Walker (3+) 9781406389562 (Hardback) Download activities and reading resources pack
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A deceptively simple story that offers a complex and convincing portrayal of how it feels to be lost in oneself. It offers an accepting, empowering and honest look at what it means to have a low mood and the ways in which this can affect our outlook on life and our perspective on the world around us.
Expertly crafted illustrations capture the psychology of early childhood and the significance of deeply felt emotions. Bold, eye-catching colours and subtle, spare artwork brilliantly showcase the child’s moods whilst unexpected and accomplished use of die-cuts help to place the child at the centre of their physical and emotional landscape in a way that is creative, innovative and that offers real insights into feelings. Charismatic and sometimes chaotic sketches have a childlike quality in this powerful yet personal book.
Illustrator’s Video
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Lauren Child is an award-winning artist and writer. She is the creator of many much-loved characters, including Clarice Bean, Charlie and Lola, Hubert Horatio and Ruby Redfort. Lauren won the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal in 2000 for I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato, the first of her Charlie and Lola picture books. In 2010 she was awarded an MBE for Services to Literature, and was announced as the tenth Waterstones’ Children’s Laureate in 2017. Her books have sold over 15 million copies worldwide. Lauren lives in north-west London; find her online at milkmonitor.me and on Instagram as @laurenchildthatsme.
What I like about this book is because it was mostly grey and then colourful. There was a cloud following her and she was scribbling. I think kids in year 1/2 would love it.
OLLY
Brooke Weston Book Busters
I think this book is fun to read. It tells us about what happens to a boy or a girl who is feeling grey . I enjoyed this book. I think this book this for age 6 to 9 years.
Emilia
Brooke Weston Book Busters
Grey was a really great and colourful book. I thought the cut-outs were really cute. I especially liked the page where the girl was in the coffee cup! An amazing and imaginative idea. This book will really help children who are having a bad day I give this book 8/10.
Jasmine
Rebel Readers
Edward
Danum Doodlers Does Books
Isabella
Danum Doodlers Does Books
Lawrence
Danum Doodlers Does Books
Olivia
Danum Doodlers Does Books
I like Wolf and Bear because how it's nice how Wolf wants to play and Bear says no but at the end he says yes.
Olivia
Danum Doodlers Does Books
I think that this book is perfect for the reading age of 3+. It shows that its ok to feel sad sometimes. I think the illustrations are also perfect for younger people to understand. I think they give a wider range of understanding for the people reading this book. I also like how the girl is colored in grey in the pictures to show the reader how she feels. Explaining how we feel isn't always easy and I think young children probably don't know how to do this so using colours is a clever way and something that parents can use too. The illustrations in this book are my favourite when I think of the importance of using pictures to help tell a story.
George
The WH shadowers
Grey is a children's book about a boy who feels lost and grey in a world filled with bright colours. The book describes the feelings of sadness and isolation. The story reminds people that it's okay to feel grey sometimes.
Callan
Academy Book Gurus
Ruairí
Academy Book Gurus
kris
Academy Book Gurus
Lana
Academy Book Gurus
I think the book Grey is a great book for children who have strong emotions and it conveys how it’s important to express and talk about your emotions to other people and with the bright and unique pictures, so overall is very suitable for children aged three to five because of the rhyming words, vibrant pictures and understandable story.
Hugh
Academy Book Gurus
This book is very deep for some kids who don’t find the colours they need in their life I feel like it’s also a message for parents to check on their kids and give them the love and colors they need overall I think it’s a wonderful book and the illustrations are so meaningful and creative and show what the books really means. It’s really nice how it started with only grey then the colours gradually came in so I would encourage kids to read it
Malak
Academy Book Gurus
The book was alright. It was about a child who was feeling down and grey and he tells all the colours that are bright happy and positive and he also says that grey doesn't belong. Later in the story it shows how his mother cares for him. I recommend this book for an age of 3-6 years old. My favourite parts in the story were the pictures and holes in the book.
Shiloh
Brooke Weston Book Busters
The book was good I liked the holes in the pages. I think that the pictures say more than the text. I think its meant for 3-8 years old, it might help you control your emotions.
harry
Brooke Weston Book Busters
Eliza
St David’s readers
An awesome story! Love will never change whatever you feel. It's an awesome feeling to be happy not grey. It's an awesome feeling to spread a smile. The main message is to be happy everyday!
Eliza
St David’s readers
Lovely book and would recommend for all ages. I think younger children won’t quite get the idea that if you’re feeling down or “grey”, you can change your feelings by being cheerful. This is an amazing book and I love the pictures and how the page has been cut out. 10/10!
Emina
Sheringdale Page Turners
It's a very lovely book. There are many amazing illustrations and cut outs with many meanings. It's also like a sad emotion but it's getting more and more colourful further on making her happy at the end instead of grey.
