A little girl and her parents have lost their home and must live in a homeless shelter. Even worse, due to a common shelter policy, her dad must live in a men’s shelter, separated from her and her mom. Despite these circumstances, the family still finds time to be together. This reflection also inspires pupils to transfer their newly acquired awareness and knowledge from inside the classroom to informed involvement with the world outside the classroom. Part D: Extra activities

Mother Cary's Butter Knife (2016) with illustrations by Anja Uhren, published by Graffeg - part of the Shadows and Light series Promises run both ways, both making and keeping, so part of The Promise impact campaign will encourage people to ask political leaders to keep their promises on climate change and the environment: I Promise, Promise Me. Last (2020) written and illustrated by Nicola Davies (her debut as illustrator) published by Tiny Owl Survivors: The Toughest Creatures on Earth (2016) Illustrated by Neal Layton, published by Walker Books Discussion: There is a lot that doesn’t quite make sense in this story. For example, big oaks do not spring up overnight from little acorns. Nor can trees and flowers, as nice as they are, necessarily change hearts. A small child might not even buy this story if presented as a fable or parable. But the illustrations by Laura Carlin are definitely notable. Using watercolor, pastel, and crayon, she shows how the world is transformed from drab and lifeless to vibrant glorious color.

Chi, Laura and I have an organisation, Wild Labs, who are putting together our impact campaign. The idea is that children, schools, families and communities make Promises for the Planet, that the organisations with which we partner can help them deliver. They may for instance want to make a promise to establish a school garden, and we can partner them with an organisation ready to offer help and funding for that. They may want to promise to save an area of biodiverse rainforest, so we can pair them with a conservation organisation like The World Land Trust . Or they may simply want to plant a tree, and we can make that happen too. Pretend Cows (2020) with illustrations by Cathy Fisher, published by Graffeg - part of the Country Tales series We would like to point out that it is not necessary to complete every activity and / or include all the vocabulary and expressions. Teachers are encouraged to adapt the lessons to suit the needs of their learners. However, we recommend completing the book-cover-based activities to encourage pupils to make predictions about the story from the title and cover illustrations, and to appreciate the picturebook’s different features. Flying Free (2018) with illustrations by Cathy Fisher, published by Graffeg - part of the Country Tales series The words of course don’t work alone. The interaction between words and pictures is a magical, alchemical phenomenon, very similar to the way lyrics and melody work in a song. When I write a picture book text it’s my job to leave enough space for that magic to happen. There must be enough room between the words for the illustrator to walk about, and tell the story they want to tell. If I write a text well enough, their story and mine will serve the same end. For me, the very best outcome is for an illustrator to show me something I never imagined or saw was there in the words.

Pretty soon the city was filled with little trees that enchanted people, and they began to plant trees and flowers and vegetables everywhere: A girl lives in a city. It is full of mean streets and unsmiling people. One day, the girl attempts to mug an old lady for her bag. So far, this seems a rather depressing and bleak picture book for children. However, there is a twist. For the woman releases her bag on a promise and that promise is that the girl must plant what is inside the bag – which turns out to be full of acorns. Before long, the city is full of budding trees and things, slowly, begin to change…On a mean street in a mean, broken city, a young girl tries to snatch an old woman’s bag. But the frail old woman says the thief can’t have it without giving something in return: the promise. It is the beginning of a journey that will change the girl’s life — and a chance to change the world, for good. Welcome to Silver Street Farm (2011) with illustrations by Katharine McEwen, published by Walker Books

Part B provides lesson information about age/level suitability, lesson objectives, cross-curricular links and links to children’s rights and world-event days. The Elephant Road (2013) with illustration by Annabel Wright, published by Walker Books (Heroes of the Wild series) This is one of our favourite books in Take One Book. We have included it in our year 5 sequences because the themes work well for this year group, but it could be read with any junior class. To find out more about Take One Book visit takeonebook.org Frozen Solid at Silver Street Farm (2012) Illustrated by Katharine McEwen, published by Walker BooksProtecting the Planet: The Season of Giraffes (2022) Illustrated by Emily Sutton, published by Walker Books But this is where I needed to remember my own words, written in the voice of the acorn planting heroine of The Promise: In truth, I think I had lost faith in the power of my story and its ability to deliver its green message. So when Chi and I were invited to take part in Climate Story Lab , a coalition of organisations and individuals who work to support the very best communication about the climate crisis, I was skeptical. I went with Chi to the conference in London, sure I would feel out of place with so many amazing and experienced documentary makers, most of whom were young enough to be my children. But when our turn came to present our film, I was asked to read The Promise aloud. I was really nervous, but I’ve read those words so many times. I let them take me and I watched as they broke in the room like a wave. The response was incredible, the audience understood that the story of The Promise was a climate change fable that asked people to change and change now. The book is beautifully illustrated, with the use of colour being a key feature in communicating the messages of the text. Throughout the book colour is used to draw attention to the beauty and also rarity of nature. This idea of colour communicating a message allows for the book to hold many questions particularly for young children, who even if they cannot fully decode the text will be able to understand the messages through these bursts of colour. However, it is not all about the illustrations here, the deeper meaning of the text is just as important. With lines such as: 'The people had grown as mean and hard and ugly'... the book is filled with opportunities for discussion and wider thinking with children and staff alike. Also, with the depth of narrative used this book creates the perfect opportunity for whole school learning and thinking about the environment, as the book could appeal to older readers as well as those in KS1. The White Hare (2016) with illustrations by Anastasia Izlesou, published by Graffeg - part of the Shadows and Light series