You Can Do It, Bert

It’s Bert’s big day. Bert, a small, round, red bird with a comically big beak, is about to jump off a branch into the water, but he is nervous: he checks everything, but puts off his jump by strolling along the branch eating a banana. Will he do it? Will his friends’ encouragement help him to take the leap? This very simple story will have resonance for a young child who is screwing up their courage in lots of areas, from jumping in a swimming pool to trying out a climbing frame.

The simple story line and artwork are very engaging; the plain white background means there are no distractions, and the text is easy to read out loud: often on the left hand page is the text, often a word – ‘Bert,’ for example, in increasing letter size suggests his bird friends (at this point unseen) are shouting encouragement from out of our view. Bert throws away his banana skin, stands irresolute and then takes a running jump. The picture of him (on the left hand page: he has leaped over the gutter of the book) with one wing over his eyes is tense and comic all at once, and when we finally see his friends in the water it is worth looking out for that banana skin…

This is a splendid little book, full of simple charm and with a main character who is instantly someone to sympathise with. I can see this being shared with a nursery/reception group, or one to one with a child for whom physical challenges seem too much. ‘When Bert says he’ll do something, he does it,’ says one of the friends in celebration of Bert’s jump: this is a story of growing confidence and winning over nervousness that lots of children (and adults) could relish and learn from.