When an author you have admired for years
Collaborates with an illustrator who has recently stolen your heart
You know without doubt that you are going to love their story
You know without doubt that you are going to love Hom
And we do
All of us
Aged almost 4 to 44
We all love Hom!
The book begins with a whisper
Direct from the boy in the story to the reader
A secret whisper
That draws you in to this magnificent tale of friendship
This is a story of courage and adventure
A testament to the power of kindness and friendship
A celebration of relationships that transcend borders, culture and language
The young boy tells us his story
How he met Hom after he found himself washed up on a deserted family
After the shipwreck
He found Hom and Hom found him
They found each other
They had never seen anything like each other before
The glorious illustrations share the affectionate story
Of Hom and him getting to know one another
Comparing their differences and celebrating all the ways they are the same
They are much more alike than they are different
They have both lost their families
They miss their families
Miss them beyond words
Hom has drawn his family on the wall of the cave where he lives
The boy does the same
Hom and him bond over their love for their families
One of my favourite moments in the story
Is when the boy sends his family a message in a bottle
To let them know that he is safe
And Hom hugs him
In empathy, understanding and love
There are so many incredibly beautiful moments throughout this story
As Hom and him become friends
Hom teaches the boy how to survive on the island
He shares his knowledge and skills
The boy does the same teaching Hom about fire
And toys … with wheels
The picture of Hom fascinated by the wheels on a toy car is perfection
It reminds me so much of my William as a wheel obsessed toddler
The wheel exploration leads to Hom and him building a go-cart together
Their very own wonky wheeled wonder
And their faces as they race down the hill together are delightful
The children and I all shout ‘Wheeeeeeeee!’ when we read this page
This illustration captures the magic of childhood
And how that magic is amplified when experienced with a sibling or friend
So much joy in one picture
Books really are magic!
The bond between the two friends is strong
And when a rescue ship appears on the horizon
The boy knows what to do
He hides with Hom until the sailors sail away
He does not want Hom to be discovered
To be captured
To be examined and investigated
To be hurt
The boy wants his friend to be free
And he makes a huge sacrifice to protect his friend
Hom, the last of his kind
The boy does not know what kind of creature Hom is
But it does not matter
He does not need to know
He just knows that he is happy and peace-loving and free
And the boy knows that he is his friend
His best friend
And he must protect him
The boy was the first person to see Hom
And he promises that he will be the last
We will keep his secret
Will you?
This is a wonderful adventure story
With echoes of Stig of the Dump, Robinson Crusoe and The Swiss Family Robinson
I LOVE The Swiss Family Robinson
Bea says that Hom also reminds her of the child in Wild
This is such a wonderful story
It has opened up a lot of discussions for us around
Acceptance, diversity, trust, kindness
Extinction and protection and preservation of species
This is, of course, what Jeanne Willis does best
Write what is on the surface a simple children’s story
That is actually made up of lots of complex layers
To get young readers and their grown ups thinking
About the world that we live in
The people and the wild things that we share our planet with
And how we should always act with kindness toward all living things
In this regard Hom reminds me of one of our favourite Jeanne Willis stories
This week as we have been reading the story of Hom
We have thought about what it would be like to be shipwrecked on a deserted island
We have thought about how it might feel to be the last of our kind
We have written messages in bottles to our lost families
We have drawn pictures of our families on cave walls
And we have designed go-carts using only things we would have been able to find
On Hom’s island
We have used our knowledge of the history of humans to consider
Whether Hom might be an early human or a never seen before creature of the wild
We have thought about what we would do if we were the boy
Was he right to hide from the sailors to save Hom?
When will the boy go home?
If he goes home at all
And what did the boy write in his message in the bottle?
Was it the words of this wonderful book?
And if so, was the little girl who found the bottle
Jeanne Willis, many years ago
Who is only now sharing the secret of him and Hom
The best of friends, the last of his kind
