A programme for children under five
Nursery rhymes stories, and music
' At the beginning of this series,' wrote a mother recently, 'you told a story and brought in the words, " hammer, hammer, hammer, bang, bang, bang." My little boy was thrilled, and every day waits for you to tell it again.' In response to many such requests, we are repeating it on Wednesday this week.
It is four months since we broadcast this adaptation of Diana Ross 's tale about five little boys who built a house, so it must clearly have made a deep impression. Our correspondence gives us glimpses of some of the reasons-the rhythmic, repetitive pattern, the comfortable fitting together of everything, the counting element, the recurrent ' hammer, hammer, hammer, bang, hang. bang,' with its satisfying sound and its harmless outlet for aggressiveness, while the story's strong appeal to the constructive instincts was well illustrated when one little boy's mother wrote: ' It gave him much food for discussion-I was showered with questions. He himself is very keen on electricity and building; at the end of the story he said, " I wish I could build a little house," then, " will do this house up for you." ' This little boy had indeed become part of the story. Elizabeth A. Taylor