Posted on: 29/05/2019
This time of year always feels full of hope: the days are longer; the sun shines over our corner of the world (at least on some days) and there is a sense of life and light. And those are our themes for this month’s review - life and light: the light that guides us in life; the contrast between light and dark and shining a metaphorical light upon others’ lives. We have selected three beautiful books to share with you this month, all with themes of light and life: Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall; Life- The first Four Billion Years by Martin Jenkins, illustrated by Grahame Baker-Smith and Can You See Me? byLibby Scott and Rebecca Westcott.
(Orchard Books, 2nd May 2019)
First published last year in the U.S, It isn’t hard to see why this gloriously depicted story won this year’s Caldecott medal. It is an utterly exquisite depiction of the passing of time, the changing of life and the unending shining of a lighthouse’s guiding light.
The use of light and colour is what makes this picture book so exceptional - that and the lyrical prose and sense of ‘full-circle’ one gets from the present-tense narrative. There’s no real dialogue (unless you count the refrain between ship, whale and sky and the lighthouse, Hello, hello, hello…) this has been paired with the roundness of the rooms and the rotation of the lighthouse’s beam. And year-round, through fog, wind, sunrise, sunset we see an isolated yet somehow joyous life as the keeper tends the light, rescues the stranded and watches over his wife as their child is born:
Inside the lighthouse, the woman walks around and around the room. Her husband boils water and helps her breathe in - and out. He tends the light and writes in the logbook… and notes the birth of their child.
And it is on the following page that, The sky erupts in swirls of green. Hello!...Hello!...Hello! as if in greeting to the baby. The use of colour here is delicious: the Aurora Borealis’ swathes of emerald ribbon in celebration of new life. Light and life.
This is such a special and important book, perfect for book-corners, for sharing with a class or as a stimulus for writing. And arguably, suitable for any age-group.
(Scholastic, 2nd May 2019)
This novel is an illumination on a life for someone who is autistic. And we say ‘a’ life because this is just one person’s story; the authors make it clear that they don’t wish to speak for all people who are autistic. That being said, it has been written with the aim of at least showing the world what life can or might be like for a young autistic girl and the challenges that this can bring. Co-written, the pairing of the diary extracts of Tally - the main protagonist - (written by Libby Scott, aged just 11) and narrative by Rebecca Westcott, gives the book authenticity that would be hard to achieve without the very personal experience of Libby. The narrative reveals the experiences - some where Tally is misunderstood and others where it is she who misunderstands - that Tally must endure:
Every single step feels like agony and the feeling in her foot gets worse and worse until she can’t think about anything except the pain.
But she does not stop and she does not cry. Not once. Because the girls were pleased with her for getting changed on time and it made them forget that they think she’s weird. If she keeps running then she’s exactly like they are, and people like it when you behave like they do.
Even if it hurts more than you can tell them.
This ‘masking’ is what many autistic girls use as a means of surviving socially and Tally spends a lot of time trying to ‘fit’ a world that she feels the wrong shape for.
Each diary extract reflects upon everyday life, rating anxiety levels from 1-10 and explaining how and why Tally reacted to what may be perceived as everyday events by ‘neurotypical’ people, in the way that she did. She also lists pros and cons of being autistic and her individual traits in ‘Tally’s autism facts’ and the message is clear: this isn’t about not wanting to be autistic. Instead, the book is trying to shine a light on how others can make life easier and the fact that at least for Libby, there may be pros: hypersensitivity, for example - meaning she’s very aware of surroundings at all times which - she reasons - will keep her safe and help her live longer.
Libby -through the voice of Tally in the book - also sets out rules and reminders to help parents. Perhaps the most distressing element though is the struggle that Tally has with the demand avoidance that plagues her and leads to frequent meltdowns - described as a physical, visceral response to being asked or told to do things and literally being unable to control the panic and fear that manifests as rage.
Some people think meltdowns can be controlled – like I’m just a child throwing a tantrum – but I don’t like the word tantrum as it sounds like it’s done on purpose. I think it should be called a stress breakdown. Who wants to do that on purpose? I don’t choose to do it, it just happens when I’m at breaking point and no one has helped me and I just can’t cope holding it in anymore.
Such an important book, we feel, especially as autism in girls is often even more misunderstood (and reportedly under-diagnosed) than it is in boys. Perfect for book corners or as a read-aloud book in year 5 and 6.
We would like to thank Micháela Deasy and Rachel Allcock for their input on the wording of this section of our review.
(Walker Studio, 2nd May 2019)
This collaboration between writer and illustrator, both of whom we adore, is a huge treat. Coffee-tableworthy, somehow the already- told story of life from the big bang to the evolution of humans spanning(only) four billion years, has had new life breathed into it. Baker-Smith’s glorious use of light and colour on some pages; others dark and light all at once creates something so exquisite. There’s drama between the pages too: creatures eating each other; the many ‘big bangs’ that rendered some species extinct and made way for others and the ice age … events and stages that seemingly wipe out all organisms yet awaken something from within the earth that then begins to grow and evolve and so the next ‘age’ dawns.
Jenkins’ style makes the huge amounts of scientific, evolutionary and geological information utterly accessible yet highly sophisticated: symbiosis - the reliance of one organism on another to thrive - is explored; cell structures; embryonic life-forms; the importance of spores; changes in climate (for reasons unknown) and the effect on the types of organism that were then able to develop are all included. Brilliant for children in upper key stage 2, this would make a lovely gift but would also perfectly complement our planning sequence for ‘Can we save the Tiger?’ especially as it would serve as a brilliant model of ‘assured and conscious
control’ with the use of precision verbs and other devices that work so well for this sort of non-fiction text.
Posted in: Literature Review
