Title of the resource
Title of the resource in english
Publisher
YouTube
Original language
Target and Age Group
Primary school
Link to resource
Author of the Entry:
Alessia Borriello, Bologna University, alessia.borriello2@studio.unibo.it
Peer-reviewer of the Entry:
Ayelet Peer, Bar- Ilan University, ayelet.peer@biu.ac.il
Second Peer-reviewer of the Entry:
Lisa Maurice, Bar-Ilan University, lisa.maurice@biu.ac.il
Ciuf Ciuf - Fiabe e storie della buonanotte
Ciuf Ciuf - Fiabe e storie della buonanotte is a youtube channel for children created in 2019 where bedtime stories and fairytales from various cultures are narrated in Italian accompanied by animated videos.
Contents & Purpose
An off-screen narrator recounts mythical stories to children, covering their main points, as the stories are enacted by stylized silent characters in cartoon animations.
The main ancient Greek mythical characters presented in the channel are: Apollo; Cassandra; Hercules; Medusa; Mithras; Poseidon; Prometheus; and Zeus.
The language is simple and suitable for a child audience. The narrative turning points are stressed through straight-forward comments and remarks which help add a didactic element to the story (for example, the story of King Midas ends with a moralistic observation: «il re imparò un’importante lezione quel giorno, e non volle più oro e rose», ‘the king learnt an important lesson that day, and wanted neither gold nor roses anymore’).
The stories are modified for children, with sexual intercourses being presented as kisses, and characters performing evil deeds depicted not as evil, but rather, mistaken.
Further comments
The videos might be used as enjoyable educational support material, and might be recommended as a didactic adjunct for the children’s autonomous homework. A previous knowledge of characters and stories might be helpful, but is not essential.
