♥ Children's Book of the Month: Feb 2024♥
(suggested) reading age: 6/7
(suggested) interest age: 3-7+
Illustrations: Daniel Egnéus https://www.illustrationdivision.com/daniel-egneus
"A book that every teacher should use at the start of the ter, to share messages of kindness."
As the children return to school (or start from scratch for some) after the holidays, this is the perfect opportunity to share a tender, warm-hearted bilingual story by Wendy Meddour – Y Fainc Ffrindiau (The Friendship Bench), skilfully adapted by Manon Steffan Ros.
As someone who’s pretty confident (on the outside anyway), people are surprised when I tell them I'm not like that really. Whilst I come across as someone who’ll talk to anyone, I’m actually not very good at making new friends easily. When I think about it, I only have a small circle of close friends. For that reason, I identified with this book, even though I'm not a child.
We all know that feeling, the one of butterflies in your tummy when we are faced with a new, unfamiliar situation. Whether you're a small child on your first day of school or an adult landing in a conference or a party where you know no one, we all get feelings of anxiety and nervousness from time to time.
The girl in the story is in a similar situation, after moving house and starting a new school, for reasons unmentioned. After spending hours outside playing with her favourite friend, Cysgod the dog, Tes isn't looking forward to staying inside all day without her dog. You see, unfortunately dogs can't come to school...
After a rather lonely first day, the nice teacher suggests she try the friendship bench which helps children find friends. When she arrives, someone is already sitting on it and has been there for some time. I love the innocence of the two, as they believe the bench is faulty because they’re still both sitting on it.
After giving it another go, the boy and girl strike up a conversation. Very quickly, the two become acquainted and get to work ‘fixing’ the ‘broken’ bench. Of course, as readers, we know full well the bench is working it’s magic perfectly!
This adaptation is an example of how adaptations should be done. In fact, I almost didn't realize that it was a translated book at all. Looking at the simple, natural pictures by Daniel Egnéus, I could imagine this taking place by some seaside village by the sea somewhere in Pen Llŷn orCornwall.
This story is ideal to share with an infant class at the beginning of a school year, or when a new pupil joins the class. It's not really the bench that has the power to create friends, but that power actually comes from within us. It’s not easy making the first move and saying hello, some kids are just shy and need a little help.
I hope the story will persuade children to reach out to new classmates, and for those who despair, a message of persevere as well. Even if things feel hopeless at first, they'll be okay in the end.
I've seen a similar bench in the town square recently, with a small sign on it. Next time I'm there, I'm going to sit on it for a while and see what happens. You really never know who you‘ll meet…
Comments