The Book of Hopes
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley March 7, 2021
Author Ed: Katherine Rundell
Distributor: Bloomsbury Children's Books
ISBN: 9781526629883
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books
Release Date: February 2021
Website: https://www.bloomsbury.com
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Words and Pictures to Comfort, Inspire and Entertain
From the delicate cover to the engaging contents The Book of Hopes is more just a product of the times lived through over the past year. It is a book that will go on to become a children classic, a book filled with beautiful representations of a time in the modern world not easily forgotten; a time when the world as it once changed dramatically to a world which is still far from anything ‘normal’.
Edited by much loved children author Katherine Rundell, The Book of Hopes is filled to the very top with short stories, cartoons, quirky sayings and deliciously funny poetry, designed to be able to be enjoyed little by little, whenever there is a spare moment to sit and enjoy a vastly different aspect of the year past, which is reflective of life, as well as the spirit of resilience and courage shown during difficult and tragic times.
Begun almost as a whim and during at a time when Katherine Rundell felt desperately in need of hope, she immediately went to the great love of her life, her books. As she read and re-read her beloved books she found she was becoming more hopeful, more resilient and happier.
She decided to begin a ‘Hope’ project, sending out a series of emails to other children’s authors, writers and illustrators asking for a short story, a poem or something that would make people laugh, to feel happier, to have a lighter spirit and a sense of hope for a better, brighter future.
More than one hundred people replied and between them all, have created a book for all times with their wonderful imagination, generosity and tons and tons of wonderful stories and poems to enjoy. Axel Shaffer’s The Hope Tree begins with a simple and yet telling illustration and from there on, dip in and enjoy.
If you are someone who loves order in your reading, the pages are divided into categories to keep life easy, but if you love a riot of many things, or enjoy simply opening a book and reading what is on the page, go for it.
The Book of Hopes is not just for children, sorry kids, but for any who needs a little lift to their spirits, a small injection of hope in their lives or a happy smile reaching out from the pages of fun, wonder, awe and love.