Christel Minne Bücher

The narrative centers around a young girl who dreams of becoming a queen, intertwining a fairy tale with the history of chess. Aimed at encouraging girls to engage with the game, the picture book features whimsical illustrations and a rhyming format that aids in memorizing chess rules through repetition. Accompanying this is a Toolbox designed for adults, offering innovative strategies for teaching chess to children, whether individually or in groups, based on the author's extensive teaching experience.

This toolbox full of tips and games accompanies the picturebook, which incorporates all the rules of chess. Teachers, parents,grandparents, and chess coaches learn how to build it up step by step. The message is: have fun. Enjoy the book and the gamestogether. Take your time. Don't go through the book all at once but learn pieceto piece after which you rehearse the chess piece. I work with small groups of 6 to 8 children for a maximum of30 minutes at a time. With the four-year-olds, I explain about the king andafter that, we play four different games. During the last game, before theylearn to move the rook, I put a car on the chess board. Every toddlerknows not to stand in the street when a car approaches. So they have to movetheir king to safety each time. Actually, they are already lifting checkwithout realizing it at the time. The hardest thing for experienced and trained chess playersis to apply the game in such a way that you think at the toddler's level. Makeit very simple. Don't overwhelm them with too many rules at once. Tackle itplayfully using the language of their environment.

How is this book now different from other chess books for young children? Well, it starts as a fairy tale about a King, a Dragon and a young Girl with a dream. A young girl is the main character because by doing so, I want to encourage girls and make it clear that this game is also for them. The history of the game of chess is incorporated as you get acquainted with the characters. The picture book is very inviting with plenty of funny and beautiful drawings. There is a lot to discover! For the youngest preschoolers it is best to tell the story in your own words, but the older preschoolers fully enjoy the rhyming story. Every chess rule can be found in an attractive drawing. An important didactic choice of the author. Just like the choice for the story in rhyme form, preschoolers love repetition, this is a handy tool when memorizing the chess rules.