global empathy

Tiger Skin Rug by Joan Haig – Book Review

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I really enjoyed this story by debut author Joan Haig. It conjured up a real sense of place in both Scotland and India. I love stories that cross genres. This provides an intriguing balance of family drama, real-world adventure and mystery mixed with magical realism. It is filled with some great description and action, with several twists and turns to keep your attention. There are also some important messages about family and what it means to belong. I would highly recommend for children aged 9+ years.

Lal and his brother Dilip have recently moved to Scotland with their mum, dad and Naniji from India. They are homesick. Their parents bought the house from an old lady together with the furniture. One day Dilip finds the tiger skin rug in the living room is real, and can magic into a real talking tiger.

“Something – what was it? – was rippling, across the tiger skin, rippling from underneath it. The ripples were growing…” (p21)

The tiger needs their help to  unravel some secrets and honour an old promise and in return for their help he promised to take them home. This takes them on a journey first to a closed-down auction house near Waterloo station, then to Coventry in search of a professor and onto India, as it turns out the professor is at a conference there.

There is a wonderful part in the first few chapters where local girl Jenny confuses the Scottish for ‘lassie’ (a girls or young woman) with the Indian drink ‘lassi’ (an Indian yogurt drink). The way that the author handles this helps the reader understand what it might be like to be in a new place and to explore ideas relating to belonging.

“My lassi filled me with happiness – cardamom, brown sugar and Indian sea-sides; tangy tastes of things I missed, the sweet and sour of home. Jenny liked her milkshake and gulped it down: maybe she was OK, after all.” (p19)

You do have to take a little leap in the part where they fly on a magic tiger rug all the way to India! But, once in India descriptions make you feel like you are really there. The shift to India has been made easier for the reader by the author’s decision to start the story in Scotland. This means the reader experiences India through the eyes of a child who knows it well but whom is also delighted to return. Which somehow makes it feel less foreign (for those that don’t know India) Though even Lal discovers there he has things to learn about the contrasts between the rich and the poor in India.

The children finally track down Menko Chatterjee (the University professor). and he and the children return to the Indian forest where he grew up. For a truly special ending and a few final twists. Danger still lurks and will the tiger get to complete his mission? You will have to read it to find out!

 

You can read my chat with the author here
You can buy the book from Cranachan publishers here.

 

Grobblechops by Elizabeth Lair and Jenny Lucander

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Is a retelling of a poem by Rumi, a renowned poet and philosopher who lived in ancient Persia. This is one of several of his poems which have been translated by the publishers Tiny Owl, and brought to life in engaging and thoughtful picture books for a new generation.  I love all the retellings, but this is my favourite so far.

On one level it is a story of a boy, called Amir, who is scared to go to bed, because of the monsters underneath it.  The boy’s dad gently encourages him to make friends with the monster, so he won’t be scared anymore. But, there is so much more to this story, there are other important messages that are being conveyed.

In the story the boy and his dad discover that fighting monsters doesn’t get them anywhere.  The dad encourages the monster to go off and play and says:

“when the grown-ups see how nicely you and little monster are playing, we’ll stop arguing and sit down for a cup of coffee to talk things over.”

The original pictures by Jenny Lucander beautifully capture the dialogue between the boy and his dad. They include many scenes children recognise. Whilst at the same time there is a distinctive ‘other world’ fell to the illustrations.  In her artwork Jenny has managed to create a unique monster which is both lovable and scary.

 

A truly special and unique bet-time story, which will help children deal with their night-time fears. It might also help children deal with their anxiety over making new friends.  It also has universal messages about acknowledging and making friends with your fears, and that fighting what you are afraid off is rarely the answer. This will resonate with children of all ages and adults.

Then you to Tiny Owl for sending me a review copy of this book.

You can find out more about the book and download a free poster on Tiny Owls website

The book is also available to buy from me at Readers that Care

Stories with diverse characters: where children are doing everyday things

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Having taken a particular interest in stories that represent children from all sorts of backgrounds. I have noticed that it is only in some of them that the BAME (1) children are doing everyday things, and where their culture or background is not the focus of the story. In this blog post I wanted to highlight some stories that do this particularly well through four mini-reviews. Two of them are picture books and the others are illustrated short chapter books.

