I'm making my debut on the NEF2.0 blog talking about the power of words, and I'll do it by reviewing the picture book of that name that we have recently added to Club Miboky, our children's book lending service.
Words are a double-edged sword, so accessible to us that we forget how powerful they are. Used well, they could raise the world happiness index. And as I write this, I realise that such an index really exists, but that one of the things it measures is each country's GDP. So I'm seriously thinking of having a word with the United Nations to get them to revise the calculation. Jokes aside, as this picture book reveals, words have a superpower: "Changing people's mood".
Isn't that wonderful? How many times have you got out of bed on the wrong side and come across someone who exchanges a few kind words with you and makes your day! Or, worse, exactly the opposite. Unfortunately, it also affects us when someone says something unpleasant to us.
That is why I've been captivated by this new picture book, "The power of words, learning to be happy", written by Soledad Carmona and illustrated by Paco Ortega. It helps us explain to little ones the importance of treating each other with respect, and that includes speaking with respect, to others but also to ourselves.
Another thing I liked is that it makes us reflect on the importance of using words properly, taking the word ALWAYS as an example. It invites children to think about what the word means and then sets out different everyday uses and whether they are correct or not. Have you ever said something like... "everything always goes wrong for me!"? In this way our young readers, without feeling lectured, end up concluding for themselves how careless use of language can affect the way we feel and live.
And this thought takes me back to the wonderful talks my fellow network member Gema de Pabloused to give us on the importance of positive language in bringing up children.
And to top it all off, I'm going to take you to another recently published picture book, this time aimed at teenagers: "Más putas que las gallinas" (roughly, "More slutty than hens"), published by NubePimienta. 
With a title like that, don't tell me it doesn't make you want to turn the pages and find out what lies behind it. Its author, Luis Amavisca, talks to us once again about the importance of language. Through eye-catching, funny illustrations by Sonia Pulido, the book makes us reflect on how we have used the females of the animal kingdom for all kinds of insults. Hence the book's subtitle... "And other sexist animal expressions".
I'll give you a second to think and see what comes to mind. Personally, the book surprised me, because there are far more than I had imagined. Here is an illustration from the book so you can see how wonderful they are and try to think of the sexist expressions behind each one.
In Spanish we say "más pintada que una mona" (more made-up than a monkey), "menuda loba" (what a she-wolf), "es una lagarta" (she's a lizard), "hablan como cotorras" (they chatter like parrots). And the last straw is expressions like "pelos de leona" (lioness hair), when our dear feline has no mane: it's the male who has one.
And I'm sure some people think these are harmless set phrases, but as we are seeing, words leave a mark inside us, and repeating the same expressions seeps into our society and into new generations. Because, friends... what's slutty about our hens? Let's check the RAE dictionary and see that there's nothing.
So from here I'd like to thank Luis Amavisca and Sonia Pulido for giving us a reality check with this book and making us think. I'm really looking forward to the next inclusive language workshop that will be run by NEF2.0. It isn't easy to change years of habits and customs, but the first step is to become aware of them, and little by little we eat the elephant (oh, poor elephant!).
And to end on a kinder note, talking about words, I can't fail to mention one of my favourite children's picture books: "The Great Word Factory". A story that takes us to a country where talking is expensive, because to say a word you must first buy it and swallow it. Not all words cost the same and, sadly, not everyone can afford the expensive ones. Bruno is in love with Andrea, but he has to compete with Óscar, who has lots of money and has been able to spend a fortune to say to Andrea: "I love you with all my heart. My Andrea, one day, I know, we will be married".
But when words are scarce, we pay more attention to the way we say them: a smile and a look full of love make three words as unconnected and seemingly absurd as "cherry, dust and chair" resonate in Andrea's heart. And our little hero has saved one last word that he wanted to use for a special occasion... I encourage you to find out for yourself which one it is.
We are lucky enough to have every word available to us with a breath of air and a vibration of our vocal cords, so let's use them responsibly.
Ruth Zamorano Gallego