CHILDREN AND

Reading guide YOUTH

The Straw Man

Rosa Cerna Guardia

Editorial: Children's Alfaguara

Illustrator: Kike Riesco
Series: Orange 116
No. of pages Solidarity, love, dedication,
Values: friendship

1. Author information
Rosa Cerna Guardia (Peru, 1926)
She is the Peruvian writer with the longest career in creating
books for children. He has received national and international
awards.
Among her works we have: Two blue stories and a straw flower ,
The girl with blue braids , The days of Coal and A flower of
stories to carry in the heart .

2. Argument
The Straw Man is a compilation of 14 stories that occurred, mostly, in the mountains of
Peru that are told by a teacher.
The stories begin with “The Water Bird,” which tells how a mischievous shepherd boy is
turned into a little bird by drinking water from a river. When he meets a girl and tells her
how he became a bird, she offers to take her to the town to break the spell, but the bird
refuses, telling him that being the way he is he feels happy.
The story that gives rise to the title of the book, “The Straw Man,” tells how a country
man is considered a guest at a meeting of illustrious people in which the position and
responsibility of each one would be decided. . This man was known as the straw man
because he lived in a house with a thatched roof. At the end of the meeting he received
some titles of nobility such as: representative of the farmer, advisor to the hungry birds,
minister of agriculture, ambassador of the moon and the stars, among others.
Each of the stories contains messages with teachings from which there is much to learn.

3. Theme
Beliefs, adventures, formation of values

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4. Suggestions for working on transversal themes

Education for coexistence, peace and citizenship

The girl with the blue braids created birds for others, thus bringing joy to their
hearts. Ask students to talk about how they try to make others happy and how they
feel doing so.
Serafina, the porcelain doll, asked her owner not to keep her in the box and to share
her with the other girls in the town no matter how they treat her. Ask students to
answer: why didn't her owner want to lend Serafina? How did Serafina feel after
playing with the other girls? Who really was Serafina?

Education in values or ethical training

The cobbler repaired people's shoes for free; In reality he was a composer of souls.
Ask: What speech would you use to make a person who treats others badly change
their attitude?
In “The Straw Man”, several prestigious people talk about clothes and their
importance. Comment on the following phrase: “Tell me how you dress and I will tell
you who you are.”
The author describes her friendship with little Tristan. Promote dialogue with
students about friendship and ask them how they select their friends and what they
share with them.
Education for love, family and sexuality

One of the trinkets a man sold were wishes to keep the family together. Ask
students to respond: If you had lived in that time, what trinket would you have
bought? Because?
Juan's mother (a cobbler) was the most important person in his life, who guided his
life as a shoemaker. Discuss in class: which member of your family is important in
your life? Because?
The little dyer painted people with colors, but he really painted the soul with joy. Ask
students to talk about how they can bring joy to others.

5. Suggestions for the development of activities integrating other

areas
Activities for the Communication area

Promote oral and collective reading.

Ask students to describe some of the characters in the play.
Ask students to choose one of the stories they liked the most and to create a comic
strip from it.
Many of the stories in the texts are myths or legends. Ask the students to

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investigate a Peruvian myth or legend. Suggest the following pages:

http://www.webhuanuco.com/mitosyleyendas.htm
http://www.pucallpa.com/pucallpa/mitos-y-leyendas-de-la-selva.html
http://www.adonde.com/peru-peru/mito-y-leyenda.html
Form groups of four and give the students the name of one of the story titles. Ask
them to create a new one based on the given title. Present each of the stories
created.

Activities for the area of Science and

Environment
The treasure of one of the children in the story was a starfish. Ask the students to
find out information about her and record them on a sheet.

Name

Class

Description

Activities for the Social Personnel area

Most of the stories are set in the Peruvian Andes. Ask students to find out facts
about that region: characteristics of the relief, climate, rivers, animals typical of the
area, etc.

Activities for the area of Religious Education

One of the stories tells about wooden angels. Investigate who the angels are and
what their importance is for the Catholic Church.
In the story “Everything for a colored ball”, it is said that at six in the afternoon the
nuns fell on their knees to pray the Angelus. Ask students to research about it, its
origin and diffusion.
Noelillo was a little shepherd who was born on the same day and time that Jesus
was. Discuss preparing for the arrival of Christmas and why we should wait for that
date.
Ask students to read the Bible , Matthew 2:1-18, and comment on Herod.