Jabari Jumps – Gia Cornwall
published by Walker Books

This story deals with a child’s first experience of doing something in a most delightful way. The story is about being scared to do something new, but then finding the courage to have a go. This is something any child or parent can identify with. Jabari, with gentle encouragement from his dad (who lets him take his time), finds he has the courage to overcome his fear, and to jump off the high diving board for the first time. Gia Cornwall has made great use of soft and bright colours in her illustrations, which are really effective in helping to convey the feelings in the moment. These include scenes by the poolside, and mini-snapshots of Jabri as he takes each small step to the high board.  This is sure to inspire children of all ages to have a go.

Lulu Loves Flowers – Anna McQuinn and Rosalind Beardshaw
published by Alanna MAX books.

This is one of several Lulu stories.  It takes you through the steps Lulu, and her mother take to grow some flowers, fruit and vegetables from seed, in a way that even very young children will be able to relate to. Then they share what they have grown at the end with Lulu’s friends.  I have found that many young children are fascinated by things that grow. Anna McQuinn has taken a common theme and added her own special twist.  These include: a lovely connection with the nursery rhyme: ‘Mary Mary Quite Contrary’ and; a visit to the library to look up the flowers they want to grow. There is plenty for young children to spot in the illustrations and talk about. Hopefully this will inspire more children and their parents to have ago at gardening too.

Great Telephone Mix-up – Sally Nicholls and Sheena Dempsey
published by Barrington and Stoke

My son read this when he was in year 2. It was one of his favourite Little Gem stories a collection of stories with different authors and illustrators for children aged 6 to 9 years, published by Barrington Stoke. They also have Dyslexia friendly font and pages, but are great for children of all reading abilities.

At the start of the story the telephone lines go down in the village. You are then introduced to each character and/or family in the village. The colourful illustrations of Sheena Dempsey really bring the characters to life. It’s clever as the physical features of the characters aren’t actually mentioned in the story so you need to look at the pictures to find out, although the names might give you a bit of clue.  The BAME (1) characters are two adults, called Jai and Aditi, which again is a clever touch. They are not the only ‘reflecting realities’ characters in the book. It’s surprising how rarely you see any children or adults in a picture book wearing glasses. It is great to have a grandma wearing glasses. And some read haired people that are just part of the story, and their hair colour isn’t used to convey a message.

The next day the phone lines are reconnected, some brilliant conversations between the characters follow. Soon you realise the phone lines have been mixed up, and different villagers are getting other people’s calls. My son thought this was really funny. What follows is a brilliant piece of storytelling where the reader and the characters are trying to work out who’s message’s they are getting. This leads to them helping each other, and understanding their neighbours a little better.

Mint Choc Chip at the Market Café – Jonathan Meres and Hannah Coulson
Published by Barrington and Stoke

Another great book in the Little Gem collection, by Barrington and Stoke. I would recommend this  for slightly older children aged 7+ years,

At the start of the story the main character Priya tells the reader three of her favourite weekly things to do: football on Tuesday, science club on Friday and helping at her parent’s pet stall in the local market on Saturday.  It is a heart-warming story. Priya learns that unexpected events do not necessarily lead to disaster, and that having an ice-cream with her Nana-ji (Nana) can always make her feel better. I especially like the bit where the girl and her Nana-ji go to the Café for an ice-cream, which is beautifully brought to life by Hannah Coulson’s illustrations. I also really like that when Priya and Nana-ji are talking in the Cafe you get hints of the girl living in two cultures, but this is just part of the conversation. For example when Priya recalls her mum making Kulfi.

“Because Nana-ji always said there was not problem that couldn’t be solved by a delicious bowl of ice-cream”

(1) BAME – Black, Asian, and ethnic minority people

You can buy the books from me at Readers that Care, or a good local bookshop.

You can find out more Barrington Stokes Little Gems here

Small independent publisher  Alanna Max Books have more great stories with diverse characters.

 

 

 

Awe-inspiring non-fiction – discover and explore the wonders of our planet.

