NORA THE MIND READER

A little girl’s sensitivity to childhood banter is assuaged with the help of her resourceful mom, who provides an inventive tool for interpreting altered meaning.

When kindergartner Nora is insulted by a classmate’s comment about her “flamingo legs,” mother gives her a magic wand to look through in order to see people’s thoughts as they speak. Using a photo-collaged–in pink soap-bubble wand like a pair of fancy spectacles, Nora sees not only the traditional speech bubbles with everyone’s commentary, but also a soap bubble with a more insightful thought, thus reading the mind of each person. For example, when a little boy states, “I’m hungry,” his accompanying thought bubble says, “I want some chocolate.” When Nora’s animal-loving friend Harry calls her “flamingo legs,” she sees his thoughts as, “When you’re around, everything looks pink. I know what a flamingo is! I’m so smart.” Armed with this ability to hear between the lines and infer meaningful interpretations, Nora gains confidence and realizes that the key to social interactions is understanding that what people say aloud is not always what they really think. Essential to completing the concept in this Israeli import is the striking collage art created with cream-hued paints over a Hebrew newspaper and curvy-lined crayon drawings filled in with rosy pinks and indigo for Nora and Harry respectively.

A thought-inspiring approach.