Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/849592
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 16 JULY 2017 39 This Week WHAT can make a book gripping for chil- dren who are reluctant readers? Children who are not keen readers, are usually faced with a crucial problem: they usually find books aimed at their age quite difficult to read. The reasons can be various: maybe they would not have had a good exposure to reading from an early age, or maybe they are dyslexic, or it could simply be that they are more comfortable reading in English, and find reading in Maltese more of an arduous task. Consequently, the child will try to turn to easier books, with less words, with less com- plex sentences, and with less difficult vocab- ulary. In English books for reluctant readers are aplenty. They are planned in such a way that the reading level is easy but at the same time the interest level is more complex so as to keep the interest of older children. However, in Maltese so far, there are no books which cater for 8-, 9- or 10-year old children whose reading levels are equivalent to children aged 4 or 5. So most often these children have to turn to books which are aimed at young children – but these would turn them off completely as the storylines are usually childish and a 9-year-old would refuse to read something "babyish". In order to fill this gap, Merlin Publish- ers are launching a new series of five books, M…m…m…mimli mostri. They are all a bit spooky, witty and chock-a-block with mys- tery: Il-Fatat, L-Iskeletru, Is-Saħħara l-Ker- ha, Il-Vampir u Il-Babaw. The stories and the pictures are aimed at older children, and are not in the least child- ish. At the same time, the vocabulary level and the sentence structure is contained in such a way so as to boost the children's read- ing confidence in Maltese. Based on Catalan tales, these stories are being adapted into Maltese by Clare Azzo- pardi. In Il-Fatat we meet Count Karlesku who runs an advert in a newspaper for vacancy for castle ghost. The witch in Is-Saħħara l- Kerha wants to find a potion to stop scaring people. L-Iskeletru is the story of a child- skeleton called Għadmu who wants to play football with the other kids but seeing as his body is made up of bones, he cannot re- ally kick properly. Lampir the vampire in Il- Vampir turns into a bat at night and goes in search of a dentist because his teeth are still not sharp enough to bite. And in Il-Babaw, we meet a bogeyman who has lost his knack of scaring children. The M…m…m…mimli mostri series is available for sale at all bookshops or directly online from merlinpublishers.com Jellyfish are the bane of summer bathers. Some years we get them in hosts numbering tens of thousands floating around our shores, sending everyone scurrying ashore grumbling that these pests are robbing us of our leisure. A dozen or more species occur in our waters, the most familiar of which is the mauve stinger (M. pelaġja). Despite the chemical weaponry, one cannot but appreciate the animal's diaphanous beauty and pulsating elegance. And before we start complaining about their spoiling our swim, care to remember that these guys' claim to the sea is infinitely stronger than ours can ever be, not unless we develop gills or webbed hands! The sea is their home and they have been an integral part of the marine ecosystem for eons. Jellyfish are an important food source for fish, turtles, etc. and while they don't actively hunt, they themselves prey on small fish, shrimps, etc. that get zapped on touching their sting- laced tentacles. In people, the mauve stinger's poison usually causes no more than a burning sensation. Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate Text Victor Falzon Photo Desirée Falzon 566. MAUVE STINGER GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 469: SIGN THE LETTER - Help us protect 24 of Malta's most beautiful places: http://foemalta.org/pd The Planning Authority has launched a public consultation on 24 sites which have been suggested by NGOs and will hopefully be included in the list of public domain sites. Friends of the Earth Malta is encouraging its supporters to submit feedback to this consultation exercise. Help us protect these amazing sites by sending your feedback to the Planning Authority using the online form. Spooky education for younger kids The M…m…m…mimli mostri series, based on Catalan tales, has been rewritten for 'reluctant' young readers by Clare Azzopardi Act Now: Public Domain Sites Act Now: Public Domain Sites