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Posted 20 hours ago

Varmints

£9.9£99Clearance
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ZTS2023
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Peace and quiet are the most important things in the world but the darkness of the buildings cast a shadow over these sacred things. I bought it from my kids school book fair, neither of them (7 and 5) were very interested in it even after I purchased it and read it to them at home, I guess I prefer for them to love cheerful, colorful books with unicorns and rainbows.

From the curious creature staring out at the reader on the cover, to its large physical nature and wild typography and breath-taking art, Ward and Marc Craste's creation needs a patient orator and audience. Once, the only sounds to be heard were the buzzing of bees in the grass, the murmuring of moles in the earth, and the song of birds in the sky.Personally I do feel the narrative was a tad preachy- the demonising of "the others" with their "empty heads" has a rather "holier than thou" feel to it. I only wish that the words had been hand-written - the fact that this is even noticable is only because of how perfect every other little detail is. Problematic, highly charged language, considering the history of the demonisation of migrants and ‘foreigners’. When the plant gets taken to receive the light and grows, the page starts to become more light again until its back to how it use to be.

This beautifully written and illustrated book shares hope in a way that doesn't feel treacly or preachy.I haven't even had a chacne to read this yet but the art for this is so beguilingly gorgeous that i can't help but give it 5 stars already. I would recommend this book because it is an adventure and would be great for those readers who like mythical creatures and mysteries. And, as with everything Jóhannson has composed, it holds space for both abyssal melancholy and a paper hope bridge above it, achieving a tender, if tenuous, balance over the dark. Sparing, wistful words are brought to life by involving and epic images to make the imagination and the heart soar.

This book is as much him as it is me, and for our perspective to be found in such a tidy package is well worth sharing. Helen Ward is a significant children’s author and children will enjoy exploring many of her other titles including The Tin Forest (which addresses similar themes) and The Dragon Machine. This could be the case because the sound of bees has come back but doesn't know what will happen to the environment. In addition to this the pictures were well chosen to confuse the reader and make them think about what is happening.This can mean they are in power and have taken over the environment but as soon as there is hope with one bunny there is always light on the character and the badgers disappear. minutes long, it can be broken up into sections for viewing in the classroom (and is unfortunately interrupted anyway by pesky youtube advertising). The soft sounds of bees and birds once "touched and warmed the hearts of those FEW who paused and cared to listen," but that was before the OTHERS arrived with immense skyscrapers and so much noise that all thought was driven away.

A variety of themes could be interpreted - loss of natural habitat through urbanisation, loss of identity, societal collapse, Communism(? It's an amazing picture book, very mature in subject matter, a book that you'll need to revisit again and again and ponder endlessly. There is a picture with a rectangular frame in the middle of the page, this means the character is insecure. The idea that life is becoming over run with buildings, noises, and all kinds of extra "STUFF" is a concern of mine.

enduringly persistent hope and the joy of love - but therein lies the crux of reader response and exploratory talk. However, this could be an implied reader because the reader would have to know about the dangers of not looking after the environment to be able to understand the story so for children this might be hard but a good way to show them the impacts it could have. They erect the tall structures, harming their natural world, and going against their own yearnings and instincts while losing a sense of self. Really detailed, deep/dark and clever illustrations make the reader really ponder and make meaning of the text. The illustrations are dark and surreal, but they perfectly capture the sense of loneliness and isolation that the varmint feels.

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