The Umbrella book review
Summary: A gentle exploration for little children who might be struggling to fit and build social relationships.
4.5/5
The Umbrella by Niki Foreman and Binny Talib is a subtle early learning children’s book that offered a scaffold for difficult conversations. The ‘umbrella’ in question is a simple and effective allegory for a story about wanting to fit in when you can’t, or when the hurdles are too high to clear without support.
We particularly appreciated how the authors offered more than one ‘answer’ to questions that can be difficult for a toddler to approach, let alone answer. My oldest son is still too young to approach the abstract reasoning that I wish I could use to speak to the context for why forming relationships and socialisation can be difficult. I think one of the strengths of The Umbrella’s story is how it presents scenarios gently whilst leaving enough space for interpretation, if and when it’s appropriate.
I don’t think my three-year-old is quite ready for the deeper messages yet. I can’t imagine how hard it is to find traction with young kids when you aren’t attached to a popular ABC or Pixar/Disney intellectual property, and how that probably helps with attention and focus. But we appreciated the diversity of artwork and how calm the story was (particularly before bedtime).
4.5/5 stars
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