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For almost 15 years of my adult life I read  mainly non-fiction. Then three years ago I discovered middle grade fiction and have read mainly fiction since. However, a Reading Rocks ( Twitter: @_Reading_Rocks) chat for non-fiction November got me thinking about the way’s we engage with non-fiction texts and that non-fiction is often not talked about as much as fiction. Looking into a selection of recent non-fiction books I am discovered that many are expanding the boundaries of  ‘more traditional’ non-fiction, creating some truly awesome books that you will want to return to time and time again . For someone that also loves picture books, modern day fiction with its blurring of curious facts and information with awe-inspiring illustrations and photographs is a real treat. I kick-start my non-fiction discovery with 3 fabulous books that explore planet earth and some of the creatures we share it with.

Natural Wonders of the World – Molly Oldfield and Federi Bordoni

Get set to travel to some of the most awe-inspiring places on earth.

Molly Oldfield introduces her book:

“I love to travel and explore I wanted to create a book that is like a passport to the world, filled with pages that take you to the most incredible natural wonders on Earth. Get ready for adventures”

This is a coffee table style non-fiction book, with huge pictures, of animals, plants and trees and double page spreads featuring some of the most amazing landscapes in the world. It also has an annotated map, to show you where in the world you can find them and an index. Making this a really versatile book that will appeal to many sorts of readers.

There are facts about some intriguing creatures, including the Christmas Island crabs, Tenrecs of Madagascar, birds of paradise in Papua New Guinea. But, it is the landscapes this book takes you to that really excited me.  For each landscape featured in the book you get information about the physical features, how they look and some information about how they are formed. There are also some great size comparison so you can get an idea of the size of some of these natural wonders, such as the Crystals are:  ‘so big that people can walk along them!’ or a spring that is ‘deeper than a ten-storey building’. You also get snippets of stories about people discovering the landscapes and some examples of helping wildlife too. Here are two examples:

Molly Oldfield describes the moment when two brothers, who were working in a mine, discovered some giant crystals in Mexico:

“Imagine how the brother must have felt when hard at work, they suddenly broke through a wall into a magical space filled with enormous, ancient crystals!”  p21

Crabs on Christmas Island, in the South Pacific:

“The people of Christmas Island are careful during the migration. The crabs are ushered towards tunnels called crab grids that go underneath the roads so they don’t get squashed. A crab sized bridge has even been built on one road” p24

There is so much to explore in this book. To help you to begin to do that I have made a list of 6 things to find.
NaturalWonderminiQuiz.

Fanatical About Frogs – by Own Davey

I have to confess this is the first of Owen Davey’s fabulous non-fiction books, published by Flying Eye Books that I have seen. I will be definitely be looking up the others after seeing this! What I love about this particular book is that it chooses a creature that most children and adults know little about. Which means it will both introduce animal lovers to a new creature and potentially appeal to children that would not normally pick up a book about animals.  It takes a classic non-fiction topic of exploring the characteristics and behaviour of a particular animal, in this case frogs and toads and through a unique layout and truly amazing illustrations transforms it into something truly special. That you are going to want to dip into time and time again.

In what is mainly bite-sized information I learnt so much about frogs, with those eye-catching illustrations drawing you in to look closer every time. This includes: how they catch their prey, regulate their body temperatures, the different croaks and calls they make. There is lots of variety in the presentation of the information, from almost full-page pictures, labelled diagram of the features of a frog, and a page of the life cycle of a frog. With detailed, accurate and precise information, and truly amazing artwork, Owen Davey’s books set the gold standard for a new generation of non-fiction books. There is a contents page and index, making it easy to explore this great book.

 

We Build Our Homes – by Laura Knowles and Chris Madden

A little different to the other two non-fiction books. This is written more like narrative fiction, with a different bird, insect or animal on each two-page spread telling it’s storey of how it builds it’s nest or home. The soft coloured and textured illustrations give a warm feel to the book, and bring the animal homes to life, leaving you in awe about what creatures on our planet can create. It includes: some unique bird’s nests, each using different materials and techniques, a peep into the world of bees, ants, wasps and spiders and animals such as: Gopher tortoises, moles, polar bears and beavers. A timely reminder that we are not the only creatures on Earth to create amazing things, and that we may even have things to learn from them.

At the end there is a simple map of the World and a mini fact files on the bird, insect and mammal builders, which adds another dimension to this book. The book gives three different ways to explore the way creatures build their homes: first person narrative, detailed illustrations and the fact files. Giving different children the opportunity to engage with this intriguing topic in a way that suits them, and plenty of scope to explore different ways of presenting non-fiction information.

