Popcorn is, quite simply, the friendliest chicken at Fiddlesticks farm! When she finds a Fabulous Friend Machine in the barn, she sets about making some brand new friends. But behind the screen of the Fabulous Friend Machine, maybe her new friends are not so friendly after all...
A cautionary tale from the globally best-selling Nick Bland.
Nick Bland was born in the Yarra Valley of Australia, in 1973. He was the son of an artist and a primary school teacher, and spent his early years on the farm where his parents lived. At age six, he moved with his family to 'the bush'. He wanted to be a cartoonist and a writer from a very young age. In 1996, he took a job at a book store, and decided to write and illustrate children's books. His first book, "A Monster Wrote Me a Letter" was published in Australia in 2005. He currently lives in Darwin, Australia and works full time as an author illustrator.
Popcorn is the friendliest chicken at Fiddlesticks Farms, eager to say hello to anyone she passes. One day, she discovers a glowing object on the straw and sees a small icon. She pecks it and it says HELLO to her. Well, how can you not be friendly, so she pecks out a hello in return. Soon, Popcorn is so fixated on the banter through this screen that she forgets her friends around the farm. During a party for these new friends, Popcorn gets herself into a little trouble and must hope that she can find a friendly way out. Neo quite enjoyed this piece and found it quite amusing to see a chicken with a cell phone. Interesting message inside the story, for young and old alike, about real friends and those on screen.
In the era of Social Media and Mobile Phones internet and connectivity , everything is so accessible and at our fingertips .. There is so much disinformation and false facts floating around as videos and texts and posts..
And , then there is the danger of children being harmed through these media by the predators..
So, in my search for introducing the idea of fake facts and disinformation, I found this book, which is not about disinformation at all, but about preying on kids through different internet access points.. social media and what not...
This is a basic intro book we can start the discussions about and to create awareness about these things... esp if they have access to the net.
As for the book... it is Absolutely 😍... the Illustrations are ❤.... the Fabulous chicken is Fabulous ... 👌 book !
We loved it. ❤
It does what it sets out to do.
As they grow , we can talk about these things in detail.
Ce livre est un must à avoir dans la bibliothèque des enfants.
Au travers une histoire loufoque et amusante, il aborde la dépendance au téléphone cellulaire et les dangers de parler et de rencontrer des inconnus.
C’est vraiment un livre qui amène une belle introduction à ces sujets.
C’est sur qu’il faut garder en tête que c’est un album jeunesse et que le tout est survolé mais ça permet tout de même à l’adulte de sensibiliser les enfants et de développer à sa guise ces sujets pendant ou après la lecture.
Bien que ma fille est loin d’être en âge d’utiliser un téléphone cellulaire, elle a saisi, grâce aux méchants loups et à Pep la poulette, le plus important du message et ça, c’est l’essentiel.
Un livre qu’on a loué à la bibliothèque mais que je vais assurément acheter.
Un magnifique petit album pour initier les enfants et réfléchir aux possibles dérapages des médias sociaux tout en soulignant l’importance de prendre soin des gens près de nous. ❤️
A fabulous picture book for all ages from the wonderful Australian author and illustrator Nick Bland. Besides being an entertaining story on one level it has a very important cautionary tale for modern times. What does it mean to be friend? What are friends that exist in the technology world as opposed to friends that are real? Should we be weary of "friends" we don't really know? In a society that is increasingly spending so much time staring at their phones, this picture book opens up discussion about our phone obsession to young and old alike! Well done Mr Bland.
A fantastic book that gently introduces some of the issues with social media & online usage. In just a few pages & pictures it covers: 1. The dangers of not being "present"/ignoring your real friends in order to interact online 2. Not being observant of your surroundings 3. It taking up all your time, late into the night; and 4. The danger of meeting people who you only know from their online personas
A great story with good seeds to plant in children's minds & good discussion prompts.
Pipoca mora numa fazenda junto de seus amigos e é considerada uma grande amiga: sempre simpática e sorridente, tem sempre uma boa palavra ou brincadeira para cada um. Por isso é mais querida por todos. Até que encontra uma telinha brilhante com um envelopinho contendo uma mensagem. A partir daí descobre uma série de amigos virtuais, envolve-se nesse mundo e gradualmente vai perdendo contato com seus amigos reais. E será mesmo que aqueles desconhecidos eram mesmo amigos? Ou poderiam representar um perigo? Para ser lido com os pequenos (leva cerca de 5 minutos) e estimular um debate sobre o tema. Um importante alerta, até mesmo para nós.
Histórico de leitura 06/08/2018
"Pipoca era simplesmente a galinha mais simpática da fazenda Fricotico. Ela sempre dizia olá para cada um dos animais todas as manhãs."
I loved this book! Very clever using the trope of a hen with it's echoes of Henny Penny and the Little Red Hen, to tell a cautionary tale but with a very modern twist. Had me laughing out loud and sharing the book with children and adults alike - it has something to say to all generations. I'm sure we'll all find a little bit of ourselves and our friends in the pages of this book!
Omg!!!!!! Such a good kids book!!!!! I taught a lesson on Theme today with this book! It has a very powerful message that I feel like all the adults in the world need to read this book!!!!
Cette amusante histoire de basse-cour signée Bland vous aidera à introduire auprès de vos jeunes cocos la notion "d'amitié virtuelle" et de la cyberdépendance.
Pep la poulette a plusieurs amis et elle passe en temps normal beaucoup de temps avec eux. Mais voilà qu'un jour elle tombe sur cet fantastique appareil qui lui permet d'avoir un nombre invraisemblable d'amis! Littéralement emportée par ce nouveau gadget, Pep y passe tout son temps et si elle a l'impression d'avoir plus d'amis que jamais, la réalité est qu'elle néglige ceux qui le sont de puis longtemps. Et puis, un jour, elle se fait demander une rencontre par ses "nouveaux amis" et qu'elle n'est pas sa surprise quand ceux-ci s'avèrent être des loups mal intentionnés! Heureusement, les amis de Pep viendront la tirer de ce mauvais pas. Pep sort grandis de cette mésaventure et sait maintenant que ses amis proches sont bien plus important et dignes de son attention.
