Champ

Originally published in Iran and now available for the first time in the UK, the publishers tell us this is ‘a book for those around the world who have resisted and continue to do so, no matter what, and this is indeed a book with a powerful message and a book that can work on different levels with different audiences.  It is a very visually striking book making effective use of a limited colour palette and clever use of scale and perspective in the page design, to tell the story of Abtin. Born to the Moleski family of champion athletes, but nothing like them.  Abtin is an artist, a reader and a dreamer, with no desire to win at anything. He doesn’t even have the characteristic mole upon his upper lip, he is a complete disappointment. The visual contrast between the tiny figure of Abtin and the huge and hulking figures of his family perfectly represents the huge pressure upon Abtin to conform. But the reader can see his little acts of gleeful rebellion: sliding down the banisters, reading in bed, and of course, nobody can control the content of his dreams. The family portraits grow more and more incensed as we progress through the book, with their feelings mainly expressed in the comic eyebrows. In a denouement that will appeal to lovers of Jon Klassen’s dark humour, Abtin devises a uniquely artistic solution to making his family happy and to making himself conform.  Younger children will appreciate the humour of gleeful ‘naughtiness’ in this sophisticated picturebook and older children will be able to engage with the issues of family pressure, resistance, difference and non-conformity, and resilience, self-acceptance and understanding. They would also be interested in the discussions that could follow about the cultural differences of the society in which the book originated and how its message could have different implications there.