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The Fish Who Could Wish - John Bush
by MsTricia
My daughter has tons of books, so many that half the time I don't know where they came from and new ones seem to appear all the time! This book was one she approached me with a few days ago, and ever since she has come rather infatuated with this book and wants me to read it all the time!
The story focuses on a fish who is ... able to make wishes, and he swims along wishing for all kinds of fun and fancy things. The concept actually was quite funny by the end as he then wishes to be just like all the other fish in the sea - thus losing his omnipotent power to make wishes and rendering him exactly what he asked for, a normal life! I found this quite comical as the fish then looks quite grumpy! My 3 year old of course didn't pick up on the subtle humour and the thought behind it, but she still really enjoys this book!
My daughter is 3 years old, and whilst of course she cannot read, she enjoys reading along with me and I think the rhyming aspect is what captures her interest most. The words are basic and easy to understand, and each page is covered in vibrant, colourful pictures of the deep blue sea and it's inhabitants whereas the wording is limited to just a few lines, making it easy to read. The language is simple and effective, with not too many syllables or complex wording unlike another book she has where I didn't even know how to pronounce one of the words!
I think this book is suitable for children from all ages, as you can never start reading too early, but perhaps a 4/5 year old may want something a bit more challenging and advanced. We both enjoy reading this book together, and it is a rather big, paperback which she is able to hold herself and turn the pages, and being larger than average she can understand from the clear, bigger pictures what is happening to the fish with each wish.
The book is written by John Bush and illustrated by Korky Paul and can be bought on amazon for £5.24 which I think is a bit much, but who's to put a price on reading :)
Overall, it is a book I would recommend as it is interesting, a new concept and each wish the fish would make is more absurd and random than the last and even made me chuckle a little bit. My daughter loves it, and I am sure other kids do too!
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The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne
by SWSt
When The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas came out at the cinema, I was slightly disappointed. Even allowing for the fact that it was aimed at educating younger viewers about the Holocaust, the predictable plot and lack of real emotional impact let it down.
For that reason, I put off reading the book for a long time, despite Mrs ... SWSt assuring me that it was very good. As ever, she was right. When I finally got around to reading it, I enjoyed it immensely (although "enjoyed" is perhaps the wrong word to use in this context) as a fascinating account of hope, despair, death and ordinary life amidst extraordinary events.
Bruno is a 9 year old German boy who feels very angry when he and his parents move to a place he calls "Out-With". Unlike his old home, there is no-one to play with and too many soldiers marching in and out of his house. Curiously, from his bedroom window, he can see a large area surrounding by high-wired fences where everyone inside seems to wear striped pyjamas all day, every day. Exploring the area, he meets one of the boys from this strange camp and strikes up a friendship.
It must be very hard to get the tone right when trying to write for both adults and children simultaneously. Too many children's writers feel the need to patronise their audience (which will annoy the adults) whilst it can be tricky to write a complex book for adults that children will understand. Author John Boyne is one of a relatively small number of authors to pitch it right. He writes in a clear and simple way that neither patronises nor confuses; he is able to express ideas and events which are quite horrific without spelling them out in explicit detail that might be disturbing for younger readers and he gets across quite complex ideas in a way which it is easy for children (at least older children) to understand.
Where Boyne's writing really excels is in capturing the naivety and sense of adventure of the average nine year old boy. Youngsters that age have a very limited world view and see issues mostly in black and white. Boyne captures this innocence in Bruno perfectly. The way he thinks, the way he views the world as "unfair" if he is stopped from doing what he wants and his total lack of understanding about what is happening is completely convincing.
This is cleverly handled through the childlike way he interprets events, but also the way he mis-hears things. He thinks his new home is called Out-With; and that the very important person who gave Father his job is called The Fury. If I tell you that the book is set in Germany during the Second World War, it won't take you long to work out what he is actually talking about. Yet, it's all too easy to see how a child can mis-hear unfamiliar terms and re-interpret them in terms of their own experiences. This brings a touching and convincing child-like quality to the novel.
It's with this emotional element that the book is so much better than the film. Although it's a relatively short book (around 220 pages), the characters of Bruno and Shmuel (the young boy he befriends) and their touching friendship feel convincing and well developed. We understand a lot more about what Bruno is thinking and how he interprets what he hears and sees than we ever did in the film and this provides a far greater emotional resonance, contrasting the boys' innocence with the horrible events they are caught up in.
Boyne copes well with trying to get across the horrors of the concentration camps without traumatising younger readers. He phrases things in exactly the same way that a child - lacking the more sophisticated, nuanced vocabulary of an adult - would. So he refers to one of the guards "getting very angry indeed" with one of the Jewish prisoners. For a child, someone getting "very angry indeed" is probably one of the worst images they can conjure up; it gets across something of the casual brutality of the camps without fully expressing it. It's framed in terms of innocence; whereas an adult will divine its true meaning - a brutal (possibly fatal) beating.
The book also does an excellent job (far better than the film) of contrasting the naivety and innocence of Bruno with the experience of Shmuel who has witnessed far more than a 9 year old should ever have to endure. Yet, despite the grim surroundings, the book contains a strong element of hope; the thought that the innocence of childhood with its lack of prejudices can overcome the darkness of the camps.
It's touching to see the friendship between the two boys slowly blossom (despite the surroundings) and, whilst the ending is still just as predictable (at least when seen through adult eyes) the build-up is much better handled. Since the book offers a greater opportunity to get to know Bruno better the ending also has a far greater emotional impact.
Of course, The Boy... also has an educational role, drawing attention to the atrocities of wartime and the Nazi regime and trying to ensure today's youth knows what happened. Thankfully (apart from the deliberately thought-provoking final paragraph) the book is never preachy. Ideas relating to good and bad, right or wrong are seamlessly woven into the text and there is no judgement made on any of the characters, no matter what they do. Instead, the reader is left to think these issues through for themselves.
It's rare to find a book that can be read on different levels by children and adults alike, but this is one such title. Far better than the underwhelming cinematic version, this is a book which all parents should make their children read, and should read themselves.
Basic Information
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The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
John Boyne
Definitions (film tie-in edition), 2008
ISBN: 978-1862305274
© Copyright SWSt 2013
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