Running in Circles by Shivaun Plozza

Dell (Adelaide) lives with her dad and three sisters. Mum left the family when Dell was only seven to follow her dream of finding evidence and perhaps even meeting aliens. Initially mum did contact the family but for many years they have not heard from her. Dell resents the way her birthday cards, if they were even sent, arrived well after the event and she is confused and furious as to why mum left them in the first place. None of this is fair to her dad or her sisters. Then mum arrives back in town. It is Dell who first sees her and her instinct is to protect the family from any further hurt and disappointment. The two youngest children, Prim and Una, don't have any memory of their mother - they were so young when she left. Summer, Dell's older sister does remember, and Dell is sure she won't want to revisit the hurt and disappointment that will to come when her mother breezes out of town again.

Slowly Dell watches with deep concern and even anger as each member of her family seems to fall under mum's spell. Mum is sure this new crop circle in Tully means friendly aliens want to help our planet with our climate crisis. Dell is a budding meteorologist so she knows this is all nonsense but then dad says the whole family needs to go to the crop circle at midnight on 7th June because that is when the aliens will arrive. 

Here are a few text quotes:

"I turn away and walk the circle myself. It's messy. It's not sugar cane this time, just long grass that's all squished and tangled like bed hair. ... I crouch, searching for signs the grass was flattened with a plank. Nothing. ... Just rain and grass and mud and footprints." pg 117

"Why is she here? In our house? The one she left? My heart constricts. What if she stays. If she apologises and becomes our mum again and loves dad and never leaves. Is that okay?" pg 161

"You should all read Quentin's book. He argues that every time they visit, it's been to heal our mistakes through the key lines. Humans cause so much damage. We're really the worst disease this planet has every known. She we think they'll finally speak with us directly, to teach us their ways and share their technology." pg 165

Fun fact - before you read this book (or after) you will discover that in 1966 a crop circle did appear near Tully. Read more here. And here is a detailed ABC News page with more information. 

Readers in Australia who do not live in Queensland may need a map to locate Tully and perhaps do some further reading about their record rainfall. And they really do have a big gumboot in the town. Also, the research topic that Dell and her friend Teddy have chosen about The Alligators Nest is a real place (even though there are no alligators in Australia).

Located in the Tully Gorge National Park 6 km north of Tully via Murray Street, this is a rainforest park which was originally popularised by a group of local scouts who gave it the name (there are no alligators in Australia). It is a day use picnic area fringed by rainforest which has lilies, palms, fern-leafed tamarinds and water ferns. Part of the appeal of the area is that the rainforest is home to eastern water dragons, nursery frogs and chameleon geckos.

The chapter titles in this book work as a countdown to the final showdown when the aliens are due to arrive on the 7th June. 

I had a small but good collection of books about aliens, UFOs, and occurrences like crop circles in my former school library. I was always fascinated by the books about The Nazca Lines for example. If you are visiting a library take a look at Dewey [001.9; 001.94 or 001.95].

Publisher blurb: When crop circles appear in Tully, North Queensland, twelve-year-old Dell knows it’s a hoax. She’s a future climate scientist who believes in facts, not science fiction. But Dell’s estranged mum is an extraterrestrial fanatic. She blusters back into town armed with alien conspiracy theories and a dazzling smile. If Dell can prove the crop circle is fake, surely her mum will hightail it out of Tully again, preferably before she causes Dell’s dad and three sisters further heartbreak. But as her mother’s claims grow more out of this world and alien fever takes over the country, Dell worries she’s fighting a losing battle. How can she convince anyone of the truth when they’re all so desperate to believe a lie?

One of the aspects of this story that I wrongly anticipated was the way Quentin Higgs, the pseudo-scientist working with Dell's mum, was sure to be exposed as a fraud and I expected to discover his main motivation was to sell his book but that didn't seem to eventuate. This could be a good discussion point with your class. 

