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ellielabbett 's review for:
Noah Barleywater Runs Away: A Fairytale
by John Boyne, Oliver Jeffers
When Noah runs away from home he enters a bizarre and magical land of talking daschunds and crazy donkeys, a place with all the possibilities for adventure that the eight year old craves. It is here that he meets and old man, a curious and nonsensical character, who reveals the highs and lows of his own life, which both contrast and parallel to Noah's. The Old Man may just be the push for Noah to reassess his thoughts about what is important to him, and his decision to leave his family behind.
On the surface this seems to be a silly, fantastical and comical book. It is, indeed, all of these things, however there is a much deeper layer to this text, one of aging, broken promises, regret and fear to accept the truth. A really exciting, and I would say, unique read. In using comedy to work around these challenging themes, it brings them down to earth and allows children to access and get to the root of them. One that could definitely be used in Year Four and up.
On the surface this seems to be a silly, fantastical and comical book. It is, indeed, all of these things, however there is a much deeper layer to this text, one of aging, broken promises, regret and fear to accept the truth. A really exciting, and I would say, unique read. In using comedy to work around these challenging themes, it brings them down to earth and allows children to access and get to the root of them. One that could definitely be used in Year Four and up.