Sarah's heavy heart by Peter Carnavas
New
Frontier, 2009.
ISBN 9781921042058.
(All ages) Recommended. Sarah has a heavy heart that she carries all
the time,
on the bus, in the playground, at the park. Although she knows she will
always
carry it, she wishes it wasn't such a burden as it makes things like
sleeping
and having a bath very difficult. Then she sees a small boy clutching a
very
light heart, which makes him float away. She makes friends with him and
together they work out a solution to make their hearts behave.
Peter Carnavas' quirky characters are beautifully drawn,
using watercolours and black ink outlines. Sarah's little pet turtle, a
ground
bound animal, appears with her on every page, and the little boy has a
bird pet
which flies along with his light heart. Children will have fun finding
the
little animals and following the big red heart.
This is a unique story. It explores the different emotions
that people carry around with them. I
found the idea of finding a friend to share a heavy heart with, hence
bringing
balance into life very thought provoking
and complex, one to think about and ponder on. However, small children
will
enjoy Sarah's heavy heart as a read aloud and will love the gentle
characters.
Many discussions could be had about the meaning of friendship and love
and what
could give a person a heavy heart or a light heart. Better readers will
be able
to explore the gentle ideas themselves.
Teacher's
notes are available.
Pat Pledger