, and fathers are more often mischievous. But children need role models where mothers and fathers provide care and can fool around and play. In this way, they themselves receive support in developing their identity so that it suits them and not the expectations of others.
Norms of ethnicity
We live in a society where ethnic diversity is a matter of course, unfortunately this is missing in children's books, newspapers and the media. Recognition is an important aspect of both reading and reading pleasure. But being mirrored also becomes a way to build a positive self-image and to feel included in society. Recognition can take place in different ways; we can find common denominators with people who in many ways are and live differently than ourselves. And we can find recognition by recognizing external aspects such as upbringing environment, family or ethnicity. Both aspects are important. By portraying and including children and adults with different ethnic backgrounds in books in an obvious way, we broaden the norm and show that we are all equally valuable.
