Tom's Sunflower

One in a series of picture books about various issues children face, this story tells us about Hana, whose parents have decided to separate.  She is sad and finds it hard to join in Copper Tree Class activities, such as planting sunflowers.  She is able to share her feelings with Mr Davis, the children’s teacher, and the children rally round to help too.  In the afternoon, Mr Davis reads them a story he has written about a boy called Tom whose parents have also split up; he plants a sunflower as the children have done that morning, and as he and the sunflower grow, he learns to cope with the new situations he encounters.  Hana is quiet after the story, but she and all the class are delighted to learn that Tom is their teacher, Mr Davis, and that he has come through his hard times.  Much of the strength in this story is from the pictures.  Sensitively painted, they show us in subtle ways children who are disabled, children from different races, and children from a travelling family.  It also shows us a teacher who has great sensitivity in handling a sad child’s problem.