Tug of War

By Author / Illustrator

Naomi Howarth

Genre

Adventure

Age range(s)

Publisher

Frances Lincoln Publishers Ltd

ISBN

9781847808509

Format

Hardback

Published

03-08-2017

Synopsis

Financial Times: 'gorgeously vibrant'

Tortoise is on the hunt for a friend, but only encounters huge Elephant and Hippo, who are mean about his small size and wrinkly skin. But although Tortoise isn't big, he is certainly brainy! He sets out to show Elephant and Hippo that biggest doesn't mean best by challenging them to a tug of war. They sneeringly accept... but little do they know that they have really agreed to fight each other! A funny, heart-warming retelling of this well-known folk tale about brains vs brawn with beautiful, stylish illustrations. A special book that teaches that wit and wisdom are more important than size and physical strength, and friendship is what matters most.

Reviews

Tug of War is a beautifully illustrated story with an important message.....no matter your size, you are still brilliant. The story is set in the African jungle where we meet the main character tortoise and join him in his attempts to make new friends. He asks two of the biggest and toughest animals in the jungle and his request for friendship is laughed at and cruelly thrown back at him. Feeling dejected and sad, tortoise receives advice from another creature on how he can get his own back and teach the mean animals a valuable lesson. I enjoyed sharing this story with the children in my class and it was very relevant for a circle time session as they had been experiencing friendship problems in recent lunch times. It was nice to see the children make links to how the tortoise was feeling and identifying that how mean and unkind the other animals were being, there were even gasps of disapproval from the children as they listened to what the animals had to say. The illustrations that accompany the book are beautiful and really help set the scene. I would recommend this book to all ages within the primary age range as a great tool to support discussions about friendship and self worth. Picture book / Ages 5+ / Reviewed by Kyle Matravers, teacher.