FArTHER

Product Information

I really like that this books pulls in a new theory of passes dreams back and forth and it makes for a beautifully articulated tale of a father and son. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.

He has illustrated two other picture books for Templar: the Greenaway shortlisted Leon and the Place Between and The Winter's Child . Firstly I feel the images would generate interesting discussions in the class, around the characters’ emotions and feelings and also encouraging the students to use their imaginations when looking at the images.His first title for Templar Books, Leon and the Place Between, was short-listed for the Kate Greenaway Medal, and FArTHER went on to win in 2011. What first drew me to this book was the title - I immediately wondered why the illustration on the front cover depicted a father, yet the spelling clearly suggested something more.

The style of illustration in this book, a mix of artwork, photographs in a collage come together to create a most unusual picture book which explores the relationship between father and son in a particularly poetic and elegant way', Librarymice. It takes a few reads to appreciate how deep and complex the message is, and has lead to a great discussion about the meaning of the text (and we're adults). It continues by exploring the text through a range of activities that include explicit grammar teaching, opportunities for shorter written outcomes and book talk. A complex book that has several themes that would appear more prevalent the older or 'mature' the reader. The story is open for interpretation because of its unusual content, however more common themes arise such as family, loss and ambition, which people may relate to.

Much later, the boy, now a young man finds himself drawn once more to his father’s drawings and failed experiments. A lot of this book is set to interpretation which can bring great conversational pieces for the class. And it uses a weird stylised font, which also makes it harder to read for younger people; for people with a reading disability; and for parents reading in lower light levels.

A sumptuous and eye-catching book from the outside, which doesn't disappoint when opened to reveal a stunningly illustrated and very touching story. Maybe I’m confused about what the Kate Greenaway Medal is… I was under the impression that it was the UK equivalent of the Caldecott medal given in the US.

The story and illustrations work intricately together to produce an emotionally moving book which had me close to tears. The unique illustrations have an almost eerie feel to them, which adds to the intrigue and questions that the story raises - for example, as I read the book I kept wondering why the father wanted to have wings, and what was driving his desire to fly away. This three-week Writing Root begins by introducing the concept of dreams and how important they are in our lives.