Communication is Telling and Listening [Hardcover]

Aliki (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1993 | Age Level: 7 and up

Communication is sharing knowledge. It is telling news. It is expressing feelings . . . and being heard. As she did in Manners and Feelings, Aliki explains and illustrates for the youngest readers the many facets of one of the most important concerns of our daily lives. Communication is what Aliki does best. Full color.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The author/illustrator of the ebullient companion works, Feelings and Manners , has produced an equally beguiling picture-book survey of one of the human race's most important imperatives--communication. Dedicated to "all the tellers and the listeners of the world," Aliki begins with a definition: "Communication is sharing knowledge . . . telling news . . . expressing feelings . . . and being heard." In her characteristically perky mix of gentle, wryly humorous black pen drawings illumined by watercolor and pencil, she introduces a multicultural cast of endearing, honest kids. Each page reveals a progressively involving explication of the many ways people communicate: writing, active and sensitive listening, responding, questioning, sharing feelings, telling the truth (even if in anger or pain), waiting your turn, obtaining information, and more. Not even the hottest pop-psychologist of the moment could improve on this reassuring overview of how people seek connection--"so you know you are not alone." Ages 5-up.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4-- Aliki introduces readers to many forms of communication, the reasons to practice them, and some of the barriers that may be encountered in the process. Unfortunately, despite her spirited, colorful cartoons, the text bogs down as simple explanations are cluttered with not-so-simple exceptions and commendable, but confusing, bibliotherapy. The difficulty of communicating feelings is clearly related to the subject, but its inclusion here clouds the clarity of sender-message-receiver-feedback. Verbal and written communication share space with braille (depicted as visual not tactile so one wonders how a blind person can feel a dark spot on a page) and sign for the deaf. Nonverbal communication is touched upon along with animal communication, pen pals, use of puppets, greeting cards, and miscommunication as in the game of gossip. The vivid illustrations represent a variety of ethnic groups and a wealth of emotional textures. An adequate collection of tidbits with little if any competition at this level, Communication has many possible applications in an educational setting or a parent and child may read it together . Youngsters may enjoy the illustrations and grasp a point or two, but it is unlikely that independent readers will seek it out. --Jody McCoy, Casady School, Oklahoma City
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover
• Publisher: Greenwillow; 1st edition (April 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688105297
• ISBN-13: 978-0688105297
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,071,507 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Aliki is the author and illustrator of more than fifty books for children that are treasured by readers all over the world. Her many well-loved titles include My Visit to the Zoo, My Visit to the Aquarium, My Visit to the Dinosaurs, Wild and Woolly Mammoths, Tabby, and Those Summers. Aliki lives near the Globe theater, in London, England.

In Her Own Words..."Aliki grew up in Philadelphia in a big Greek family where everyone was busy creating and sharing their activities. She knew from the time she was in kindergarten that she wanted to bean artist, although music was also a natural talent. She was encouraged throughout her early life by her parents and by teachers she will never forget."She graduated from the Philadelphia Collegeof Art and started a career in advertising art. After she married Franz Brandenberg, Aliki continued her career in his country, Switzerland, where they lived for three years. It was there that she wrote and illustrated her first book, The Story of William Tell, which was published in England. When they moved to New York, Aliki wrote and illustrated My Five Senses--the book that changed the direction of her career and her life.

Although she had never thought of being a writer, Aliki has been making books ever since. Children's books, she says, are a combination of two things I love: words and pictures. I also love the privacy of books--both reading them and making them. Aliki writes fiction, in which she can express her feelings, and nonfiction research books about subjects she's interested in and wants to know more about. Each book is a new challenge; each is different, she says. The subject directs the way I illustrate a book, the same way friends bring out different parts of us. The challenge is to get the words right and then to make pictures that expand and enhance their meaning.""Besides her own books, Aliki has illustrated many written by Franz Brandenberg and other authors. Her two children are also in the arts. Jason is a filmmaker and Alexa is a children's book author-illustrator. They appear in almost all of her books as cats, mice, or themselves.

Aliki loves music, theater, cinema, museums, children, her cat, Nefertiti, and working in her garden in London, where she lives. She travels frequently to the U.S., Greece, Switzerland, and other parts of the world, though most of the time she is alone in her studio with the books she is working on--and Mozart."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth Re-Reading, June 27, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Communication (Paperback)

Adults and children alike may benefit from the object lessons provided in this book. Although she has limited her subject to interpersonal speech (this is NOT about media or communication technology) she has managed to provide a mulit-faceted view. Readers consider why it is innappropriate to talk too much as well as not at all, how to encourage friends to open up, how to speak to strangers, etc. Like most of Aliki's books, each scenario can be poured over. Children will enjoy exploring this book again and again. If there is a weakness it is that some of the subject matter is covered in Aliki's earlier book entitled Manners.