From: drabkin <arcanis>
Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 11:46:05 -0700

I've used CRICTOR for years with preschoolers, and also with kindergarten age children. I really don't think that Freudian symbolism has anything to do with its appeal for these age groups (or any, for that matter). The younger children love the incongruities involved -- a long snake in a long skinny bed and that tubular sweater -- and the hilarity caused by having that scary creature -- a snake! -- drinking from a baby's bottle just the way one's sibling does. The older (kindergarten) children enjoy the same incongruities, plus the satisfaction of being able to identify all the letters and numbers, and they like to think up a few more letters and numbers that could be represented by one continuous line. And of course, they all love a story where good (Crictor) prevails over evil (the burglar) and is rewarded by public recognition. Very satisfying. Whatever Freud may have had to say about snakes and ladies, there are times, as he recognized himself in reference to his own cigars, when a snake is just a jungle animal.

Marian Drabkin Richmond Public Library Richmond, CA
Received on Sat 07 Aug 1999 01:46:05 PM CDT