On touche à plusieurs choses ans cet album. Primo, montrer qu'avoir des amis qu'on ne connais pas peu être dangereux. Secundo: que nos amis de chair et de sang ne devraient jamais être remplacés par des relations à la limite factices, surtout pas totalement comme ce fut le cas avec Pep. Tertio: que les écrans sont addictifs et nous coupent de la réalité au détriment d'une autre, qui n'a rien de concret.
Sans démoniser les réseaux sociaux, signalons tout de même aux enfants qu'il y a des risques et que comme toute chose, il faut se montrer parcimonieux. Rien de devrait être utilisé à l'extrême, surtout pas les réseaux sociaux. Remplacer la qualité de nos amis réels par le quantitatif d'amis virtuels devient un enjeu bien réel, car cela affecte les rapports pro-sociaux, diminue nos contacts réels avec des gens et nous entrainent dans des relations superficielles ( voir dangereuses, je pense à la cyber-pédoprédation, par exemple).
Bref, un album rigolo et dont les messages sont très clairs. L'idée n'est pas de ne pas utiliser les réseaux sociaux, mais bien d'en comprendre les limites et les dangers, d'être avertis et prudents. C'est un outils de communication, mais pas un remplacement aux amis. Les images sont également très attrayantes!
Dans l'axe de la cyberdépendance, retrouvez aussi ces œuvres petits romans forts à propos: -Une journée sans écrans ( Album jeunesse, Fleurus) -Un chien trop connecté ( Roman débutant, Marmite à mot) - J'arrête quand je veux! ( Roman intermédiaire, Mijade)
The Fabulous Friend Machine is a book about kindness and friendship. One day, Popcorn, the chicken, found a mobile phone and thought it was friendly. In the meantime, wolves came to Fiddlesticks Farm to eat Popcorn. Luckily, her friends came to save her from the wolves.
The most interesting part of this story was the time when Popcorn, the chicken, told splendid stories to the cows at their milking time.
The part I like most in this story is when a dog, who is one of Popcorn’s friends, chased the wolves, who wanted to eat Popcorn.
Pipoca é uma galinha muito, muito simpática: trata todos os seus companheiros muito bem e está sempre a postos para animar todo mundo! No entanto, quando ela encontra uma estranha máquina (celular), a galinha muda completamente com seus amigos e não os dá mais atenção. Além disso, se expõe a novos "amigos" que acabam não sendo o que Pipoca esperava, o que a coloca em grande perigo! Sorte dela ter uma amizade tão boa com os animais da fazenda que a ajudam nesse problemão. Uma história bem gostosa de ler e cheia de possibilidades de aprendizado relacionado a segurança online e tempo gasto em tela.
A cautionary tale for modern toddlers. Popcorn is the friendliest chicken at Fiddlesticks Farm, until one day she succumbs to the allure of a phone. Popcorn makes new online friends who turn out to be not so friendly as they might seem. I do love that she is called Popcorn chicken, that's naughtily fun. And there are chicken crossing the road gags. I didn't really get this on my first read through, but I've read it a couple of times and it is growing on me now. Worth a look.
Belle fable technologique sur les risques de la technologie portative sur nos vies et sur nos relations directes. J'ai lu cet album à des enfants de 3 ans et ils se sont tout de même sentis interpellés. Les images sont belles, colorés et en accord avec les propos de l'album. Le scénario est bien ficelé, et l'on comprend vite les avantages et désavantages de recourir aux tablettes et cellulaires constamment dans nos vies!
Je suis vendue aux livres avec des poules, c'est sûr! Celui-ci a des illustrations adorables, une histoire avec une Morale Utile (mais ça ne sonne pas faux ni trop, alors ça va), et des détails imaginatifs absolument charmants -- la petite poule qui fait des petits spectacles de marionnettes aux vaches pendant la traite, par exemple! Bref, une poulette attachante -- et de la place pour un peu d'exclamations quand on fait la lecture à voix haute. Bien aimé!
Love that chicken. Awesome illustration job. A chicken with a big personality. They need to be a bit less preachy and polish their message a bit. Throwing the phone away is not going to happen and so not really useful information or truly solving the problem. Sorry if that is harsh. 95 percent there. Try again. Worth it to make it great.
A fun read that works on lots of levels. Great choice of recurring words in distinctive fonts, and the main character's name - Popcorn - how great is that?! A cautionary tale about choosing your friends wisely (and perhaps also not letting your virtual life take over from real life, which is terrific).
An excellent and very well written book that cleverly illustrates the topic of technology for younger children. It tells the story of a chicken who finds a mobile phone which she thinks is a friend machine. This timely and relevant book is ideal for discussing with children the importance of understanding how to safely use technology.
A good book for kids and parents alike. I say parents with a tongue in cheek attitude. It’s about friendship, technology and understanding how you don’t always know who is on the other end of your digital device. The story is kind and clever without being too scary for children. Popcorn is a cute little chicken.
A cute modern-day story about stranger danger. In fun, kid-friendly terms, Bland describes the addictive nature of online communication and the perils of forsaking your real friends to message with strangers. Popcorn the chicken is a relatable and funny protagonist.
J'ai beaucoup aimé les illustrations et ça l'aurait pu être un album drôle et cute pour les enfants. Malheureusement, l'auteur tombe dans le ton moralisateur voir même dans le fameux discours technophobe . Dommage.