Tag thinking for oneself

What The Crow Saw Below

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What The Crow Saw Below
Robert Tregoning and Greg Stobbs
Oxford Children’s Books

As the story starts we meet a curious young crow who is doing as she’s told, looking down and squawking a warning at anything and everything she sees beneath her on the forest floor. while the others are asleep though, our young crow looks around to see what’s going on. Seemingly there’s nothing sinister at all: could her elders be mistaken?

Then, tired of looking for supposed dangers below she finds the courage to look up and see what she can discover. The older crows are horrified but this doesn’t stop the youngest corvid not only looking but moving upwards. Bravely she takes to the air and then accepts the invitation from a different kind of bird to join them.

Deciding that she can then return to the other crows and encourage them to ‘throw caw, caution to the wind’, she finally leads them all upwards and life begins anew, with a positive, hopeful attitude (and of course, a modicum of caution.)

A terrific rhyming telling with descriptive language that excites and includes alliteration and other clever word play by Robert Tregoning and Greg Stobbs’ illustrations that wonderfully complement the words, this is a joy to share with young listeners. I love a book like this one that encourages children to think for themselves and to focus on the positive things in life. Definitely one to enjoy and talk about both at home and in the primary classroom.

How to be a Lion

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How to be a Lion
Ed Vere
Puffin Books

‘This book is for those who daydream, and those who think for themselves’.
I love that. It’s written in Ed Vere’s inspiring ‘letter’ that accompanied my review copy; it’s also printed on the final page of his eloquent story: I hope it applies to myself, make that, to everyone. I wish everybody could read the entire letter, but instead I urge you to get yourself a copy of the book and share it widely.

It starts philosophically: ‘The world is full of ideas. /Big ones,/ small ones. / Good ones,/ bad ones. / Some think this … / others think that.’ before bringing us back to earth and in particular, lion territory on the African plains where the norm is to be FIERCE! But is that the only way to be?
Enter Leonard: thoughtful, prone to daydreams, something of a poet and above all, gentle.

Enter shortly after, a duck, Marianne by name. Being Leonard, it isn’t a case of ‘Crunch, crunch, CHOMP!’ Instead our lion, polite introductions over, requests her assistance and as luck would have it, Marianne is able to assist in freeing Leonard’s stuck muse and before long a firm friendship has been forged; one that involves stargazing, philosophical musings and above all, contentment and happiness.

Into their peaceable existence comes a pack of ferocious lions demanding to know why the duck has not met its demise.
True to himself, Leonard explains about their friendship and resists their loud growly admonishments.

Their instructions about becoming fierce make him pause and question however, but Marianne suggests a trip to their thinking hill to mull things over. Lo and behold, serious hums and serious quacks together are turned into an idea, and then, poetry that is finally ready to be presented to those fierce lions.

What Leonard says to them is heartfelt, provocative – “Why don’t you be you … And I will be I.” – and one hopes, a game changer.

Ed Vere’s timely fable is profound and intensely moving in the gentle way it offers words as tools of bridge building and change, as well as showing a different male role model. Don’t be pressurised into conforming, be yourself is what shines through both his words and oh, so eloquent, humorous illustrations.

A perfect read aloud with oodles of food for thought, and talk.