Here are some things I discovered about crop circles (source - note this contains a lot of advertising):

From the 1960s to the 1980s, perhaps no term was more commonly associated with UFOs and extraterrestrial visitation than “crop circles.” As the name suggests, crop circles are massive, circular areas of flattened crops — usually wheat or corn — or other plants, which depict seemingly intentional shapes and other images when seen from above. (in the case of Running in Circles it is a sugar cane farm).

Crop circles amazed many people due to the large size of the indentations and the images they depicted. It’s little wonder why they led to speculation about alien craft landing on Earth. After all, some indentations appeared to mark where “saucers” had once rested. And others seemed to be messages from extraterrestrial beings ...

Two Englishmen proved that it didn’t take an advanced civilization or technology beyond humanity’s comprehension to create crop circles. In fact, all it required was a bit of liquid courage, heavy planks of wood, and some rope. Despite this, some ufologists insist that at least some crop circles were made by “nonhuman” beings.

In 1966, an Australian banana farmer named George Pedley allegedly witnessed something bizarre on his property near Tully. Pedley claimed to have seen a "flying saucer" lifting off — leaving behind a large, circular area of flattened plants in the exact same spot where the UFO had landed. Dubbed a "saucer nest," Pedley's crop circle was not an isolated incident. All around the Tully region, locals began reporting more saucer nest sightings

Readers aged 10+ will enjoy the intriguing story and family relationships found in Running in Circles with the advice do not skip to the end. You are sure to be on Dell's side hoping the truth will be revealed. It is rare to read a book for this age group where the mother is so awful - she left the family when the children were very young because she is obsessed with her belief in aliens. She even seems to bribe the kids with cafe treats and a 'pretend' interest in their lives and she keeps making promises that she has no intention of fulfilling - her betrayal of Summer is dreadful. On the upside Dels' grandmother, who is called Mo-Mo, is a wonderful support to Dell when everything seems to be crashing down around her. 

Thank you to Gleebooks kids for sharing their advance reader copy of Running in Circle and to UQP for the actual copy. Running in Circles will be released next week - 28th April 2026. You can read an extract here. 

Shivaun Plozza has a 2026 Older Readers Notable title: The Worst Perfect Moment. Read the Kirkus Star review. I am going to keep my eye out for another of her books from 2020 - The Boy, The Wolf and the Stars. 

Here are some other books I have talked about by Shivaun Plozza:

Meet me at the Moon Tree

Summer of the Shipwrecks

Further reading and other books to explore:

Non Fiction fans should look for this terrific series

The World from Here by Cassy Polimeni illustrated by Mel Armstrong

Blurb: Milo lies in the grass watching cottony cumulus clouds transform into animals. Maya looks out a plane window and marvels at the sky outside and the shapes countries make below. Through their different perspectives, Milo and Maya remind us that there are countless ways to experience the world.

Here is a new word for today - Nephology - the study of clouds.

This book combines a narrative interspersed with facts about clouds. There is a glossary and a fact page to extend your child's understanding of weather, cloud names, thunderstorms, and the ways weather can affect us.

Thanks to CSIRO Publishing for sending a review copy of The World from Here. Check out the teachers notes here. 

• Explores the sciences that help us understand our world, and the wonders that make living here on Earth so rewarding.
• Presents scientific facts on weather, geometry, astronomy and patterns in nature in an accessible and engaging way.

There are also terrific opportunities of further things to explore after reading this book such as mushrooms, frogs, Pangea, clouds on Mars, the constellations, and shapes in nature such as fractals, tessellations and spirals. This book could also open up a discussion about ways to cope if a child is afraid during a thunderstorm. 

It is an accessible and engaging introduction to Earth Sciences that will inspire curious readers aged 4 and up to learn more about the environment. Books and Publishing

Things look different from up here, with Earth spread out below like a giant quilt.

See more pages inside this book here.

