Alguém viu meu bico por aí? (Has anyone seen my dummy?)

Synopsis

Catarina is used to sucking a dummy and uses it when she is tired and as she goes to sleep. However, she drops it all over the house. At bedtime, or when they go for a walk, it´s always the same thing: has anyone seen Catarina´s dummy? Asks father, mother and sister Isabel. So, now imagine what happens when the family goes on vacation at a farm, which has a large plot of land, lots of plants, lots of domestic and wild animals, a swimming pool and is near a beach.

Recommended age: children from 3 years old.

ISBN: 978-85-910568-1-1

Author’s words

I wrote this story because I was touched when I saw the dependency of my granddaughter Catarina, 4 years old, on a dummy to sleep and to calm her down. The dummy was like a member of the family: at home, when family had a day out and, especially, at bedtime, it was always the same story: has anyone seen Catarina’s dummy?

In January 2019, I was on vacation with Catarina’s family in the farm they inherited from her mother’s father. It is a pleasant place, populated by several domestic and wild animals, as well as having a vast amount of fruit trees and other plants. The girl likes the place so much that she even asked her mother to stay there forever: “All the animals like me and here I have everything I can possibly need, she explained.

For my part, when I arrived at the farm, the first thing I thought was: imagine if Catarina’s dummy gets lost around here? It will never be found. Hence the idea of this story was born.

During storytelling events, I find that this subject appeals to both children and adults. That it arouses an emotional reaction in them. Adults go back to childhood and remember their personal experience. Parents tend to report the strategies they used with their children. The children, in turn, remember very well the moment when they stopped and are proud of their will power, and they empathise with the protagonist of my story.