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#SummerSouls Day 10: #Boat on the cover of this gorgeous picturebook. The first time I encountered this book was back in 2015 when I was asked to serve as one of the judges for the Scholastic Picture Book award in Singapore. It was entitled The First Journey at the time and was published by Scholastic. More here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-pMu

Harold Fry is a pensioner just stagnating in life, till one day he receives a letter from a long-ago friend telling him she is dying. Harold is roused into action and a desire for her to live, and so he starts walking from Cornwall to Berwick-Upon-Tweed in the belief that if he keeps walking she will keep on living. This was a really beautiful story and very well written. (Cont. in comments 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻)

I'm really torn between a pick and so-so. I think I went into it with very high expectations to love it, and I just ... didn't. After a while the reading became a slog like Harold's walk.

This is the second Joyce book I've read and the second time I came away feeling like there's just a little something missing that's making it difficult for me to connect with the characters.

9/62

Just me, a cup of tea, and my book
😌

@TheSpineView #Two4Tuesday

🚗 Yes, I've always used a manual transmission (I drove an automatic once, it was a friend's car, and it was chaotic!!!)
🚙 Tagged, the protagonist makes a road trip across England; if you liked Harold Fry, this is a good sequel..

If you want to play, consider yourself tagged! 🚘

Harold had a friend at work, Queenie, who he hasn‘t seen in 20 years. He gets a letter from a care home that Queenie is dying of cancer. He decides to walk from south England to where she is on the Northern coast, and along the way explores his memories of his troubled marriage and broken relationship with his son.

Highly emotional, a deep dive into humanity and what is important in our lives. At times difficult, but also beautiful.

5/5 ⭐

" 'Se non hai intenzione di amare né di essere amato, allora l'intero viaggio non ha alcun senso. [...] Apri il tuo cuore.' gli disse gentilmente. 'Qualcuno verrà. Qualcuno verrà anche per te. Ma prima devi aprire il tuo cuore.' "

Grazie ❤️

This book is a good tool for introducing students to the realities of war and the toll it takes on families. This can be connected to other examples of wars creating refugees and students can discuss what the world can do to help. This would be good for older grades (4,5,6,7)

This book uses bold, curvy lines, and mostly monochromatic colors on each page to create a sense of movement and excitement for the reader. The pages early on fill with black as a representation of the toll the war took on the characters, black signifies danger. As the characters get further away from their country and the war, the pages fill with light colors.