Book guide: Tesla's dad doesn't want to!
Comb your hair and work - Tesla's father says no!
Imagine a father who says no to everything. He doesn't want to comb his hair, not drink coffee and not go to work. A fun book that sparks conversation about saying no and about parents.
Questions to decide
In the book, there are many things that Tesla's father does not want to do. Why do you think he doesn't want to do them?
Tessla still gets her father to do as she wants in the end. What do you do if your parent doesn't want to do the same thing you want to do? What does your parent do to make you do things you don't want to do?
What do you participate in deciding at home? What are you involved in deciding at the preschool? Are there things that you would like to be involved in and decide more about?
Questions about parents, waking up and barrettes
Do you think Tesla's dad is always like this? What do you think Tessla thinks of her father? How do you think a parent should be?
How is Tesla? What do you think of Tesla? What do you think the father thinks of Tesla?
In the book, the father does not want to wake up when Tessla tries to wake him. Do you usually wake up a parent? How do you do it then? Who wakes you up?
Tesla's father agrees to brush his hair if he gets hair clips. His hair looks nice. What colors do you like to wear on your hair clips?
Norms about fathers
In 2021, fathers took 31% of parental leave. So it is still mainly women who are at home with small children. According to the statistics, women are also responsible for most of the care of sick children. It is important that all parents, regardless of gender, create close relationships with their children. In order to change stereotypical masculinity norms, it is therefore important to give children role models where fathers and men are present, empathetic and caring. By offering role models in literature, we can create better conditions for more boys to grow up to be present parents. In this book, the father is certainly troublesome, but the story also shows a close relationship between father and child. In addition, he breaks several "codes", such as combining a suit with hair clips and glitter, and not wanting to go to work.
Family norms
In this book, Tessla lives with her father. Anyone who reads the books about both Tessla's mother and Tessla's father may notice that the parents do not live in the same home. It's something that children who live in multiple homes can relate to, others might not even think about. In Sweden, there are 1.2 million families with children. One in four children lives with one parent or lives alternately in several places. Since the family is our first belonging, it is very important to have it positively and obviously reflected - both for our self-esteem and our self-image. Having all family forms represented on a bookshelf is a way of showing that families are different and equally valuable.
