Fiction -/- Our most nuanced skills for communication were lost when we lost our tails, so the story goes. -/- Huk and Tuk explore ways we can compensate for this loss, by telling stories — tales — through polyphonic listening and by entering into dialogue to create a new, deeper understanding of ourselves and the world we live in. -/- Doing philosophy with children inspired Maria deVenza Tillmanns to recreate the bonds of meaningful communication in the writing of this whimsical, (...) playful story. Philosophy should make us —children and adults — re-think what we think we know and push the boundaries of accepted practices. Hopefully, it will also make us laugh about taking things too seriously. (shrink)

Did you know we used to have tails that helped us connect to each other and the world around us? But then of course we lost our tails — or so the story goes — and now we need new ways to connect. In From Tails to Tales, best friends Huk and Tuk find a way to compensate for this loss. They discover that by discussing stories — or tales, if you like — they can recreate that deeper understanding of (...) themselves, each other and the world, essential for feeling connected. Although the tales they discuss may seem simple, the complex questions they raise make them rewarding for adults and children to ponder together. -/- Doing philosophy with people of all ages inspires Maria daVenza Tillmanns to explore profound ideas through playful stories that help us who have lost our tails to reconnect through meaningful communication and endless curiosity. (shrink)

My latest book is now out in paperback, hardcover and ebook. Huk and Tuk the main characters in “Why We Are in Need of Tails” discuss 6 picture books by authors Leo Lionni and Arnold Lobel in "Why We Are in Need of Tales," Part I. Join them on their philosophical journey. Drawings are made by the children in my philosophy classes at El Toyon Elementary in San Diego, CA.

Why Dreams Are Important There is a very important reason why we are in need of tales. Let me explain. See, a very, very long time ago, before we had tales, we had actual tails. These tails connected us to the world around us and to each other as well. We were able to communicate with each other with incredible nuance and accuracy — and just with the slightest touch or twitch of our tails. Imagine that! Over the course of (...) time, as we developed tools, we started to lose the need for our tails, and they became shorter and shorter until they disappeared altogether. And with their disappearance, we lost that mysterious connection to the world and to each other too. This was, of course, catastrophic, as we all now know. In my little book called Why We Are in Need of Tails, Huk and Tuk — the main characters in the book — explain why we now need tales. They show us how tales can take the place of tails by helping us reconnect to the mystery of life. Then, in my next little book, called Why We Are in Need of Tales, Huk and Tuk, who love sharing tales with each other, discuss six tales by Arnold Lobel and Leo Lionni. This new little book shows us Huk and Tuk discussing six more of Lobel and Lionni’s tales. In this book, they show the importance of why we are in need of dreams. See, dreams — in a mysterious way — also help us to reconnect to the world around us. Dreams are kind of funny because they seem to come out of nowhere. But where is nowhere, you ask? I don’t know, really, but I think our imaginations know somehow, because they can create things out of nowhere. By the way, that’s how Huk and Tuk came into existence. They materialized out of nowhere too. See, dreams can spark our curiosity (by imagining what’s on the other side) and ignite our fantasies (by imagining a world that can lift our spirits) and light up our creativity (by imagining the beauty expressed in art and music). Or perhaps it’s the other way around. Maybe curiosity, fantasy, and creativity spark dreams. What do you think? Either way, this is what these stories are about. And did you know that one of the real geniuses of this world, Albert Einstein, believed that imagination is more important than knowledge? Think about it: Without imagination, we cannot create anything new. How dull would it be if everything were the same all the time? Oh, and there’s something else I need to tell you: In Why We Are in Need of Tales, Huk and Tuk also learn how important it is to keep your eyes wide open. Have you ever taken a walk through the woods? When you walk through the woods, you need to be able to see where you are going. You have to figure out what paths to take. Life is sort of like that too. In order to figure out what paths to take in life, or even what paths you could take in life, you need your eyes to be wide open. Curiosity and imagination, as these next tales will show you, help you to keep your eyes wide open. These tales are about the role dreams play in our lives. Dreams are like a third eye that helps us see things in so many new ways. That’s really fascinating. When we lost our tails, the mystery of life was sort of lost too. Thankfully, tales and dreams can help reconnect us with that mystery. (shrink)

In Why We Are in Need of Tails, we learn how we all used to have tails that helped us connect to each other and the world around us. When we lost our tails, we also lost our most nuanced way of communicating, so the story goes. Best friends Huk and Tuk explore ways we can compensate for this loss. They discover that by telling stories — tales — and by discussing the intriguing questions they raise, we're able to create (...) a deeper understanding of ourselves, each other and the world we live in. Although Huk and Tuk's tales seem simple at first, the questions they raise are nuanced and complex, making them rewarding for adults and children to ponder together. Now, in Part III, the latest in the Why We Are in Need of Tales series, Huk and Tuk gain an understanding of the different choices we make in different situations — and how important choices can be. And they learn that in order to make careful choices, we have to keep our eyes wide open. (shrink)

In Why We Are in Need of Tails — the first book in the Huk and Tuk series — we learn how we all used to have tails that helped us connect to each other and the world around us. But then we lost our tails — and with that loss went our most nuanced way of communicating with the world. In Why We Are in Need of Tales, Parts I through III, Huk and Tuk find a way to compensate (...) for this loss. They discover that by discussing stories — or tales, if you like — they can recreate that deeper understanding of themselves, each other and the world, which is essential for feeling connected. Now, in Why We Are in Need of Tales, Part IV — the final book in the series — Huk and Tuk look at how we deal with situations that are beyond our control. For example, can we really control nature, or must we find ways to work with nature instead? Although the tales they discuss may seem simple, the complex questions they raise make them rewarding for adults and children to ponder together. (shrink)