My friend at Kinderbookswitheverything talks about Cloud Appreciation Day but you could celebrate clouds any time. I think this topic might be covered in our school syllabus documents but with your preschool group or younger grade you could easily enjoy exploring clouds and books about clouds as a part of a mini unit. Here are a few of my favourite books about clouds:

This is very very old - Clouds by Peggy Blakeley

Cloud Atlas

Lizzy and the Cloud (this is a must-read book for every child)

When cloud became a cloud

Cassy Polimeni is a children’s author and freelance editor whose stories celebrate our connection with nature and the environment, and the relationship between science and wonder.

Here are some of her books:

Mel Armstrong is an illustrator from New Zealand. Here are some of her previous books:

The Cloud Thief by James Nicol

"Mara had heard the old tales of the world before the Great Shift but she'd never seen anything that showed what the skies had once been like, when clouds were everywhere. It made her heart ache with sadness that she would never see a sky like it. Her skies would only ever be cloudless, brilliant blue or dusty yellow when a sandstorm rolled in."

Mara's town is called Withering-on-the-Sand-Sea. You might think of UK towns with names like Burnham-on-Sea; Saltburn by the Sea; Gorelston on Sea; and Southend on Sea. Withering was once by the sea but now the sea is just an endless horizon of sand. Water is essential for life. Clouds give us water - it is a basic part of the all-important water cycle - but for this town and others in the area ther are no clouds. There is however, a cloud factory. The town is forced to buy a cloud every few weeks and it seems the price is rising and the quality of the cloud and hence the rain is noticeably reduced. Also, the word wither means to dry up from lack of water.

"It was the first cloud that had been delivered to Withering-on-the Sand-Sea in over four months. ... (They) followed their friends and neighbours across the gorge bridge and then up, up, up the sloping hill to Clifftop farm where the clouds were always delivered. Where they were most needed. Where they did the most good."

But first the cloud must be paid for and this time it has been a huge struggle to gather enough grain and vegetables to satisfy the attendants. As the payment is inspected, Mara notices the mayor also gives the head cloud attendant a small purse of coins. Why? Finally, the moment arrives to release the cloud:

"It was a plump little cloud, but something about it didn't look quite right to Mara. The colour was off; it was neither brilliant white nor dark grey, which was how most clouds delivered to Withering looked."

Mara only has her father Old Bern. Lately he has become unwell with a sickness called the Thwart. Mara overhears a conversation that this can be cured with a piece of cloud. Mara is desperate to help Bern so she stows away, with her pet squirrel Fidget, in the cloud carriage and heads away to the cloud factory.

What will Mara discover there? Will she be able to snatch a piece of precious cloud? And who is that new young cloud attendant - Evie Bainbridge? Is she trustworthy. Take a look at some of the labels I have assigned to this post - corruption, journeys, and magical realism - these might give you a hint about what is about to unfold. Oh, and you are sure to also love the cloud named Brume and Mara's new and wonderful friend Eban and I do need to mention the Skirex (they can fly) and especially the young Skirex named Caleus. 

You can read the first chapter here. Listen to an audio sample from page 3 to 11. You could listen along while reading the text. This might be a great way to introduce this book to your library group or class. I highly recommend The Cloud Thief for readers aged 9+ or you could add this to your family read-aloud list. This is one of those books where every chapter ends with a cliff hanger and so you just keep turning the pages unable to stop reading. 

A gorgeously cosy fantasy novel from the acclaimed author of The Apprentice Witch series and The Spell Tailors – perfect for fans of Studio Ghibli and Diana Wynne Jones.

Mara lives with her father in a drought-stricken village, where rain comes at a price controlled by powerful cloud-makers. Without enough water, the village crops, animals and people will continue to suffer.  ... A spellbinding new fantasy from the acclaimed author of the Apprentice Witch trilogy and The Spell Tailors. Set in a unique magical world, where clouds are made, bought, and sold. For fans of Studio Ghibli and Diana Wynne Jones – with an eco twist! Explores important themes such as climate change, animal rights and inequality in an engaging child-friendly and accessible way. Love Reading4Kids

When you see a book published by Chicken House (UK) take my advice - it will be well worth reading. Luckily here in Australia Chicken House books often appeal on Scholastic Book Club brochures which is how I came to find this book in the Book Bunker library at Westmead Children's Hospital.