Rene
Sheringdale Page Turners
i like grey because it tells kids what it means to be grey but not in too much detail and that's what i like about this book
olivia
Danum Doodlers Does Books
Wow. Just Wow! The way Laura Dockrill describes each colour and the endless love of a mother to her child is eye-watering. The amazing page technique when you see through it is clever and would make a younger child be filled with wonder! The poetic side of the story would even make an adult enjoy this book despite it not being an adults typical book. I truly believe that this book was straight from Laura's heart. Great read and educational benefits for the right age group - illustration wise = perfect.
Josh
The WH shadowers
The book depicts lots of bold colours and has a lot of meaning to the words. The book has around 7 words per page and I think that was the an average amount for the age group. I think that the illustrations are very good and really do help a child see what colours are and how to explain the way they feel. The story is a simple story but covers a difficult topic, if children don't understand their emotions it was very good at helping them to colours to explain. Bold colours and simple drawings make this very good.
Rhiyan
The WH shadowers
I really liked this book because it's trying to tell us she is sad but saying it in different words,and the pictures are not like the normal ones it is like a little child's colouring book and at the end it is sad and happy at the same time.For this reason I liked this book.
Michelle
St David’s readers
I thought the illustrations in this book were lovely, The pops of colour where very pretty to look at. It was interesting that some of the pages had holes in them and peeked through to the next page. Overall I would rate this book a 6/10. :)
Emy
Rebel Readers
I like grey because it’s got very interesting cut outs in the illustrations
Sofia
Barrow Bookworms
I like the moral of the story. I also love the illustrations
Una
Barrow Bookworms
This book is actually pretty good for 3 years and above because it illustrates about, if your young and your feeling pretty down lately someone can always come and help you out. This is telling us that a mothers love will never go away, a mother will always love you even if your feeling grey, like how the story says. At the end of the story it's showing that the little girl is not depressed anymore, which makes people who read this book feel better. The colours used throughout the book are sued to represent the correct emotions being felt by the character- for a young child being able to express emotions may be difficult so using colours is very clever. The pictures in the book are also very good- they help a young child to see colours correctly but also facial expressions linked to emotions. The story is a very good story and I think a 3 year old would find this interesting because of the cut out style used as well.
Sanad
The WH shadowers
Its great for young toddlers and young children who are learning all their words and colours, the colours used in the book represent all emotions and this would be great for young children to be able to understand. The pictures and details used are simple but very effective - eye catching and bold. The story is that it is okay to feel sad as a child and that talking about emotions is a good thing that can lead to feeling happier. A great picture book for children!
Jayden-James
The WH shadowers
These illustrations in this book were awesome! It was a very creative idea to make a cut in the book that would show the pattern on the next page. The title of the book is grey and the whole colour scheme inside the book is grey and I liked that at the end of the book the colour scheme is colourful. I recommend this book to all children who want a bit of a colour release. xx
Tilly
Brooke Weston Book Busters
I thought it had deep meaning and was a good read for younger children struggling with emotions.
sylvie
Brooke Weston Book Busters
At first glance it doesn't look very inviting but with the carefully designed pictures and the layout on each page the message soon becomes very clear . The way that the story develops is good, it shows that when things aren't making us feel happy it is okay to feel sad and 'grey'. The words used in the book are very good and a simple way of explaining emotions to young children by making a link to the things they can see - "don't feel the sunshine yellow" is a very good way of writing. I think this book uses illustrations very well to support a young child recognise and explain their emotions - well done!
Alfie
The WH shadowers
In the book "Grey" I think the words and colours used really will help a young child with their colours, emotions and words. For Example on the first page it says I'm not sunshine yellow, then next to those words it has a yellow circle representing the sun (this will help young children understand that the sun is yellow). A lot of the pictures are cutouts but colours can be seen underneath her 'grey' which shows that colours will always shine through just like positive emotions - it's okay to feel 'grey' sometimes and I think at a young age its important to know that and using colours to explain emotions is a very clever part of this book. I think these illustrations are amazing and probably the best one I've seen so far.
Luca
The WH shadowers
A great picture book for children of a young age. I think it helps children recognise from an early age that not feeling yourself is okay - it allows them to explain how they are feeling through colours. The use of colours and the simple but beautiful illustrations are great for helping young children to describe and understand their feelings. The story itself is heart-warming and perfect for when our children (or classrooms full of children!) are having an off day - not to tell them to cheer up, but to tell them that all of their feelings are okay!
Mrs Whittaker
The WH shadowers
This book shows children that everyone has bad days and a bad day always turns in to a good day. I gave it a 9/10
summer
Rebel Readers
This book is about a child who feels as if all of their colours have disappeared, but their mum shows them that even when they feel "grey" and like there is no colour, "each one of them is still inside you". The book itself starts off with no colours and gradually the colours appear back into this child's life which implies that when we feel empty, over time we will start to see these colours come back into our lives again. I think this is a beautiful story and really easy to read, therefore I would recommend this book to anyone.
Lauren
OLSB Shadowers
Grey is a wonderful book. I think it is about how you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. People should always be kind to others no matter how they are feeling.
Sarah
Bispham Bookworms
