Cardboard cowboys by Brian Conaghan

Lenny is 12 years old and in his first year at 'big school' in Scotland. He is overweight and is a target for bullies both inside and outside of school. Lenny doesn't think much of himself, but we see he is witty, brave, empathetic and talented. He can sing brilliantly and writes insightful haiku poetry such as:

Teen, wearing boxers,
Wants to kill his reflection
Mirror always laughs

Lenny's parents are distant - his father is a lorry driver and is away from home a lot, while his mother spends most of her days moping around and writing letters to Lenny's absent older brother, Frankie.

To escape his bullies Lenny often skips school and sits on a bench next to the canal. This is where he meets Bruce, a homeless man living in a cardboard house.

Bruce takes Lenny under his wing and builds him up with kindness and wisdom. Bruce says "People are like countries . . . and countries are full of magical things, interesting places, and each one is unique . . . whatever shape or size, you're magical, interesting and unique, Lenny".

The unlikely friendship between Bruce and Lenny is heart-warming and leads them to embark on a road trip. The trip impacts all the relationships in the story and brings to light several truths that need to be told and heard, including the whereabouts of Frankie.

Lenny comes to see that he matters, he is loved and he can bring joy to others, while Bruce eventually opens up about his past and why he lives the way he does. Lenny's many haikus reflect the storyline throughout, becoming optimistic by the end.

Author Brian Conaghan was born and raised in Scotland and writes his characters with gentle humour, believable emotion and vibrant Scottish language. The story can be followed without necessarily understanding every word, but reading the dialect is fun and provides lots of low-pressure opportunities to practice inferring meaning of unknown words based on context clues.

A fantastic educational resource pack available for this book covers important discussion points such as bullying, homelessness, haiku poetry, body confidence and unexpected friendships.

Themes: Bullying, Friendship, Homelessness, Identity, Poetry (Haiku).

Kylie Grant