I previously enjoyed this book by James Nicol:

The Spell Tailors

Storm by Jane Bunn illustrated by Dasha Riley

"The sky was menacing and dark. It looked like it could swallow anything and everything."

The television weather presenter advises everyone to say indoors. Jane's little dog Stampy is terrified. Jane is a problem solver and so she decides to research storms and write her discoveries in her journal which she then shares with her pup. To complete her research, she uses the library and talks with a meteorologist (her aunt). The result is a partially fiction book with full pages of weather facts. 

The author of this book is a television weather presenter from Channel Seven. Celebrity books do make me cringe - but I guess a television weather presenters would know her topic and also, she is perhaps a fairly minor celebrity - unless you live in Melbourne. She talks about her book here with Reading with a Chance of Tacos. (25 minutes) She might do further books and make a series. Hope she can take a look at this book set:

I had a little girl in my school a few years ago who was terrified of storms and especially upset of there was thunder and lightning. One day we had a very wild storm at school - actually this happened fairly often at home time. The little girl was with me in the library - I don't remember why - but I do remember comforting her during the storm and the kind reaction of her mum when she finally arrived. I would have loved to loan her this book once the storm had passed. 

I am not a massive fan of the illustrations in this book, but I do really like the combination of a fictional narrative about Jane and her dog linked with the fact pages about storms; lightning; wind; hail; storm safety; and predicting weather.

Publisher blurb: When a dark, menacing storm rumbles over Jane’s house, she has lots of questions ... Where do storms come from? What causes lightning? How does hail form? And most importantly, how do we stay safe? Discover all the wild-weather answers you need to know in this imaginative and informative story from weather presenter and meteorologist Jane Bunn.

Pair this with:

I am the Storm

Monsoon by Uma Krishnaswami illustrated by Jmel Akib

The word monsoon comes from an old Arabic word, mausim, meaning 'season'. The monsoon is a season of rain. 

This is a book about anticipation. It made me think of Come on Rain by Karen Hesse. The family go about their daily life, but everyone is sure the big rains are not too far away. They watch the sky and listen to the news. 

"The heat makes me feel like a crocodile crouching snap-jawed."

Then they hear some distant thunder. The grandmother tells stories of the monsoon of the past - wetter, fuller and longer. Then the shape of the clouds change looking like partridge feathers. Then more clouds gather. 

"Suddenly it is still, a stillness filled with promises of dampness in the air."

"Umbrellas turn into walking forests. ... The raindrops make me laugh out loud, thudding on earth and rooftops and on my skin."

This is a perfect book to use for class work about weather, global warming, rain or Asian studies and even though it was published in 2003 it is still available for less than AUS$20.

“The level of anticipation is so high that every engine rumble sounds like thunder….An expressive story about seasons, extremes, and waiting.” Kirkus Reviews

Bookseller blurb: Children play, birds call, and grown-ups go about their business during the hot days of summer in northern India. But in the bustle of the street and marketplace, everyone is watching, waiting for those magical clouds to bring their gift of rain to the land. Through the observations of one young girl, the scents and sounds, the dazzling colors, and the breathless anticipation of a parched cityscape are vividly evoked during the final days before the welcome arrival of the monsoon.

In the library of my friend they are reviewing books with low borrowing rates. Monsoon has only been borrowed by students twice since 2010 but I am sure it has been included in many of the class topic bulk book loans. I was excited to see Uma Krishnaswami on the cover of this book because I loved her little novel The Book Uncle and Me and a few years ago I discovered she lives Victoria, British Columbia, Canada which is where a friend of mine also lives. Uma Krishnaswami also spoke at the USBBY Conference held at Washington University in 2017 - Radical Change Between Borders. 

