This book, Aaron Slater Illustrator, made me cry before I had finished reading the first page. Beautifully written poetry tells this tale of a young boy who loves stories and is growing up amid the love and chaos of a large family. Every word written by Andrea Beaty and every picture drawn by David Roberts portrays a beautiful little boy growing up with love and affection. From the baby asleep on his mother’s lap, to the toddler discovering a passion and talent for art, to the sibling group together for storytime. Life is easy and wonderful for Aaron Slater until he starts to learn to read.
Here is a boy who loves stories, who thinks that to write stories is the greatest of things.
Here is a boy desperate to read, but try as he might, the words will not come, the sentences will not flow. He cannot make it all make sense.
He hopes that school will help all the letters fall into place. But his progress is slow and Aaron begins to notice that he is finding things more difficult than his peers.
As the pages turn we see Aaron’s self confidence shrink and we learn of ‘the tangle of feelings he carries inside.’
One day Aaron and the rest of his class are set a story writing task. Aaron so wants to do well. He stays up all night trying to write something down to read aloud to his teacher and the class.
He is exhausted, sad and anxious as he heads to school the next day.
Aaron bravely stands in front of everyone with no words to read but he does have a story to tell.A story he has created in pictures in his mind. A magnificent magical story filled with hope and heart and a rainbow of colours. He may not have the tools to be a writer but he is a wonderful storyteller. He stands before his teacher and peers and he tells his truth. A story of beauty and love, of courage and heart.
He tells his truth and shows his soul. ‘This artist, courageous and true.’
Aaron knows that ‘he can do the greatest of things, in a way that’s his own – in a way that’s just his – he can stand out and show the world who he is.’
And here I am crying again because my Esther is Aaron. She is the most magical storyteller, she has a wild and wide imagination, she has a wonderful way with words, she can create worlds and characters that amaze all who listen to her but she cannot write any of it down in a way that others can understand. She just cannot get all the wonders of her mind onto paper and it is heartbreaking.
Esther is very lucky to have some incredibly supportive teachers in her life who understand her needs and give her the time and space she needs. Her Spanish teacher and her old ballet teacher. Every child needs a grown up who believes in them, who knows how to support them and challenge them and guide them to be the best version of themselves they can be.
This book is so beautifully written with such understanding and empathy for life as a child with dyslexia. Children like Aaron and my Esther, and my Bea, are often highly intelligent and brilliantly creative which actually makes dyslexia seem all the more tortuous and unfair. Children like Aaron and Esther who work so hard with diligence and dedication and determination, who put everything they have into everything that they do but still are never quite as good as everyone else. BUT let them use their talents, let them stray from the path of all the things we expect all children to be good at and dyslexic children will show you their true superpowers be it their kind and gentle nature, their creative talents, their scientific, problem solving minds, their sporting prowess. We are all different, we all have strengths and areas to improve upon. We are all special and unique and we should all be proud of who we are, we should all be celebrated for who we are.
The cast of characters in this book reinforce the message of us all being special and unique, of celebrating our differences. We see in the pages of this incredible book that there is no such thing as normal and that everyone can be accepted for who they are.
Esther gave me and the book a huge cuddle when we read this together. It really resonated with her which made me cry all the more. I want so much for the world to see my beautiful Esther and all that she has to offer the world, I do not want dyslexia to stand in her way and this book bursts with multicoloured hope and inspiration for my little Esther Illustrator. That she too can be recgonised as ‘unique, beautiful, strong and important to the world. Just like Aaron.’
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