This article was originally published on 3 November 2023
Often the things that children say are truly profound. They seem to have quite a clear understanding deep down of what really matters. And if they can read and imbibe the information that they are enough as they are, and accept themselves and each other, then that can go beyond the classroom and just become part of their lives.
That literature can help this process should come as no surprise. That my own book has become part of this, though, was a surprise - at least to me.
My inspiration for the book - The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse - was probably a desire to say things that I thought really mattered. When the book was published, I never thought it would be used in schools. To be honest, I didn’t see it as a children’s book initially; I thought maybe children might find the conversations in it a bit dull.
I’m pretty thrilled that children have taken it on. This is way beyond what I ever dreamed.
Literacy and schools
Before the book was published, I went to a school and did some drawings that would later go into the book. We chatted about all kinds of things, not least what kindness looked and felt like.
What that day taught me is that it’s extremely important to show different types of success; to emphasise that academic achievement is no better than relational achievement. That being an open, kind member of society with a generous spirit and a gracious view on life is probably the most successful you can be.
Books can help us achieve both academic and relational success. It’s a true privilege for my book to be a small cog in someone’s journey to literacy and out of the poverty cycle that poor literacy can cause.
Reading has the power to transform lives and benefit our mental wellbeing, but it isn’t easy for everyone. I have never been very good at reading. As I say in the book: “I need pictures, they are like islands, places to get to in a sea of words.” And so we need to remember the importance of images, too.
Reading success
Images can unlock something - especially, they can give young people the courage to believe they can read and also read for themselves.
I have co-created some free resources for schools to help this process (see below for more information). I would like them to be used in any way that children and teachers would like them to be used. I’m sure there are many things they can do. I just want to help as much as I can because I really believe in the power of books to change lives.
We need to give children permission to explore, and perhaps find ways they can show kindness to one another, and invite them to think about their own wellbeing. I think books can help us do that.
Charlie Mackesy is an illustrator, artist and writer and author of the book The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
