The Only Pupil in the School by Hsukung Liu and Xinlin Wang (translator)
| The Only Pupil in the School by Hsukung Liu and Xinlin Wang (translator) | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: A quirky look at a young girl's first day in school when she's the only pupil. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 48 | Date: May 2015 |
| Publisher: Balestier Press | |
| ISBN: 978-0993215414 | |
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On the first day of the school term only one pupil appeared and the teachers began to worry about losing their jobs. So they made their minds up that they would make their only pupil the best in the school, which - when you think about it - wasn't going to be all that difficult. They began by trying to persuade her to come to their classes and when that didn't persuade her they began fighting amongst themselves and didn't notice our heroine creeping away. She went to the forest and met an old man who taught her lots about the flowers and the insects. A chef showed her how to make soup - it was delicious and warming - and then she had lots of fun (and exercise) with a dog she met in the park. The further she looked, the more she learned and at the library she drew a book about what she had seen - and it was there that the teachers found her.
I loved this story because I know that I've learned far more outside school than I did inside it. There is a change in the attitude of the teachers when they realise that they've not made school in the least bit appealing, never mind fun, but I do wonder what a young child sharing this book with a parent would think about the idea of this place called school. They might even think that it wasn't worth taking the risk when there were obviously so many more interesting ways of learning what they needed to know elsewhere!
But it is great good fun. How wonderful to think of your teachers fighting over you! What a giggle when they start pulling each other's noses and ears - just the sort of behaviour that earns children a place on the naughty step for a long time along with lots of frowns and the suggestion that someone has let themselves down. The story will work best with children who already have experience of school know that their school isn't even a little bit like that and it will open up discussions about the other benefits of going to school, such as mixing with other children.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
Children just starting school or moving to a new class might appreciate Oh, Boris! by Carrie Weston and Tim Warnes. Children who are finding school stressful might benefit from the message in So Few Of Me by Peter H Reynolds or Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears by Emily Gravett.
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You can read more book reviews or buy The Only Pupil in the School by Hsukung Liu and Xinlin Wang (translator) at Amazon.com.
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