Bowen Bartholomew Crip’s mind is questioning, his ideas are wide and varied, but it’s not always easy to say what he means, and sometimes it seems that the world doesn’t quite understand how he thinks. This picture book will resonate with other children like Bowen who are unique, a little bit different, but add wonderful variety to our world.
Join Bowen and his pet tortoise Gertrude as Bowen navigates his way through school and home life with thoughts that seem a bit different to everyone else’s. When the teacher asks what colour the sea is, Bowen is confused. The sea is so many colours! It can be green, blue, white with foam, red with algae, and he knows there is a Black Sea and a Yellow River he has never seen! He has more questions. Why have tortoises never been to space? Are fireflies hot? How does the non-stick get stuck to frying pans? Why does nobody else wonder about these things? Why does no one understand his questions? Eventually, Bowen learns that his special way of seeing is a talent that comes with its own advantages.
This is a fantastic resource for parents and teachers to share with children and show that there is more than one way of viewing the world. Seeing the world differently is to be celebrated. For children who think differently like Bowen the book will be reassuring, and for all children it will encourage them to exercise their minds, be inquisitive, and see things from new perspectives. Adults and children will have fun thinking of wild and imaginative answers to Bowen’s way-out questions.
Reviewer: Susannah Whaley
EK Books, RRP $24.99