Carlo and the Meaning of Life 
Knocking on the Door – to the Nursery 
I Want an Elephant 
Simsim 
Sisi’s Clothespins 
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About the book
Dear Parents,
Children often ask big, existential questions that leave us puzzled!
“Why do you do what you do?”
This is the question the field mouse asks Carlo the earthworm, turning his life upside down. Carlo stops his daily work and sets off on a journey to find meaning in his life. Along the way, he discovers that the task he once thought was simple is, in fact, essential for nature and for the living creatures around him. He returns to his mission with pride.
The book highlights the idea that every individual has an important role—even if it seems small or unnoticed—and that the everyday actions we perform can carry great meaning when we understand their impact on others and the environment. Through this story, we can instill in children values such as responsibility, cooperation, belonging, and self-discovery, while opening a gentle conversation about their own big questions in a way that fits their world and way of thinking.
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Let’s talk about the role of the earthworm in nature
Let’s Talk
About the role of the earthworm in nature
Follow the illustrations with your child and discuss:
How did Carlo feel when he couldn’t answer the mouse’s question?
What happened to nature when Carlo stopped working?
What did Carlo discover about his role and purpose?
About appreciating others’ work
Ask your child: Do you think Carlo’s work is important? Why?
Imagine what would happen if people stopped doing their ordinary or daily tasks.
About the value of their own actions
Ask your child: What is something you do at home or in class that feels important—even if no one notices?
Is there something simple you do every day that actually helps others?
Such questions encourage children to reflect on their personal impact and help them build self-worth rooted in meaning, not just achievement.
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The story uses many question words. Identify them together and use them to practice forming questions.
Let’s Enrich Our Language
The story uses many question words. Identify them together and use them to practice forming questions. Encourage your child’s curiosity by creating questions that begin with why and how, and explore possible answers together.
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Learn about the importance of small creatures in nature—like earthworms
Let’s Explore and Create
Learn about the importance of small creatures in nature—like earthworms (or others). Watch pictures or short clips about their lives, and discover how they help maintain natural balance.
Then, use clay, playdough, or cardboard to create your own “Carlo,” and place him in a small “garden” that you design. Make a picture or model representing the soil and plants around him.
As you build, talk with your child about how Carlo’s small actions make the earth fertile and full of life—and connect this idea to their own everyday actions that make a difference, such as watering plants, cleaning up, or helping friends.
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About the book
Dear Parents,
This fun and interactive book takes us on a journey with our child, where we knock on doors filled with surprises. These surprises allow the child to explore their world, and give us, the parents, the chance to see things through their eyes.
The book helps expand our child’s knowledge, enrich their vocabulary, and expose them to various concepts such as: colors, numbers, shapes, and animal names. It also opens the door to conversations about feelings and develops different sensory skills.
We rejoice as we see our child grow rapidly, experiment, feel, and learn. When we allow them to experience diverse situations and accompany them with patience and love, their curiosity and desire to learn and explore flourish, and they acquire new skills and information. This strengthens their abilities to understand and express themselves.
Let’s hold our child close and knock on the doors of the book together. Let’s read and enjoy it side by side.
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Before opening the door: Ask the child to guess what’s behind the door based on the color or the picture.
Let’s Talk
Before opening the door: Ask the child to guess what’s behind the door based on the color or the picture. Knock on the door and open it together, then observe the illustration and ask: Who’s behind the door? What are they doing? Name the characters, the objects, and their actions.
About feelings: Talk to the child about the characters’ emotions. For example, ask: How did the rabbit feel when it ate the carrot?
About preferences: Ask your child what color they love, and look together for objects of the same color.
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Explore the meanings of some verbs mentioned in the book
Let’s Enrich Our Language
Explore the meanings of some verbs mentioned in the book such as: knock, nibble, rub—then act them out together. It’s important to use these words with your child in daily life.
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Let’s Broaden Our Knowledge
Let’s Broaden Our Knowledge
Colors: Choose a door color with your child, and search the room for objects of the same color, naming them together.
Let’s count together: Hold your child’s finger, trace the animals on the page, and count them. You might ask: How many rabbits do you see? How many monkeys? Then: How many fingers on your hand? How many eyes do you have?
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Imitate the sounds of the animals in the book.
Let’s Play
Imitate the sounds of the animals in the book, like monkeys, or objects like a drum. Listen to the different sounds around you, whether indoors or outdoors, name them, and imitate them.
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We can look...
We can look together at the last page of the book, where it has all the animal pictures: we can recall with our child the name of each animal and why it is hard to bring them home.
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Encourage the child...
Encourage the child to think of an animal that was mentioned in the book and imagine together what we need to change in the house to make it livable for that animal (make a hole in the ceiling so the giraffe can stand straight…)
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We can have...
We can have a conversation about other animals, that are not mentioned in the book, and discuss whether it is hard to keep them in the house and why.
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If you have a pet...
If you have a pet at home, you can have a conversation about it, what the child loves about it and what is needed to take care for it.
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We can imagine...
We can imagine that the dog in the story dirtied the house, and the parents did not like at all. Suggest to the child, what other animals she can raise in the house.
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We are hosting...
We are hosting the animals! Maybe we want to make masks of animals faces and give each member of the family one and ask them to imitate the animal’s voice and way of moving. All we need is to draw the animals face and sticks.
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What are you...
“What are you wearing today? Open your closet and choose…” Sisi Clips invites us on the first page of the book. This activity may be fun to do with the child before reading the story and repeating it after finishing it. Will we choose our outfit our way or according to Sisi’s way?
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What Sisi takes...
What Sisi takes to the cinema that came out of the cornfield and the orange grove? Imagine other places Sisi goes, like the beach or the North Pole. Which fabulous clothes does she bring with her?
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Sisi Clips wears...
Sisi Clips wears large wondrous spectacles that enable her to see the origin of things. We can design together spectacles from colored cardboard and observe our personal belongings and other objects around the house. How do we see our feather pillow now? And the paper pad? This is an opportunity to talk with the child about the origin of materials, their natural environments, and their manufacturing methods.
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Sometimes disagreements arise....
Sometimes disagreements arise between our children and us about clothes. The child insists on choosing his/her own clothes, while we try to convince him/her otherwise because we think the clothes are not suitable. This is an opportunity to listen to the child’s point of view and to discuss the considerations that we take when we choose our clothes (such as the weather, the event, personal taste, etc.)
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The drawings of...
The drawings of the book are surprising, creative, and full of references to the text. Observe the drawings and notice how they indicate the weather or the places that Sisi’s animals/clothes visit.
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Nature is a...
Nature is a rich source of many of the simple products that we can test with our children at home. For example, we can make watercolors from vegetables and plants. Boil on low heat different plants for different colors with water twice its quantity until the water is reduced (shredded beetroot for dark red, or onion peels for yellow/orange, or parsley veins for green). This way you will get beautiful watercolors.
