Dandelion by Galvin Scott Davis
Dandelion by Galvin Scott Davis
Ill. by Anthony Ishinjerro. Random House, 2013. ISBN 9780857981028.
Hbk, RRP$A19.95
Benjamin Brewster did not like school. Every morning he counted the
nine hundred and seventy-two steps that it took him to get there.
For The School for the Misguided was a place for ne'er-do-wells and
bullies and Benjamin Brewster was in their sights, their fists and
their feet. No matter how hard and how often he wished his school
would disappear, it never did, and neither did those inside. Until
one day Benjamin picks up a dandelion clock and blows on it... and
wishes on the tiny seeds as they drift away. And even though some
wishes don't come true, miracles happen and Benjamin finds a way
through.
Bullying is and always has been a major problem in schools - as many
as one in six children is bullied each week in Australian schools
and at least 20% are subjected to cyber-bullying. Few families are
left untouched. But in this book, which began life as a computer app
in response to the author's son being bullied, written in rhyming
text, there is a message of hope touched with tenderness. Drawn
without a face so that every child could be him, Benjamin takes the
reader to a place where creativity and imagination triumph. And
while it might not stop the bullies, it is a strategy to make things
a little easier.
There are often queries on teacher librarian networks for resources
to accompany particular topics, and, without doubt, those to address
bullying have to be the most common. Here, in this charming book of
love and tenderness, is a must-have for your collection. Brendan
Brewster might be the hero of this story but Galvin Scott Jones has
stood up to be the hero for his son - the least we can do is be the
hero for all the other victims. Two thumbs-up but only because I
don't have any more thumbs.
Barbara Braxton
