That's Nice, Love

Some readers may be reminded of David McKee’s Not Now, Bernard, but in this picture book the distracted parent is just Mum, constantly on her mobile phone. There is no Monster at the end, but there certainly is a lot of jeopardy, as the boy declares that he will climb a tree in the park and go higher than he has ever gone before. He does so, teetering on a small branch, with his Mum on the bench below, her face lit by the glow from her phone, saying ‘That’s nice, love’. The view up the tree is wonderful: ‘it’s like a whole new world up here!’  but the boy’s imagination leads him to shout to his mother that he’s about to be eaten by snakes, and again the reply is ‘That’s nice, love’. He’s King of the Monkeys, helps a beautiful leopard, he’s flying as high as the sun on the back of a red bird- but Mum is not paying attention. As they walk away from the park, he tries to make contact: ‘I know you’re right here, but sometimes you feel far away’, but he gets the same response. Once home, he leaves the treasures he has collected on the table, and trudges upstairs, head down, saying, ‘Sometimes you miss the magical things’ – and Mum finally takes notice ‘I’m so sorry, love. Can you tell me again about your adventures?’ She puts her phone down, takes his treasures upstairs to him, and, in his pyjamas, he tells her all about it in an almost continuous stream of words, as children do, and, amazed, she says she’d love to come along next time- we then see her joining him in a tree, doing exactly that.

In his bedroom we see his toy snake, his cuddly monkey, and he has waved goodbye to a cat in the same colours as the leopard- he has used what he knows to invent his stories. This is a salutary tale for distracted mothers, who are indeed often seen out and about, and certainly the reader hopes that mothers, (or fathers/carers), who find this book will put their phones down and share the fun of their children’s imaginations. The stylish illustrations, by the author, are mostly in warm autumnal colours, with unusual usage: e.g., the boy’s hair and the cat/leopard are blue. It is a very beautiful book on fine quality paper, with a message…