5 Fantastic Phrases By Gianni Rodari
Almost all of Gianni Rodari’s phrases are directed to children or speak of them. This Italian writer, pedagogue and journalist was passionate about the phenomena of the imagination. He found children to be an inexhaustible streak of fantasy and truth. That is why he dedicated a large part of his work to them.
Like many of his contemporaries, he lived through the rigors of World War II. He lost one of his brothers and close friends to that conflict. And also, he had a notable activity as a journalist in those years.
Gianni Rodari’s phrases reflect one of his great virtues: originality. He carefully cultivated children’s literature. His work Grammar of Fantasy became a true classic. Today he is remembered as a man who understood the child’s mind and did everything to revalue it. These are some of his claims.
The crying and laughter of children
In many of Gianni Rodari’s phrases a sensitive pedagogue appears, who advocates respect for children. Also for an education that protects the sensitivity and awakens the passion for knowledge. An education, fundamentally, human.
His position on the matter is synthesized in this statement: “ Is it worth it for a child to learn by crying what he can learn by laughing? In this case, call for an education that is neither restrictive nor harsh. Academic discipline does not have to be suffering.
The best gifts
A theme as simple and at the same time as profound as that of gifts also took place in Gianni Rodari’s phrases. In this regard, he points out: ” The best gifts are not bought, the best gifts are those that are made. “
In today’s world we have become accustomed to gifting items and objects to others. This, perhaps, allows compliance with a protocol. At the same time, it strips gifts of their deepest value: the authenticity of affections involved in them.
One of Gianni Rodari’s phrases about the error
Error is a universal theme. It has provoked all sorts of reflections throughout history. Gianni Rodari’s vision on this is fabulous. One of his sentences says: ” Errors are necessary, useful as bread, and often beautiful: for example, the tower of Pisa. “
This is, without a doubt, a beautiful way to approach the error. Not only does it point out that mistakes are useful, but it also shows that they can result in something unexpected and beautiful.
What is in our heart
Fantasy is the axis of all thought and literary work of Gianni Rodari. Hence, when referring to what is inside the human being, he says: ” In our hearts we all have a knight full of courage, who is always ready to go back on the journey. “
It is a way of pointing out that within each one of us that dreaming child is still alive, that puts wings to his imagination and wants to undertake great adventures, full of noble purposes. In fact, all his work is a call for us to get in touch again with that inner hero who is still alive in some corner of our hearts.
The true value of fantasy
Rodari makes a radical defense of imagination and fantasy. One of his statements lets you see very clearly. It goes like this: ” Fantasy is not a bad wolf to be afraid of, nor a crime to be constantly watched, but an extraordinarily rich and stupidly marginalized world. “
People are often called to be “realistic.” Even children are required to stick to the facts. It seems that imagining too much is a threat, when in practice it is a source of inexhaustible wealth. Each fantasy also has a lot of truth. Rejecting it or belittling it is equivalent to cutting off one of the most valuable parts of our being.
All of Gianni Rodari’s phrases are beautiful and inspiring. Their work as a whole is a tribute to childhood. Not only to that childhood of age, but to the inner child that inhabits us all. His words are very refreshing for a world that is often arid and not very sensitive to the true priorities of the human being.