 

Thank you to Flying Eye Books for a review copy of Fanatical About Frogs, the other two books I bought my own copies.

 

 

Maisie’s Scrapbook by Samuel Nash and Jo Loring-Fisher

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Maisie’s scrapbook is a gentle but inspiring story about a girl who is brought up by parents from two different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. In many respects it is a simple story, about the little things in life. From playing hide and seek with her mum to watching the stars and the sunset with her dad. Her two parents, nurture, play and chat to their daughter, helping her blend two cultures and become her own person. It is cleverly linked to the passing of the seasons, which gives lots of emotion and atmosphere.  The colourful collage like illustrations by Jo Loring-Fisher are wonderful and really bring the tale to life.  The fact that the story progresses over different seasons has enabled the illustrator to make good use of a range of warm and bright colours, which add so much more to the story’s message. It is quite a tricky story to review as the subtle interplay between the words and the text give it it’s own special magic.

It is great to see a mixed race family doing ordinary things together. It is also a celebration of a parents love for their child, and how both parents and their child often ‘grow’ together in their understanding of themselves and their place in the world.  This is a story that will resonate across cultures and with all sorts of  families. There are also some wider messages. These includes celebrating differences, whilst also recognising that people can be different but work towards the same goal in a mutually supportive way, in this case bringing up their own child.  It would make a heart-warming addition to any home or school library, and I would highly recommend it for any child or parent.

I also wanted to see what a mixed race family made of this story. So I leant it to a mum called Emily. She is white and her husband is from Jamaica (where he was born and raised), they have a mixed-race toddler.

Emily’s review:

“Maisie’s Scrapbook is a refreshing read for the young and old. Maisie’s parents have grown up in very different cultures, this story highlights some of the cultural contrasts faced by mixed race partnerships.  Although Maisie is adventurous; she’s grounded by the love of her parents. They have different cultural references and they use different words to describe the same thing, ‘Mama says tomato. Dada says aamo’, but they love and nag her in the same way. “

“I enjoyed the way the author portrays the differences between the parents through the eyes of Maisie and how each parent contributes to raising her to be herself. The illustrations are beautiful and compliment the story well. Hopefully more stories like Maisie’s will help a generation of mixed children feel more visible.”

 

Thank you to Lantana Publishing for a review copy. You can find out more about their books here.
You can find out more about the author Samuel Narh here.
You can find out more about the illustrator Jo Loring-Fisher here.
You can buy it direct from Lanta publishing or  me at Readers that Care or  a good local independent bookshop.

Caged – a wordless picture book that makes you think

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I am a big fan of wordless picture books so was delighted to be given the opportunity to review Caged, written and illustrated by Duncan Annand and publishers Tiny Owl. Through simple but very effective drawings it explores issues of greed, freedom, our connection to nature, and the courage shown by individuals to help others. It is a book that would be great to share, either as a group or as individual’s that then feed back their responses. I also felt it might work particular well with children aged 9+years. Not having the right group of kids myself  I asked Shenaz Bagshaw to help. She shared the book with a couple of groups of year 5’s at St James CE Primary School in Northampton. The children loved the book. One of the main reasons was: “because it makes you think”. This is one of the clever things about this wordless picture book, it actively invites the reader to try and work out what is happening and to question.

The pictures are a wonderful combination of line drawings in black and white. These contrast with a single blue bird and the multi-coloured parrots. Some things the children said when Shenaz ‘read’ the first part of the story with them were:

  • “Why is the bird blue, and everything else just outlined?”
  • “The man’s clothes look like Willy Wonker”

From these two comments there are so many things you could explore and discuss further.

Sing to the Moon – Nanubuga Nagadya Isdahl and Sandra van Doorn

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This story opens with a boy imagining (or dreaming) of all the adventures he could have.  Then he wakes up and discovers it is raining and that he is stuck inside.  But then his Jjajja (grandfather) takes him on an adventure doing ordinary Ugandan things around the house, such as packing away the peas, gardening and cooking a fish stew for supper. The detail in the pictures and warmth of the soft pastel colours bring domestic Ugandan life alive for the reader and they also radiate with the warmth of the relationship between the boy and his grandfather.

As night begins the story takes on a magical dimension:

“With daylight now done and the dark settled in, Jjajja says our night adventures begin.”

