Posted on: 01/03/2020
Journeys: synonymous with voyages and expeditions; the literal and the figurative. Going on a journey, being taken on a journey…literature can and absolutely does do this for us as humans. Of late, we’ve talked a lot at The Literacy Tree about direct and explicit instruction around text. Guiding children through text - finding a path to take them on in order that they have that wonderful shared experience that is to explore a story or non-fiction book with peers provides them with an imprint. And this imprint could be viewed as being like a map - not just a map of the text they've studied, but a map in order to navigate further, unseen texts. Having at least an arrow pointing them in the right direction can mean the difference between children having the confidence to tackle the unknown and unseen or simply staying where they are, reading the books (or not) that they read. So whilst we are focusing on a theme of journeys in this month’s literature review, we are also thinking about exploring the unknown and pushing boundaries in the hope that – down the line (deliberate rail reference there!) - children pick up that map and head off to unknown destinations in literature and in life with courage and independence. The titles we’ve curated for this review all link to journeys, exploration and discovery in some way: Circle by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen; The Highland Falcon Thief by M.G Leonard and Sam Sedgman; Underground by Uijung Kim and Viking Voyagers by Jack Tite.
(Walker Books, February 6th 2020)
The book that completes this quirky trilogy by old-time friends and collaborators is filled with humour – some subtle and some downright slapstick.
Circle as a character is humble in contrast with hubristic Triangle– the eponymous first instalment in this darkly sketched and written shape-trilogy. Triangle is a bit full of himself and sure that he can trick his friend Square but, as the saying goes, pride comes before the proverbial and when one is as edgy as Triangle (although mathematically speaking squares have precisely one more edge than a triangle…), well, one can become rather stuck. In Square there is a playful sense of revenge so it would be fitting for Circle to follow a similar pattern. However, Circle really is rather different: she is deep-thinking with a softness and kindness that is epitomised in her lack of edges.
A simple enough game of hide-and-seek appears to go wrong as tricky trickster Triangle has hidden behind the waterfall which is where Circle expressly said not to hide. Circle takes a brave step and ventures behind the waterfall to rescue her friend and although she asserts that Triangle isn’t a good friend to have broken rules and put her at risk, she does take this comment back. But imagine the fear when, having walked into the darkness of the cave behind the waterfall to ‘rescue’ Triangle, having spoken directly to who she thought – through the darkness – was Triangle, Triangle appears behind her! Who – or what – is there in the darkness attached to the pair of silent eyes? It is Circle who, ultimately, encourages Triangle and Square to journey beyond their own experiences:
‘Well,’ Square said, ‘I am glad I stayed here!’
Triangle said, ‘Now I am afraid of the dark!’
Circle looked back at the waterfall falling.
‘You know,’ she said, ‘that shape in the dark might not have been bad. It might have been a good shape.
We just could not see it.’
And so the three friends close their eyes and ‘each picture a shape’ before the reader is invited to do the same. And the overall message in this lovely conclusion to what has been a defining suite of pictures books for young children is that which you cannot see, that which cannot be defined isn’t necessarily something to be afraid of; a sobering thought to apply to exploration and discovery of self.
(Macmillan Children’s Books, January 30th 2020)
We at The Literacy Tree all love travelling by rail and Leonard and Sedgman’s co-authored novel, which is set on a train, instantly makes the reader feel as if they are in the safest two pairs of hands on this greatest of journeys! The familiar trope of child sent to be looked after by a relative who appears slightly out of touch with children sets the scene for the very kind of adventure where eccentricity and possibly getting away with murder (we hope in the idiomatic sense although with echoes of Murder on the Orient Express and the inclusion of the Agatha Christie quote just before chapter 1…) will likely feature. And this book – shaped to perfection, we feel, has it all: a glittering ‘cast’ of characters; the old-fashioned opulence of a soon-to-be decommissioned royal rolling stock and a sense of mystery that is prevalent from the start.
Hal is in the care of his uncle as his mum is due to go into hospital to give birth to Hal’s baby sister. Hal isn’t interested in trains, really, and cannot muster the same level of enthusiasm for the trip his travel-writer uncle is to take him on. But as soon as he boards The Highland Falcon, he discovers that there may be more on board to hold his interest than he had thought. Purportedly, Hal is the only child on this trip but he has spotted someone that no-on else appears to know about: another child. Could it be that there’s a stowaway? And – as the book’s title would suggest – there is a thief at large. We know that local papers have reported that a precious ruby ring has been taken from a benefit gala but then, within hours of The Highland Falcon pulling out of King’s Cross, two further pieces of jewelry have been taken… and Hal – at one point wearing an old-fashioned Bond-esque suit once belonging to the young prince but having given him a sense of the debonair – is (of course) to become the one to solve the mystery.