Summer Blue by Trudie Trewin illustrated by Marjorie Crosby-Fairall

Blurb and opening lines: "Marley and Moses lived in a place where the heat crept up and smothered the days in stiffing stillness. And it stayed and stayed."

On Monday the children try to play outside in their tree using grandma's fan as a way to try to keep cool. On Tuesday they spend time at the creek which has almost no water. On Wednesday they fill watering cans and take turns under the cascading water and so the week continues until the sky grows dark on Friday.

"Marley and Moses lived in a place where the rain, when it came, wasn't cold pin rain you had to run and hide from. It was fat, juicy 'come and play' rain."

Every child and adult runs outside to play and frolic and dance in the rain ... which "when it came, stayed and stayed."

There are many meanings to be inferred from the title – summer blue sky, summer blues/mood, and the dark blue of the sky when the rain is coming.

When you pick up this book flip it over and notice the contrasting front and back covers and then turn to the front and back end papers. They are splendid. Of course, there are other books about heat, summer, drought etc here in Australia which end with glorious rain but I think this book is a worthy addition to the cannon. I am thinking of books such as Mallee sky by Jodi Toering, Two Summers by John Heffernan, and Drought by Jackie French. The point of difference here is audience. 

This book is perfect to share with younger children. Summer Blue contains carefully crafty lyrical language and phrases – smothered the days in stifling stillness and heavy with heat and fabulous verbs linked to heat and water such as melted, dissolved, evaporated, oozed and poured. 

You can feel the cool water in the illustration where Marley tips the watering can over her head. The sense of place and time are very strong in this book. The motif of the fan works well when finally, it is so hot the pair of children cannot even share this tiny cooling device. 

I love the way the story ends with the rain still falling – this will open up some excellent discussions about weather, drought and floods with younger children and climate change with older students. The enormity of the arrival of the rain is mirrored by the way the whole landscape is shown using a birds eye view on the double spread where the sky turns black, grey and indigo. The digital illustrations have a beautiful soft almost nostalgic focus and there is a perfect shift in the colour palette from the hot summer and yellow grasses to the purples, blues and aqua tones of the rain filled pages. There is a wonderful change of mood capturing the joy and renewed energy of the children as they frolic in rain puddles and the mud. The ways the animals react to the weather and environment is also engaging and appealing – and very realistic.

The weather explored in this book is common in Australia - drought and rain - but the landscape depicted by Marjorie Crosby-Fairall is interesting. It does look Australian in some ways but the scenes also have a more universal feel possibly because they are painted with using a soft focus. Reading this book with a group of children it would be important to talk about safety - alerting your group to the potential dangers of playing in flood waters although in this book the water does look very shallow. Venturing into flood waters is a huge concern in country areas where so many little children, and adults too, misread the depth and treachery of heavy rain and floods. 

Summer Blue is a 2023 Children's Book Council of Australia CBCA notable title. You can see inside this book here. Take a look at other books illustrated by Marjorie Crosby-Fairall and for Trudie Trewin. 

Some years ago I started a collection of books that use the pattern of days of the week and while this is not a major focus of this story it is an interesting story device you could explore with young writers. 

Companion books:

All I want for Christmas is Rain

Rain for Christmas

It's a Miroocool

The Big Umbrella by Amy June Bates and Juniper Bates

"By the front door there is an umbrella. It is big. It is a big, friendly umbrella. It likes to help. It likes to spread its arms wide."

Yes it is raining. Time for this umbrella to go to work. One person, two people, four people, tall, short, hairy, even plaid - they all need shelter and the umbrella is happy to help.