They share African stories together

“tales of lost cities and great heaps of gold..African kingdoms a sight to behold.”

I can think of a number of bedtime stories where a child shares a story with a parent or grandparent. But, this is different in the stories the characters are sharing are African. The text and pictures work brilliantly together to communicate excitement about these stories. There could be some great follow up to this part of the story in looking for stories from different African countries.

As the night ends the boy and his grandfather share a magical moment outdoors and the reader is introduced to the noises of the Ugandan night.

I love the strength of the relationship between the boy and his grandfather. At night time this also includes Jjajja telling the boy that a star will always be watching over him. For anyone with a strong relationship with a grandparent or older person this story is sure to resonate whatever their ethnic background.

At the end of the book there is a lovely letter from the author Nansubuga Nagadya Isdahl. Inviting you to look and listen to the wildlife around you (where every you live) and think about

  •  “What sounds do you hear in nature”
  • “ What stories do they tell?”

This is a lovely story which introduces you to Uganda, whilst also encouraging you to look a bit closer at where you live and who you share special times with, and encouraging each of us to celebrate the ‘every day’. It would make a great addition to home and school libraries.

Thank you to the publishers Lantana Publishing for a free copy of this book to review.

There’s Room for Everyone – Anahita Teymorian

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From the front page it is almost as if this book is reaching out to hug you. In uncertain times this is exactly what this picture book does. It provides reassurance and hope. It is the first title in the publisher Tiny Owls ‘Hope in a Scary World’ series. Which aims to build up a collection of books which help children (and adults) who may feel frightened or worried about world events. It is written and illustrated by award winning Iranian author Anahita Teymorian.

On one level this is a simple tale about a boy who grows up with the acceptance he needs, who then notices as an adult that everyone around him is fighting for space big and small, and then reflects with some very sound advice that through kindness and acceptance we can make room for everyone.

It is supported by the most wonderful illustrations, which have been drawn by the author. For anyone who has followed me on twitter (@melissacreate15) you know how much I love children’s picture books, despite this I can honestly say I have never seen illustrations quite like this before. Each page is backed by a warm comforting colour palette, and the choice to draw people with over extended arms is really effective. As a couple of my bookish twitter friends have also said this is the kind of book you keep being drawn back to.

On another level there are multiple layers and overlapping messages.  Each reader may interpret things differently.  This book is suitable for younger children aged 5+ years, but it’s real power as a book that helps you make sense of the world and find hope may lie with older children, teenagers and adults.

It ‘s the possibility of multiple messages from this story that has made it challenging to write about this heartwarming, thoughtful and hopeful book. Below are some of my reflections on what this story means to me.

My personal RESPONSE this story

Reflecting on this story I found the piece at the back of the book in which the author explains where her ideas came from was useful. It was a response to the fighting in the world that is always on the TV and a desire to show that we can accept and make room for each other and show kindness – a desire to give a positive message as an antidote to all the uncertain things that are happening in the world.

In the first part of the story the boy is growing up, and at each stage in his development he uses an example of how there was always enough space. On another level this reflects what many parents feel when a child is born, that their house feels small and they wonder how they will make room. But, one does accommodate, adapt and find space and this space is re-negotiated as the child get’s bigger. At the same time a strong and powerful parallel is drawn to nature, where the author says “there is enough space for the stars” and the “birds in the garden.”. For me there is another message here of how taking time to notice and observe nature can both centre and calm us.

   

I love how as the boy grows up the scale of what he notices and sees gets bigger a bit like a child and young person’s expanding view of the world. So we go from space for all his toys to space for all the fish in the sea.

As he grows up he notices people are fighting for small and big spaces. And once  again the wonderful pictures add power and emotion to the words. In a world of uncertainties where so much has changed and is changing this story both acknowledges the existence of things that may make us feel scared or worried, whilst also providing us with the reassurance of the constant presence of nature. There is one thing we can control and that is we can choose to be kind to ourselves and to each other.

   

You can find out more and view a great video by the author on Tiny Owls website

You can purchase the book from me at Readers that Care or order it from a good local bookshop

Nimesh Adventures – Ranjit Singh and Mehrdokht Amini

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I was delighted to receive a review of copy of Nimesh the Adventurer from Lantana Publishing. The illustrations in this book are gorgeous and really bring the story to life. Nimesh goes on many imaginative adventures on his journey home from school. The chatty conversation style keeps you engaged and wanting to find out where he goes next. Many of the pictures give insights into East Indian culture and it is great to see an Indian family being the focus of such an imaginative story.

