Date: Fri 28-Aug-1998
Date: Fri 28-Aug-1998
Publication: Bee
Author: SHANNO
Quick Words:
Creative-Thinkers-Tierno
Full Text:
A New Book Series Teaches Creative Thinking To Youngsters
(with book covers)
BY SHANNON HICKS
DANBURY -- Creative Thinkers, Inc, recently launched a series of children's
books for ages 5-9 that demonstrates ways in which problem-solving and
thinking skills are used in everyday events. A company created nearly 15 years
ago by Susan F. Tierno, Creative Thinkers, has its headquarters at 8 South
Street in Danbury.
Characters in the books are called "Think-kidsâ." The children answer
universal questions or face an everyday problem that many children around the
world can relate to. Each book is summarized at the end with a "Think-kidsâ
Think About It..." page, which recaps the book's theme and invites discussion
between child and parent (or teacher).
Yipes! Stripes! encourages the discovery of a very common pattern seen
everywhere. Role playing and a productive imagination are discovered in Who
Can I Be? , while Let's Find Out encourages children to ask questions to learn
about the world around them. What I Do Best has a story about what one
"Think-kid" is good at -- building towers -- but its lesson is to think about
the beginning, middle and result of anything that has a plan to it.
Each book is 16 pages long. Thanks to their brevity, the books tell a simple
story and let the young readers imagine the details on their own. Currently
there are 20 titles in the Think-kidsâ series.
Susan Tierno, president and founder of Creative Thinkers, Inc, wrote eight of
the books in the series; Kathryn Castle wrote two of the titles; the remaining
stories were written by Karen M. Rogers. Senior editor is Michael McGuffee.
Illustrators for the series are Patrizia Ahlers-Johnson, Gediman Bulat,
Michael Ramirez, Neima Rucker, Jessica Schiffman, Piper Taylor and Perry
Vasquez.
"The schools, and the mothers, like [the Think About It... pages] and the
books' storylines," Ms Tierno said last week. "They have told us they think
the Think Page is absolutely fabulous.
"It's a good way to have a parent read to a child, and then reinforce the
process that goes into an everyday situation."
The Danbury company is already working on new titles for the Think-kidsâ
series, as well as tie-in promotional pieces such as workbooks, Ms Tierno
said. Currently, the Creative Thinkers books are available on the Web at the
company's web page (www.thinkkids.com) and from Barnes & Nobles page
(www.barnesandnoble.com).
The company's 800-number (800-841-2883) is also a direct line for ordering the
books, each of which is available for $2.95. Packages of four books in a
similar category, such as Patterns, How-To, or Collection Connection, are
offered for $10.95.
Plans are "in the works," said Ms Tierno, for a deal with a "very large
distributor" to get the books into Target and other chain stores.
In the meantime, Ms Tierno and other authors are already working on future
releases for the Think-kidsâ series. New titles, which Ms Tierno hopes will be
ready by next spring, will be accompanied by music on cassettes.
Children today are surrounded by more information than ever. Between faxes,
modems, computers and cable television, says one of Ms Tierno's brochures for
Creative Thinkers, Inc., "children are growing up in an unprecedented
information age.
"It's not so much that children need to absorb more information," the brochure
continues, "but they need to understand it better by making use of the brain's
ability to connect disparate elements." Young brains need to be helped more
than ever in digesting all the information that is swirling around them. The
Think-kidsâ books do just that, by taking something that seems simple to most
adults and breaking it into smaller pieces for younger minds to put together.
The child in the story I Hate Projects is faced with a dilemma: the teacher
has assigned a project, and the child has no idea what to report about. The
child's mother, big brother, the school principal and librarian are each asked
by the main character of the story for some words of advice. Projects, the
child finally realizes, need plans, ideas and a theme.
The company behind the new book series was formed in 1983 by Susan Tierno.
Creative Thinkers has always been focused on offering learning seminars to
children from second grade to high school level. Ms Tierno felt that if
businesspeople could profit from creative-thinking seminars, then why not
reach children using a similar set-up?
Ms Tierno holds a master's degree in bilingual studies. She taught gifted
students in Texas, then began a series of creative thinking seminars there,
before moving to Connecticut and offering the seminars here in the early 90s.
The seminars, like the Think-kidsâ books, teach children how to analyze and
become organized, ask questions and make choices, and learn strategies for
planning and organizing. The seminars help children make decisions to make
preparing reports and projects for school, and other everyday tasks.
Ms Tierno is in the middle of planning a few Super Saturday seminars, which
will be held in October and then in January in Connecticut and the upper
Westchester County area of New York. Super Saturdays are shortened versions of
the seminars for kids Ms Tierno offers.
The October seminar will be "Have You Done Your Homework?" The seminars after
the first of the year will cover "Calculate Your Money" and "I Hate Projects."
Each program follows the storyline of one of the Think-kidsâ books, then gives
specific coaching tips on each topic. Ms Tierno said last week she expects to
see a good turnout for the programs, specifically the "I Hate Projects" Super
Saturday, which offers successful strategies for good time management.
"All the mothers love that one," she said.
Certainly the most common theme running through the books is the idea of
thinking something through. Children must learn to think on their own, which
is what Ms Tierno emphasizes during seminars she presents for adults.
If you want to help your child with his or her homework, she says, encourage
them to break down the problems and assignments but do not do the work for
them. Make the children ask more questions about the problems, even return to
the teacher for a clearer explanation, if necessary, but don't just give them
the answers.