"Discovering the magic in the everyday and in all of us in this gorgeous celebration of nature"
The new Children’s Laureate grew up in a tower block in Richmond and that lived experience and the stunning illustrations which unmistakeably portray that very location gives this remarkable book a deeply personal authenticity. But the book’s message is universal and completely relatable regardless of where you live, although it will seem very special indeed to any child living in their own tower block today.
The story follows three children who leave their grey dismal tower in search of the marvellous green tree they can see from their windows. As they move through the wood gradually more colour seeps into the images and when they find their tree and discover an entrance to a magical underground world the palette changes entirely to magical purples and blues and the lovely lyrical text becomes joyously rhyming too.
But their real discovery is the gift of the old man of the tree which enables them to see that magic exists in the real world too, when we do not forget our connections to nature and can see and appreciate the beauty of community.
A truly beautiful and special text that is a perfect example of words and pictures working together to create a deep and lasting impression on readers young and old.
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A poetic and beautifully illustrated story of the magic of nature and where we find beauty in our lives.
Beautifully rich in both language and illustrations, Our Tower is a book for adults and children to share and to keep returning to again and again. There is much to explore and talk about in the magical images by Richard Johnson which accompany Joseph Coelho’s lyrical text.
The book accompanies three children on a journey from a grey, urban landscape to a wondrous forest inhabited by an ancient tree spirit. Coelho’s writing becomes increasingly poetic as the children wander deeper into the natural landscape and the setting becomes more wondrous.... Read Full Review
We really like Our Tower because lots of books make you wish you lived somewhere else, but this book is about seeing the special in where you already are.
This book is really beautiful. It started out as a book where you think the message is about how much better it is in the countryside and that tower blocks are bad, but then the children meet someone who turns that idea upside down. We really like it because lots of books make you wish you lived somewhere else, but this book is about seeing the special in where you already are, and how you could make it more special. It’s a picture book so probably aimed at younger children, but it was really restful, and we liked looking for all the hidden details in the pictures, and the way the light and colours reflect the story. Most kids do live in cities and in tower blocks so it’s good to make them feel connected with nature too.... Read Full Review
This book is stunning!
This book is stunning! I was excited to read this book to my KS1 class, the front cover drew us in straight away but we could not have imagined just how enthralling the story and illustrations were going to be! We related straight away to the characters of the tower block and could see ourselves in them, trapped in the dreary, grey city. Then the hope of nature, life and growth gripped us as the colour began to trickle back into the pages. The magical adventure took us on a journey of hope to a place that we all dream of. We spent a lot of time dissecting and discussing the illustrations of the woods, the use of shape and colour shades had us hooked.... Read Full Review
