ER ALM

Author – David Almond

Age – 8+

This story is lots of things – quirky, funny, weird in places and crazy in others. There are sad and happy parts and an ending left up to the reader. All in all, I think this story can be interpreted in lots of ways, but I believe it’s about believing in yourself and what you think is important, being brave and essentially surviving the sometimes rocky side of growing up.

I loved the format of this story font etc – and especially the wonderful talent of Oliver Jeffares’ illustrations.

The telling of this story is different in the fact that the reader is spoken to directly but the narrator and instead of using the usual ‘meanwhile’, the narrator takes the reader up and away from one character, across the sky and back down to another part of the story. Awesome.

(Slapstick, Silly, Humour, Fair, Action, Fish, Conflict, Courage, Family, Love, Running away, Magic, Independence)