The journey narrative was really effective. It reminds me of Emily Brown, by Cresida Cowell and Neal Layton. Nimesh Adventures will appeal to older children and adults too. It begins at the end of the school with Nimesh and his friends excitedly looking at a book about Dragons. This draws the readers in and is sure to capture the attention of even the most reluctant of readers. Nimesh then goes on a number of other imaginative journeys, including: swimming with sharks, the North Pole, meeting a guardsman for the Indian Maharaja’s, and a princess in the garden. I love how something ordinary is the inspiration for imaginative ideas. The picture on the wall of a shark, turns into a corridor full of sharks. And the dogs walking down the street turn into a dog sleigh at the North Pole.

The author Ranjit Singh is a British children’s author of East Indian heritage . The illustrations are drawn by Mehrdokht Amini an Iranian born illustrator.  They vividly capture the Indian culture whilst at the same time depicting many ordinary things that all children will identify with. There is lots of detail and clues for the reader to look for to help them to guess what will happen next.

This would be a great book to share with children of all ages. One to one this book could be shared with children as young as 4 years old. But, as a whole class read I think it has most potential from year2/year 3 upwards as there is so much to explore and possibilities for discussion. It could be used across the whole of KS2 and I think it even has potential as an inspiration for story writing in KS3.

You can buy copies from me at Readers that Care

Or direct from Lantana publishing’s website.

Tomorrow by Nadine Kaadan

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Already a fan of the illustrator and author Nadine Kaadan I was delighted to receive a copy of her new book Tomorrow to review from Lantana Publishing. I have a particular interest in picture books that help children understand others experience of war and about refugees. This story is unique in a number of ways. Instead of focusing on people fleeing their country it focuses on the experience of a boy in his home as it is besieged by war.

Tomorrow tells the story of a small boy called Yazan who lives in war torn Syria. It is told from a unique perspective as you don’t actually see the war. Instead you get to feel what the immediate effects are for Yazan, as everything changes around him. Changes include no more trips to the park, not being able to see his friends, no school (which he actually begins to miss) and his mother becomes withdrawn. The boys experience is sensitively portrayed and great attention is given to gradually building up all the small things Yazan is not able to do because of the war.

The message of the story is beautifully supported by the authors own drawings, which help to convey powerful emotions and to reflect the boys feelings and experiences in a way that is meaningful to children. A simple colour palette of black, yellow and read is very effective. Black for sadness, fear and anxiety, red for happy memories and red and yellow for hope.

There are some lovely messages in this story. It is a powerful story of a family supporting each other in the most difficult of circumstances and in the power of imagination and art to bring hope to the darkest of moments. Towards the end of the story Yazan’s mother draws a picture of the park he can not play in and says:

“But let’s paint a park in your bedroom – an amazing park with everything you’ve ever dreamed of. And soon you’ll be able to go outside and play again.”

In some ways the messages in this story are very simple, helping readers of all ages to build empathy with the young boys experience of living through war. Yet the pictures convey some powerful emotions that some children may find upsetting and need help to understand. When using with a group of children I would be tempted to start with the last picture first and ask, what they liked about their local park and how would they feel if they could not go to it.  My 7 year old son initially found some of the pages ‘quite dark’. But when we explored the use of red and yellow colours in the story he could also see there was hope in the story too.

Whilst not shying away from powerful emotions it protects the reader from the worst of the war in several ways. For example: Whilst, his mum does become sad and withdrawn at the beginning, Yazan doesn’t loose either of his parents in the story, they are still together at the end. Another example is you learn about the war outside from a little distance, through a TV Screen, which I thought was really clever.

I would highly recommend this for children aged 6+ and young people and adults. It is a great story which encourages empathy and offers multiple opportunities as springboard for discussion.

Another of Nadine Kaadan’s wonderful picture books Jasmine Sneeze, would make a great contrast to this story as it is set in a peaceful Syria.  You can read my review here.

The book can be published direct from the Lantana publishers here.

It is also available from me through Readers that Care