The Big Umbrella is a picture book about kindness. It is one of those wonderful books you could share with preschool aged children but you could also share it with a much older group.  The text I quoted at the start of the post comes from the first six pages of this book. You will want to talk about the themes of inclusiveness, tolerance, compassion, community, and perhaps diversity but you could also use this book to talk about the structure of a picture book. Pacing, word placement, page turns, and the use of pages with no words. The illustrations by Amy June Bates are perfect. The Big Umbrella was first published in 2018 and it is still available but here in Australia the hardcover edition is quite expensive. 

A subtle, deceptively simple book about inclusion, hospitality, and welcoming the “other.” Kirkus

This cheerful, inclusive book encourages the reader to share resources, not by demanding that everyone shares, but by showing how community grows when shared.  First Thursday Book Reviews

There’s a calming and happy tone to The Big Umbrella and a wonderful mix of realism with fantasy that makes it engaging, uplifting, and full of wonder. It expertly walks the line of impossible and possible. The Picture Book Review

The book I could use as a companion to The Big Umbrella is this one:

Rain is a very complex phenomena to paint but in this book you can almost feel and hear the rain drops.

I do like books about rain and umbrellas. Yes this book - The Big Umbrella -  is about so much more but here are some other books on rain and umbrellas:

Come on Rain

Rain for Christmas

Home in the Rain

All I want for Christmas is Rain

I have been fascinated with umbrellas since I was a very young child and I read a story about a Chinese umbrella decorated with people who appear to be running when the umbrella is open. The story came from The Youngest Omnibus.  I decided (tonight) to begin a Pinterest collection of books about Umbrellas. I am also good at misplacing umbrellas - I wonder where they all go? I once had an umbrella decorated with umbrellas - sadly lost long ago.  I seem to have missed National Umbrella Day. It is celebrated on February 10th each year. I should also mention from time to time I do wish I had the umbrella used by Mary Poppins. 

It might be fun to fill your school library with Umbrellas or invite your school art teacher to create a display.

Image Source: Teachers Web

Shine Mountain by Julie Hunt

"But if the instrument could give, it could also take away, 

 and what it took was harmony."

I am reading my way through the CBCA Notables (Younger Readers). A few of the titles were in my local public library including Shine Mountain. How did I miss this one last year?

One of the things I love about reading is when a book is so inventive, so powerful and so unpredictable I just have to keep reading and reading. I started Shine Mountain one morning and devoured about a third. Then I had to go out but Shine Mountain was calling me home. I just had to get back into the world of Ellie and her friends (human and animal). I left everything when I came home and sat down to read right through to the end.

The opening scenes of Shine Mountain read like a movie. Pop is dying. Unfamiliar family members have gathered at the farm. Ellie and Oma know the time is close and so they are making their preparations. Late in the evening the shine-moth arrives.

"A slab of moonlight fell on Pop's bed and I saw the shine-moth land on the bedhead. It was still for a moment, then it opened its wings and began a slow, steady beating. Pop gave a sigh as the insect took over his breathing. He looked so relieved I thought he might die right then ... "

Pop still has a few hours left. The shine-moth grows bigger but there is time for Pop to write his will.  All of this goes along as expected with gifts for various family members but then Pop asks for a box which is under his bed. Pop asks the family to bury this box with him in his grave.

"I thought it was a little jewel box at first. It was a pretty thing with a pattern of leaves carved on what seemed to be the lid, but when Tod opened it I realised it was a button-box, a tiny concertina."

Pop plays a tune, sings a song and Oma joins in. They sing about Spring and the music seems to work. Plants start to grow, the ice cap on top of Mount Ossa begins to melt. Pop quietly dies and is buried along with the button box but the lawyer has a greedy eye. He sets off late in the night returning to the city on his horse but on the way he stops at the grave and digs up the button box. Ellie sees him but she cannot get close enough to stop him. The lawyer is drunk. There is an accident. The button box lies broken on the ground. Ellie knows there is a mystery about this old instrument but she has also seen the good effect it seemed to have on the farm and on her Oma. She picks up the pieces and organises for the repairs.

