As a mother and a home educator I choose to talk to my children about world events. How I do this with my 11 year old twins, my sensitive seven year old and my wonderfully innocent 4 year old differs greatly.
My son knows more than most 11 year olds about military history and political geography because of the books he reads. He loves history and politics. He loves learning about how society works, how people work. His twin sister has less knowledge but has more empathy and an amazing ability to analyse situations and discuss scenarios in a mature way.
We have just had a brilliant discussion based upon this book from Pavilion Books.
The twins and I were really passionately talking together. Edie was not part of this and Bea dipped in and out of the conversation. For Esther and Willliam the concept of the book was fascinating. A children’s picture book with a clear political subtext that they loved dissecting and discussing and relating to real world events that they are aware of.
Using the discussion guide freely available from the publisher’s website, we talked about this story but also were able to make links to the invasion of Ukraine, war in Syria, Boris Johnson and the British government, Brexit, the handling of Covid-19 here in the UK, protests through history and so much more.
This is a picture book perfect for using with children in KS2 to talk about power, protest, revolution, fake news and free speech. It uses a common childhood fear to illustrate what happens when power is manipulated and abused.
The teaching prompts led us off on tangents linked to use of mobile phones, fox hunting, television advertising, use of social media, personal and public health and safety, abuse of power, propaganda and fact versus fiction. It was honestly amazing and we have all loved coming together and talking about this incredibly powerful and timely book.
Sometimes, often, apparently simple looking picture books can be powerful tools for education. We have loved exploring this story and it has inspired us to read more, learn more and discuss more about power, politics, the role of the monarchy, the media and the power of protest..
This stunning book is a perfect, creative and safe introduction to the impact of politics on our daily lives. It is also currently a good way to open up a dialogue with children about what is happening in Ukraine and other countries around the world affected by war.
Our story begins with a little boy who is scared of the dark. He is no ordinary boy though, he is a Prince and decides that when he is king he will ban the dark. His first act as monarch is to do exactly that but his team of advisors suggest that he needs to be cunning with his plan. He needs to make the people think that the ban is their idea so that they will not make a stand, so that they will not revolt against the King.
And so the advisors begin an all too familiar sounding corrupt campaign of misinformation. Deceiving the people with scary rumours, fake news and misleading slogans on buses!
The people are worried. Scared. They come to the palace and demand a ban on the dark.
“And because everyone had got what they wanted, everyone thought that they were happy.”
There are parts of this book that are breathtakingly brilliant in helping children to understand the dangers of giving into fear and the consequences of the actions of people in powerful positions around the world. The accompanying teaching notes help pick these apart with children to help them understand the allegory even more.
One activity suggestion which my children really enjoyed was using Chinese Whispers to see how news can be changed and distorted.
When the people in the story stood up to the King and began to peacefully protest against the ban, we read excerpts from another Pavilion book, Protest!, to help us dig deeper into the power of people coming together and standing up for what is right. We looked at different protests from the past and discussed how a collective voice can be incredibly strong.
As the people in the ever light kingdom realised that the ban on the dark was wrong. They began to make plans to correct their mistake. They realised that they needed the dark back.
The palace advisors tried to distract the people but the people were wise to the strategy.
“Whisper by whisper, they hatched their own plan.”
The people planned together and executed their protest together. Their campaign was a success and the dark was returned. The story has a not so familiar ending, one that is not so easy to marry with a real life political situation. An ending filled with hope for a brighter future for all. The King lifted the ban and admitted he was wrong. He did not punish the protestors, instead an annual celebration reminds all the people of what they so nearly lost.
And reminds readers, young and old, that we need darkness to appreciate the light.
This book is wonderful. It should be in every home and classroom. It should be read with a grown up and discussed at an age appropriate level with young readers. This is a book inspired by the dark that gives us all a little light, a little hope.
The teaching notes and discussion guide can be downloaded from Pavilion Books.