STORY    SHACK
  • Home
  • Creating a READING CULTURE in your school
  • Professional Development (and personal too for YOU).
  • Book Recommendations for YOU
  • Get in touch
  • Back together FOLK EAST 2020
  • FOLK EAST 2022
  • Listen to a favourite Storyshack story
  • Book Making Videos
  • Blog

Release your  imagination......
Explore new worlds.    
Make your own stories.

Explore a map-real or fantasy....where do you want to go? Make your own and see where your imagination takes you.

Save childhood

"The feeling that imagination could overcome every hardship if you just tried hard enough" Jo Cotterill

5/14/2014

1 Comment

 
Picture
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2013/dec/07/review-looking-at-stars-jo-cotterill

Very powerful book, very moving-reduced me to tears. Had me gripped all day. Started last night, took it with me in the car so in between visits to trainee teachers I could read it. Completely absorbed in well known coffee shop in Stowmarket during that 'between visits' lunchtime and then couldn't put it down until I'd got to the end this evening. Hence this rather late blog. 10+ I think with some big messages in there -beautifully written with an uplifting use of stories. 
"Once, when I was little, I had a story book.  A real book, with pages and pictures, and it was all mine. It was about a mouse who was a detective, and he went everywhere looking for clues.  I loved that book so much that I read it every day, sometimes three or four times. It was old and battered before I had it-Potta had found it on a rubbish dump-and after so many readings, it fell apart completely.  Then, one day, Vivie got hold of one of the pages and tried to eat it. She was only a baby at the time, but I was so upset I cried for a week. I treasured that book - not just because it was a thing that belonged to me, but also because it gave me a glimpse of another world."
The power of those stories is conveyed in a clever thread running throughout. Amina is the story teller of her family. Although she doesn't realise at the time her stories become the key to survival, not just for her family but for others too. Just a really excellent read-and please do, it's an important book. It makes you think. It's one that, as Neil Gamain writes much more eloquently than me, enables readers to go somewhere difficult but very fortunately for most of us it is something hopefully we will not have to experience in reality.
BUT that's why WE MUST READ AND READ.

1 Comment
Jo Cotterill link
5/14/2014 06:22:44 pm

What a lovely, lovely review. Thank you so much - that's put a big smile on my face today :-D

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Get in touch
    Tweets by Storyshacker
    Follow @Storyshacker

    Sarah Gallagher

    Avid reader, sometimes a headteacher AND founder of Story shack. A place where  you can release your imagination and see where it takes you....
    reading
    writing
    book making
    playing
    because everyone deserves to imagine and create

    mumsnet

    Archives

    May 2022
    May 2020
    January 2020
    August 2019
    December 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Books
    Children
    Imagination
    Stories
    Teachers

    Wordle: storyshack
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.