Reading Circle
Olga Orman
Olga Orman was an Aruban author. She wrote not only books, but also poems in Papiamento and Dutch. She was also a teacher for a while. In collaboration with artist Wendela de Vries, who illustrated the accompanying prints, she designed the children's book Michi.
Michi
While working in education in Amsterdam, the Aruban author met children from various cultures with the most beautiful names. The will of her headstrong first grandchild Eva gave her the idea to write a book about the life of a contrary toddler named Michi. There are a lot of things Michi doesn't want. But what does she really want?
Similarities and differences between
the story and my own culture/experiences
The story about a headstrong 3-year-old toddler sounds familiar to many. In every culture you will experience this. Just think about yourself, your own little brother/sister/cousin or the toddler you meet in public. Their behavior always boils down to the same thing: they want to push their own way. Just like in the book, toddlers in everyday life do not settle for the “normal” things and say no wholeheartedly. In fact, they want something special, different from the others. The book gives the example of chocolate milk because it is tastier to drink than regular milk. Challenging and looking for that little bit more is, I think, the motto of toddlers. Until they realize that they would actually like to be a bit like the others (the adults).
In addition to cultural similarity, there are, of course, differences. An obvious example is that Michi does not want to wear shoes, but cowboy boots. This refers to the landscape in Aruba. In fact, the country is known for its wild west landscape with desert sands and succulents such as the many cacti.