The Way Back Home: Oliver Jeffers

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It was also amazing to be introduced to a transgender charcater and even though this was the only element of diversity that existed within the book. However, I have no experience with transgender indivduals so I cannot say whether this representation was all good or not. But, she was an amazing woman who deserves a medal for what she had to put up with in her family when she was younger. No one should ever have to go through the transition without the support of their loved ones. This relationship between Zoe and her Granny is at the heart of the book. It's the reason why I loved it so much. The love they had for each other really resonated with me, and I believe it will resonate with anyone who has loved and lost a grandmother. Zoe is misunderstood by her parents and bullied by her vile cousin whom films an extreme case of threat against Zoe as they find it hilarious making Zoe beg for her life, literally. The book was adapted into a play. Watch this promotional video and look at some of the props / costumes that were made for it. Could you make your own props and costumes and perform the story yourself? This collection fell flat for me. I am reminded of the way I felt about Amanda Lovelace's new work as well. Early Peppernell's poetry and prose was lush, enticing, and enjoyable. This collection felt stale, overdone, and repetitive. Now, I will not rule out the fact that maybe I have outgrown this author...but when I was thumbing through some of her pervious work I became envious that I'm not getting to read that for the first time! I still enjoy her earlier books!

You got pregnant, that’s what. Why didn’t you get rid of me? I wish you had.” I run to my room, smother my face in my pillow. A whirlwind of hollers. “LEAVE ME ALONE LEAVE ME ALONE LEAVE ME ALONE LEAVE ME ALONE!!!” I keep it up till they do.So yeah, as you can see, I have a lot of anger about the parents on this book. I'm going to try and not get into another massive rant about the character of Madi because that would last forever. She's just a hateful, self-absorbed brat. Ok. Granny and Zoe love each other, so they go on a road trip to visit her long lost uncle Teddy. Granny is not stable, but the very smart Zoe lets her drive them to the train station. Geez. If you're being adventurous at least have a plan. Granny has cash. Call a cab or something. They get to the train station with no injuries, and go to Toronto. What's her plan then? She acts like she has one. She is one impulsive, selfish moron. I miss Granny. I always will. But not in a sad way. More in wonder, I guess, that Granny and I are together whenever I think of her, even when I'm alone." Third, the whole book is basically built around the fact that you’re supposed to feel sorry for Zoe (the main character), which I didn’t obviously . The side characters are if possible even worse than Zoe. Madi, her cousin, is an absolute bitch. She is literally evil. Madi even got her friend to nearly kill Zoe, simply for the fact that she hates her. There are also several mentions of Zoe wanting to end her life. Suicide and murder are NOT to be taken lightly and having teens nearly kill each other or themselves over a stupid fight is not okay.

Oliver Jeffers has won numerous awards and delighted millions of kids and parents alike with his beautifully hand illustrated stories.Before you start reading look at the cover together and talk about what the story might be about.As you read the story aloud pauseif your child wants to look at the pictures and talk about what is happening. Talk about the story This poetry anthology was written with the panic and claustrophobia, the grief and the uncertainty, that the recent pandemic brought to all our lives. It is very personal, focusing on Peppernell's own losses and mental health struggles, but with themes that are universally experienced. I found many a beautiful passage to underline and much hope delivered after the very bleak first portion.

With the children, identify the key events in the story. The events below are just suggestions but the children may sort their ideas in different ways. However, try to restrict them to between six and eight events otherwise it can become too complicated! Some of the illustrations use lots of pictures to show a single action (e.g. the boy putting on his pilot’s outfit and the conversation about fixing the two machines). Can you make a storyboard that shows an action / event? This YA novel by the author of The Dogs didn't give me the best first impression, but it certainly grew on me.

Table of Contents

Can you find out the distance from the Earth to the Moon? How long would the rope need to stretch that far?

Zoe has a very close relationship with Granny, but that's about the only good relationship she has in her life. Her parents wish she was more like her cousin, Madi, who has secretly bullied her and blamed her for things for several years without getting into trouble. She is only allowed to hang around with people of whom Madi approves, and isn't very happy with her life. (I have a hard time connecting with characters that I don't like, so Zoe's parents and Madi, who were central characters in the first part of the story, really put me off the book as a whole). Now you may be thinking, "Well, maybe you were just too tired for annotating?". I take annotating very serious. I know I have to be in the mood for it. When I decide to annotate a book, I need lots of annotations and for it to be very neat. This is why I usually only annotate books I've read before or poetry. Her gran suffers with Alzheimer's and is getting slowly worse and more forgetful as well as being prone to going want ring alone with her confusion getting herself into dangerous situations. Grab your tissues, because you're seriously going to be taken on an emotional rollercoaster ride with this book. I found this particularly difficult to read because it hit very very close to home with the character of the Granny. I got half way and I just didn't think I could read anymore because it was getting too personal, but I ploughed through it and I'm really glad that I did.The first half of the book spends time on showing readers why Zoe feels alienated by her parents and so close to her granny. She's in denial of her grandmother's dementia and believes that her parents see her as a problem they want to get rid of. And after one too many times of trying to tell them the truth about her cousin Madi bullying her only to have them think she's lying and talk about sending her away, too, she decides to solve the problem for them and take her granny to see her kind-of long lost son. You can understand what the writer was trying to achieve with this - that Zoe feels a strong connection to her granny, not only because of their relationship, but specifically because of the relationship they share with Zoe's parents. It just felt like it was missing something, and I'm not sure what, but that's kind of what I mean about this story as a fast read kind of working against it a little. The second half of the story focuses more on Zoe's denial of her grandmother's dementia, and her slow realization of just how serious it is. She comes to understand, in taking care of her grandmother, why her parents felt that she was a danger to herself and in need of professional care, but still strives to find a different solution that can work for everybody. I thought some of the poems just sounded like complete chessy, cliche, bullsh*t though. But also, at the same time, some of them were sobeautiful. Which is why I'm giving this book... 3.5 stars! Mixed feelings to be honest, but it was my first poetry book so y'know, sort of sentimental as well? Sorry this review is all over the place. Write a sequel to the book in which the boy and the alien meet again. What might they do? Where might they go together?