Dad of Divas' Reviews: Book Review - The Knife And The Fork Go Dancing

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Book Review - The Knife And The Fork Go Dancing

About the Book
Much of a child’s education focuses on reading and writing, while social skills are often overlooked.

Traudi Allen’s The Knife and the Fork Go Dancing focuses on the benefits of peaceful conflict resolution and cooperation with others. Allen embeds valuable lessons for children into a whimsical world where ordinary households objects come to life. Beneficial to children’s social and emotional development, Allen covers the following themes:

  • Many conflicts result from misunderstanding
  • By helping others, we help ourselves
  • An affectionate gesture or a kind word, even from child to child, can be healing for the giver as much as the receiver
  • A positive view changes the world by a simple variation in perception
  • Solutions to problems can often be found by approaching the situation from another point of view


“Children need answers to situations that occur in their lives, just as much as adults do,” says Allen. “I think we still tend to fall into the 'eye for an eye' mentality which doesn't get us very far.”

As she continues to work on her series of children's books, Allen centers her stories around applicable life lessons told in an engaging style that allow readers of all ages to enjoy and absorb the values into their own lives.

About the Author
Traudi Allen is a Melbourne writer and art historian who has published five books and numerous articles on Australian art. After working in television and radio current affairs she regularly contributed interviews and documentaries on art subjects to ABC radio talks programmes. Her early books include a biography of Clifton Pugh, a monograph on the work of John Perceval and an analysis of the Melbourne Roar group. More recently she has lectured in contemporary Australian art and published a text titled 'Cross-currents in Australian contemporary art'. Her latest art book is 'Homesickness: nationalism in Australian visual culture'.

She is currently working on a novel of literary fiction and is publishing a series titled 'The House series of picture books for children'.

My Take on the Book

Although this is a story about a rivalry between a knife and fork, their jealously, and the reaction they experience from hurting each other.Iit is also a story about friendship. There is a friend (the spoon) who helps the two friends to see how they need not be jealous of each other.

Isn't that often how friendships seem to travel? Don't we need to see how each of us has special talents and gifts we bring to our world.

As a parent, you could easily use the message of this story and relate it to your child's life and the real life friendships and even family relationships. We all have value. We are all different. We bring our special talents and gifts to each situation. Look deeper into the meaning of this book. You will find it has a lot to offer you.

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Disclaimer  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.

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