Littlelight by Kelly Canby

apoplectic

When you read this book to a group of children everyone will learn a new word: apoplectic. It means overcome with anger or furious. 

In this book we meet the people of Littlelight.  Lets think about that name - they don't live in the light - their town feels like the Dark Ages with no access to rich language, off beat music, and interesting books.  Littlelight is grey place surrounded by high walls. The Mayor loves his high walls because they give him power over his citizens. On the other side of these walls - north, south, east and west, there are people who enjoy delicious foods, they dance to their own music, the speak different languages and they read books! As the illustrations clearly show these other people have colour in their lives.

In the tradition of The Emperor's new Clothes, it takes the action of one small child to reveal the truth. One by one a small girl removes bricks from the high walls surrounding the town. Going back to the word apoplectic the Mayor is now very mad in fact he is furious. He seems to convince the town's people that the small girl has committed an horrendous crime. But then the people remember their delight as they discovered the different foods, music, words and stories. 

"The people of Littlelight looked around their town, now full of colour and light and wondered what, exactly, they were meant to be angry about."

They do still have a problem with their Mayor (read dictator) but the ingenious people of the town solve this issue in a most satisfying way.

'This little book packs some serious themes about keeping an open mind, staying connected, limiting elected authority, and the power of one person to make a positive difference.' Magpies

Kelly Canby lives in Western Australia. Here are a set of teaching notes to use with Littlelight. See inside the book here.  This is one of those wonderful picture books you could share with young children and then explore in an entirely different way with a senior Primary group. Think about themes of control; intellectual freedom; misuse of power; conflict resolution; and propaganda. You might also have some fun with fluro paints. 

You could compare this book with:

The Wall in the Middle of this Book

Little Mouse and the Red Wall

Suri's Wall - perfect for an older group

Tillie and the Wall

The King who Banned the Dark

The Book Tree

Here are two previous books by Kelly Canby:

The King who banned the Dark by Emily Haworth-Booth

"There was once a little boy who was afraid of the dark."

The problem is this little boy was a Prince who one day becomes the King and on that day he decides to ban the dark.  His advisors tell him the people won't understand and that they will revolt but ...

"If you make them think it's their idea ... it might work."

So the advisors spread rumors - the dark is scary, the dark is boring, the dark is stealing your money and taking your toys. The propaganda works and eventually the people themselves demand a ban on the dark. Here is a wonderful opportunity to have a deep discussion with a group of older students about the role of propaganda and the way the King manipulates his people to follow his beliefs.

The authorities achieve 24 hour sunlight by building an enormous artificial sun. Here is another opportunity for a discussion with a group of students - what will happen to the people if it is always daylight. There is no night.

At first everyone enjoys the endless days. They even make special light hats but after a day or two everyone becomes so exhausted and so a few brave souls turn off their lights.

This is not allowed. To enforce the new daylight laws the king appoints Light Inspectors. People have to pay a fine if they dare to switch off. Of course even the King cannot sleep. The advisors suggest a big party might distract the people so they plan for a giant fireworks display.

"But the people weren't as silly as the King's advisors thought they were. Whisper by whisper they hatched their own plan."

I think you will have made the connection here - fireworks need darkness. The people unite and everyone turns off their lights and some daring citizens climb a wall and switch off the artificial sun.

"The sky went dark. The King shuddered.
'We must turn the sun back on, Your Majesty!' shouted the advisors. 'We must crush the upsrising! We must punish the people!"

I will leave you to read this book to discover what happens next.

Take a look at this review from The Bottom Shelf.

Emily Haworth-Booth has created a bit of a masterpiece here:an intriguing and compelling story that is complimented by delightful illustrations. Little Parachutes

This is a really fantastic and original story, that offers a fantastic moral lesson about balancing things out - after all how can we appreciate the light without darkness and vice versa? ReaditDaddy

You can see some of the preliminary drawings by Emily Haworth-Booth on the Klaus Flugge web site.

For younger students I would pair this book with The Emperor who Hated Yellow by Jim Edmiston.

