I like the books written by Carmen Tiderle – they are joyful and funny. They amuse me.
I read the books trying to see – “Hmm, what’s the hidden agenda?”. Most children’s books have a hidden agenda – they try to give you a moral story. You learn ethics, principles, and values.
In her books, Carmen Tiderle doesn’t generally focus on morals; the books seem to be like children seem to be – sometimes righteous, at times not so much.
There’s a different Trojan horse, though, harder to spot, at least for me – education. I’m 43 and have some studies, and I’ve read some books; yet, some references are not that easy to comprehend for me, a 43-year-old person.
What would a child likely do when they meet a sentence with a reference they won’t understand fully? That’s right – they will likely either ask their parents or search the Internet for an answer.
Her books make you want to find out more.
The moral part is a compromise on the idea of “OK, I will treat you, a child, not as a superior moral. But, in turn, since you connect with me on the emotional level, try to catch up on the intellectual level, and find out more about the references in the poems”.