Hal tracks down the other child - Lenny (short for Marlene), daughter of train Driver Mohanjit Singh – and as so many of these friendships begin, their first encounter begins with a sense of misunderstanding and indignation: Hal thinks he’s discovered the jewel thief but it soon becomes apparent that Lenny is just as shocked as Hal is about the mysterious incidents. And she feels slightly indignant that Hal has been permitted to travel the Highland Falcon’s final voyage for she herself is a stowaway of sorts. All the staff are in on the secret of her being there, knowing that her father’s job and impeccable reputation could be at stake were she to be discovered. Hal and Lenny instantly bond and set about trying to establish who the thief on board is! With plot-twists a plenty and mild peril as the train continues to journey north, will the friends – helped by uncle Nat – manage to prove who the thief actually is (or thieves are as there may be an accomplice…) before the journey’s end?
Perfect as a rip-roaring read-aloud novel, we feel this would work particularly well for children in years 4-6.
(Cicada Books Ltd, American edition, June date 9th 2020)
This is such a brilliant look at subways from around the world! Journey through ten cities from around the world that have transportation networks that we in the UK may ‘affectionately’ call ‘the tube’. Mapped out in the contents page so that children can see where in the world the book will take us, the ten focus cities and the pages on which they can be found are listed in alphabetical order: Bejing, London, Madrid, Mexico, Moscow, New York, Paris, Seoul, Sydenty and Tokoyo.
Then follows spreads on the nicest of textured (almost shiny, actually) paper where each city first has a page showing a typical train exterior with hard- and-fast facts about daily passenger numbers; track lengths and how these may have changed over time; numbers of stations and number of lines running. But then flip the smaller page away within each section and you find yourself looking inside the train’s carriage! Look to the right of each page and there’s a list of quintessential artefacts that pertain to the city or country being ‘visited’, where the reader is invited to find each item from the list. What’s so delightful is the illustrative style being as it is highly stylised, rather jolly-looking and often humourous: in the final city of Tokyo – where the network transports ‘3.1 billion passengers every year: the busiest subway in the world!’ train guards can be seen sweating with exertion attempting to squeeze passengers in whilst forcing doors shut! But did you know that whilst clearly very busy, Tokyo’s underground is also ranked as number 1 in the world for cleanliness and punctuality?
Perfect for any transport enthusiast, this would make a lovely addition to any key stage 1 classroom and would also be really useful for dipping in and out of to support children develop skills of retrieval!
(Big Picture Press, January 23rd 2020)
Now we know that this book wasn't published all that recently but knowing that the theme of this month’s review was to be journeys, voyages and discoveries, we couldn't not include this book that will be a perfect addition to your non-fiction offer especially if you are indeed covering a topic on The Vikings or even Invaders and Settlers.
The first thing that one is struck by when opening this book is the sumptuous use of colour which gives the content a joy and softness, which is slightly dichotomous seeing as the Vikings were known for their rampaging and pillaging. And much like many of the non-fiction books that we’ve seen a recent increase in, there is use of language that is at times more literary than one might expect with a non-fiction text. In one of the earlier sections, In The Beginning which focuses upon the Viking faith and the northern and southern realms of Muspelheim and Niflhelm, soaring lyrical phrases are used:
In the south, Muspelheim was a world so hot that no being could live there…To the north of Ginnungagap was the freezing cold world of Niflheim, which means ‘abode of the mist’. The two worlds slowly drifted towards each other, until the scorching flames of Muspelheim melted the ice of Niflheim.
There is scope for exploring formal, ‘expert’ language and grammar, particularly around the use of precision, one-word verbs such as unifying, inscribed and plundered. Given that The Vikings is often a topic studied in lower key stage 2, the use of this as an engaging teaching text for reading or to support cross-curricular writing would be a brilliant way to also engender children’s use of more formal language and make that first foray into sophisticated grammatical constructs as part of the children’s journey through grammatical requirements!
And on the subject of journeys, the ingenuity and craftmanship of the Viking peoples in terms of their transportation is quite something to behold: in the wonderous section entitled, Over the Sea, the Viking sailing routes spanning from the 700s to the 1000s show just how much further each century took them as their exploration of the world became more daring. It was in 1001 that what came to be known as Newfoundland was settled upon but – as with many voyagers and explorers, they were met with resistance after ‘clashes with local people’. Further into this section is a depiction of a Viking longship, which spans 3 whole pages including a fold-out section. This provides a fascinating insight into the research that must have been undertaken to develop such a vessel that was able to move at 28km per hour, light enough to be land-carried yet capacious enough to carry 60 plus warriors!
Posted in: Literature Review