A bus called Heaven by Bob Graham

"Abandoned. The bus appeared one morning from a sea of traffic - right outside Stella's house, where no bus should be. Tired, old and sick, it had a hand-painted sign on it, held down with packing tape. The sign said, 'Heaven'."

An old bus is left in the street. The authorities arrive and place a large "abandoned" sticker across the windscreen. The bus is in Stella's street. This tiny girl has big ideas. She tells everyone this bus is 'ours!' Everyone joins together and they push the bus off the road and onto Stella's front garden. Dad can see the problem.  "There are regulations." But Stella has her own regulations. The bus settles into its new environment. Weeds grow around the wheels, snails make trails and a pair of sparrows make their nest in the old engine.

While the children play, the adults get to work, cleaning up the old bus. During the night the Ratz arrive. They plaster the bus with graffiti. This could be a problem, but mum has the solution. She invites the boys back to paint the whole bus. Stella draws the design with a sun on the roof. This is the image on the front cover.

The neighbours fill the bus with all sorts of treasures. A goldfish in a tank, a set of comics, a football table game and cake.

"And Lucy lent her dog, Bear - for anyone who needed to just sit and pat something."

The inside of the bus becomes a wonderful, multicultural community space for young and old until on Saturday a tow truck arrives.  Those regulations dad warned them about have caught up with this venture.  Everyone watches in despair as their wonderful bus is towed away to the most horrible place - The Boneyard.

Once again it is Stella who saves the day. She invites the tow truck boss to challenge her in a game of table football. "If I win, we'll keep the bus."

Stella does win, they do keep the bus, it is towed to a vacant block of land behind Stella's house and the eggs laid by the pair of sparrows have now hatched - there are three new chicks - new life. Heaven is a bus. People of all faiths can share this space. It truly is heaven here on earth.

A bus called Heaven won the CBCA Picture Book of the Year award here in Australia in 2012. Here are set of detailed teaching notes. Watch a short sample from the Storybox Library.

It's in the hope, the togetherness, the warmth, the fun, the relaxed way Graham brings a multicultural melting pot of people together - an image that typifies Australia - and makes it all work so well. So touchingly. Kids Book Review

Here, when a priest, a rabbi, and an imam step onto a bus called Heaven, it’s not a joke. It’s simply the way life should be. Horn Book

Aiding the mood of merriment are Graham’s illustrations, with their sinewy black line work, delicate, peaches-and-cream colors and loving depiction of all kinds of people. Kirkus star review

Fir for luck by Barbara Harrison

This story switches between Strathnaver in 1814 and Ceannabeinne in 1841. While travelling in Scotland I chanced upon Fir for Luck. This is a story about the Highland Clearances and I found it was a good way to gain some understanding of these events. It is 1841and Janet is desperate to join the men and boys who will spend the day gathering thatch. This event is called Bent Day and girls are not allowed to be involved. What Janet does not know is that on this day a man will arrive with a writ.  Janet and the women know it is vital no one touch this writ - it is an eviction writ. The women bravely wrestle the messenger to the ground, they light a fire and force his hand and the writ into the fire.

"You'll regret this. Leave me be! He'll only send it again.' ... I grit my teeth as I pull his arm over the fire, clawing my nails into his skin so hard he yelps in pain. ... The writ fights the greedy flames; contorts and doges, but it is no use. The fire devours it. There is nothing left but ash."

This is, of course, only the beginning. Mr Anderson, the land owner, is determined to evict these people and claim the land for grazing sheep. The violence escalates and yet the people of the village really want a peaceful solution. This seems impossible. Janet observes the adults on both sides and bravely devises ways to thwart Mr Anderson and his accomplices.

The title refers to a small sprig of fir which Janet's Grandmother has requested. "Fir for luck, all the way from the woods of Strathmore. It's supposed to be wound into each new hearth chain."  Janet and her family, including her precious Granna will need to leave their village but perhaps the luck from this piece of fir is why this process will be delayed and not filled with violence and destruction as happened in Granna's childhood back in 1814.

Here is the author web site.

This is a pleasant read and children living in, visiting or interested in the Highland Clearances will no doubt gobble it up as the action just keeps on coming and new tensions built up; exactly what young people look for in a novel. The Wee Review