Russian transition of Why We Are in Need of Tales, Part III by Dr. Sergey Borisov -/- философии Readers are awaiting a new encounter with stories united under the common title Why We Are in Need of Tales. Let me remind you that these deep philosophical books were written by Maria daVenza Tillmanns, a professional philosopher dedicated to the study of philosophizing with children, who has gained valuable experience in this field. Maria’s books are inspired by her work with her (...) students at El Toyon Elementary School in National City (California), with whom Maria held philosophy with children classes for three years before COVID-19. With parental permission, the children provided their drawings, which are used as illustrations for the books. I read Why We Are in Need of Tales, Part III with great pleasure. The focus of this book is on making decisions, sometimes very hard decisions. In Part II, the focus is on dreams — hopes and wishes we have for life. This book looks at how we may best decide how to make those hopes and wishes come true. And the answer Huk and Tuk suggest is deceptively easy: by making decisions “with your eyes wide open.” (5, p. ix). The author of this excellent book managed to describe how to make decisions with your eyes wide open through the playful dialogue between Huk and Tuk. The books are written in dialogue so the reader immediately plunges into the context of a lively conversation. Dialogue not only sharpens attention, but also invites the reader to participate in the conversation. In this way, the reader becomes a listener at the same time. (shrink)

Readers are awaiting a new encounter with stories united under the common title Why We Are in Need of Tales. Let me remind you that these deep philosophical books were written by Maria daVenza Tillmanns, a professional philosopher dedicated to the study of philosophizing with children, who has gained valuable experience in this field. Maria’s books are inspired by her work with her students at El Toyon Elementary School in National City (California), with whom Maria held philosophy with children classes (...) for three years before COVID-19. With parental permission, the children provided their drawings, which are used as illustrations for the books. I read Why We Are in Need of Tales, Part III with great pleasure. The focus of this book is on making decisions, sometimes very hard decisions. In Part II, the focus is on dreams — hopes and wishes we have for life. This book looks at how we may best decide how to make those hopes and wishes come true. And the answer Huk and Tuk suggest is deceptively easy: by making decisions “with your eyes wide open.” (5, p. ix). The author of this excellent book managed to describe how to make decisions with your eyes wide open through the playful dialogue between Huk and Tuk. The books are written in dialogue so the reader immediately plunges into the context of a lively conversation. Dialogue not only sharpens attention, but also invites the reader to participate in the conversation. In this way, the reader becomes a listener at the same time. (shrink)

Readers are awaiting a new encounter with stories united under the common title Why We Are in Need of Tales. Let me remind you that these deep philosophical books were written by Maria daVenza Tillmanns, a professional philosopher dedicated to the study of philosophizing with children, who has gained valuable experience in this field. Maria’s books are inspired by her work with her students at El Toyon Elementary School in National City (California), with whom Maria held philosophy with children classes (...) for three years before COVID-19. With parental permission, the children provided their drawings, which are used as illustrations for the books. I read Why We Are in Need of Tales, Part III with great pleasure. The focus of this book is on making decisions, sometimes very hard decisions. In Part II, the focus is on dreams — hopes and wishes we have for life. This book looks at how we may best decide how to make those hopes and wishes come true. And the answer Huk and Tuk suggest is deceptively easy: by making decisions “with your eyes wide open.” (5, p. ix). The author of this excellent book managed to describe how to make decisions with your eyes wide open through the playful dialogue between Huk and Tuk. The books are written in dialogue so the reader immediately plunges into the context of a lively conversation. Dialogue not only sharpens attention, but also invites the reader to participate in the conversation. In this way, the reader becomes a listener at the same time. (shrink)

Readers are awaiting a new encounter with stories united under the common title Why We Are in Need of Tales. Let me remind you that these deep philosophical books were written by Maria daVenza Tillmanns, a professional philosopher dedicated to the study of philosophizing with children, who has gained valuable experience in this field. Maria’s books are inspired by her work with her students at El Toyon Elementary School in National City (California), with whom Maria held philosophy with children classes (...) for three years before COVID-19. With parental permission, the children provided their drawings, which are used as illustrations for the books. I read Why We Are in Need of Tales, Part III with great pleasure. The focus of this book is on making decisions, sometimes very hard decisions. In Part II, the focus is on dreams — hopes and wishes we have for life. This book looks at how we may best decide how to make those hopes and wishes come true. And the answer Huk and Tuk suggest is deceptively easy: by making decisions “with your eyes wide open.” (5, p. ix). The author of this excellent book managed to describe how to make decisions with your eyes wide open through the playful dialogue between Huk and Tuk. The books are written in dialogue so the reader immediately plunges into the context of a lively conversation. Dialogue not only sharpens attention, but also invites the reader to participate in the conversation. In this way, the reader becomes a listener at the same time. In these stories, simple in content, but deep in meaning, the author managed to reflect the main existential questions that sooner or later arise in each of us. These questions address issues of everyday life, loneliness, authenticity, the integrity of the individual, life and death. And essentially, all are contingent on how we make our decisions in life. (shrink)