The dangerous thing, though, is that while the music of the button box can bring prosperity it can also bring terrible hardship. As quickly as things became good so they become bad. The heat ramps up. Crops die and Oma is failing. Ellie needs to set things right. She needs to take this button box back through the Palisades to Shine Mountain but this will be a dangerous journey in every way - physical danger of course but also the danger when she discovers the truth about her identity.

There is a link on the publisher web site (Allen and Unwin) to a set of very useful discussion questions to use with Shine Mountain.

I don't talk about covers often enough. I adore this one. It is by Geoff Kelly and he did the map too. I have said this before but I enjoy exploring maps.  Perhaps you have seen one of Geoff's earliest books - Power and Glory by Emily Rodda. It was an amazing book about a computer game. More recently Geoff did the covers for two new Paul Jennings books A different Dog and A different Boy.

Okay here is my BIG request/prediction/wish/plea/hope - Shine Mountain just HAS to make the CBCA short list. YES YES it is that good! If it is not on your reading pile go out and grab a copy now. Are you still with me?  Off you go and find this book - NOW! Fingers crossed for Julie Hunt.

I would link Shine Mountain with The Firework Maker's daughter by Philip Pullman.

I loved so many parts of this story: Luca's gift of weather making; the kindness of the wonderful Meridian and her ability as a Way-Lady; and the idea of map making using dust or dirt from your home. The descriptions are also wonderful. I can just see Harlan's shoes: "His boots had pointed toes and they were laced up at the side with leather thonging."

There are links in Shine Mountain with other books by Julie. An accordion (found in The Coat) and the coat itself worn by Harland: "He wore old-fashioned garb, a ragged frockcoat that hung on his thin frame and a wide hat that was turned up at the back.". If you look at The Coat illustrated by Ron Brooks it looks just like this. I asked Julie about this and she said she seems to have a 'thing' about concertinas, coats and white gloves. The white gloves are a reference to her book KidGlovz.

This is a mysterious magical quest for truth, identity, and reparation. It is designed to shine a light on the importance and necessity of stories handed down over time.  It is a movement of music in four parts. The story is made up of strands of the characters’ lives interwoven with the strongest strand being Ellie, in the middle, to hold it all together. Kids Book Review

Read my earlier post about Song for a Scarlet Runner also by Julie Hunt.

Here is a button Box concertina - click the link to hear it played.

Image source and video of this instrument being played: https://www.buttonbox.com/new-concertinas.html

Coming Home by Michael Morpurgo illustrated by Kerry Hyndman

Day Six
Come my heart, and come my wings,
Fly, fly before the cruel snows,
Carry me, carry me home.
I must be on my way.

Coming Home follows the journey of a lone robin. This is an annual journey of migration by the brave robin from Scandinavia to Britain. The language is so poetic and the rhythms match the wing beats of the little robin who has to battle against driving rain, thunder and lightning, huge mountains and violent storms as he struggles to reach his home to his mate.

Take your time to look closely at the final scenes. As the robin swoops over the houses you can see a snowman, wreaths on front doors, and a glimpse of a Christmas tree. I should also mention the beautiful end papers decorated with holly and other red berries.

We don't have robins in Australia but as with other Christmas symbols the little robin does appear on our cards and tree ornaments.

Image source: https://welshgiftshop.com/products/christmas-decoration-wool-robin

Image source: https://www.johnlewis.com/caroline-gardner-robin-christmas-card/p3703107

You can see the whole book here read by Michael Morpurgo. You can see some of the glorious illustrations from this book on Kerry Hyndman's web site. Here are a set of very detailed teaching notes.

I am not sure how this works - did the book or the ad come first? I think perhaps the ad came first. Waitrose in the UK who then seem to have asked Michael Morpurgo to write Coming Home to link with their 2016 Christmas television advertisement. The ad shows the whole story with no words just a beautiful music sound track.

A highly unusual picture book to satisfy the heart of anyone who enjoys making the natural world part of a Christmas celebration.  Kirkus