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Activities for the Art area

Instruct students to create a new cover for the book.

Ask them to draw one of the landscapes in which one of the stories takes place.
Create an origami bird.

6. Vocabulary

It is
recommended
Use the dictionary.
Know and work on the terms before starting reading.
Display them on a poster while reading.
Recognize them from the context.
Use them in examples.

Trifle (20).- Smallness, insignificance.

Stearin (25).- White, tasteless substance
insoluble in water, which is used to make
candles.
Shed (25).- Rustic site to protect people and
objects from the elements.
Muslin (25).- Cotton, silk, wool, etc. fabric,
thin and not very dense.
Felt (25).- A type of non-woven cloth that
results from conglomerating wool or hair.
Awl (34).- Iron instrument with a very fine tip
and wooden handle, generally used by
shoemakers for making holes and sewing.
Emery (44).- Artificial stone or sandpaper,
used to sharpen metal instruments.
Alba (46).- First light before sunrise.
Ember (52).- Something that shines and
shines a lot.
Aniline (84).- Word used to popularly refer to
various products used as colorants.
Organdy (91).- Very fine and transparent
white cotton fabric.
Macramé (91).- Fabric made with knots,
which resembles lace.
Brocal (92).- Wooden fence that is placed at
the mouth of the boot to fill it easily and drink
through it.
Rump (98).- Haunches of a cavalry.

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The Straw Man

Before reading Rosa Cerna Guardia

I look at the image and

respond
What character are you
representing?
How is?

Where can I find it?

Why are there birds around you?

What is its purpose? Do you think it's

scary?

I
discover
I look in the word search for the words that complete the titles of some of the stories
in the work.

H of the By a of colors
e water
The girl of the blue M Tristan
y
H of wood M and my hat
e y

I
commen
Do elves exist? What do I imagine they are like?

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 Reading guide
Memory
CHILDREN AND
• I close my book after reading “My doll Serafina” and underline YOUTH

During the lecture

the expressions that correspond to this story.

- Elisa was Serafina's owner.

- Serafina wanted to play with the other girls.
- Serafina's owner was selfish.
- Serafina was mistreated by the other girls.
- Serafina belonged to the future.
- Serafina's real name is Clarita.

Complete

• After reading “The Cobbler,” I solve the crossword puzzle with the words that should go
in the blank spaces.

- Juan had an eye of........................................

- Juan discovered his true.............................................: be a shoemaker.
- The poster had a drawing with shoes...........................................
co - With one of his eyes, Juan saw the...............................of people.
'c - When Juan's mother died, he became a shoemaker........................................
o
- Because of this history, the.....................they use a crystal ball to see the
D
future.
_
g
0
&
E
or

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• I look at the image and write what happens in the next scene.
CHILDREN AND
YOUTH

I
describe

I identify

• I color some characters that have appeared in the different stories.

C I relate
D
C • One with arrows each title of a story with the corresponding
D fragment.

The people, fearing another trick from

A boy and the starfish the magician, did not return to the park
again.
For a colored ball When Valentin arrived home, his mother
He ripped a brooch-sized piece out of his chest.

My doll and my hat

We passed through a gallery of nuns
busy in very strange tasks.

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Sequence

I order the events of “Noelillo” according to how they occurred. Number

from 1 to 4

Noelillo settles in the Faithful to his destiny,

children's house to sing one night he devised the
Christmas carols to Jesus tambourine, the drum
and the panpipe.

They named him Noel, He called to the wind

because he was born on and the wind answered
the same day as Jesus. him behind the
mountains

I
commen
Do you think the 194-year-old was right to ask to live to 200 years? Because?
How did the teacher convince Pixie not to want to become a boy?
What is the importance of the straw man? What titles were you awarded?
Who was Tristan? Where had it come from?
In “My Doll and My Hat,” what memories of her childhood did the author have?

We
participate

What I liked most about the story was What I liked least about the story wa

becaus becaus
e e

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Editor

• Many of the stories told are personal experiences.

I write an anecdote or experience that happened to me a few years ago.