The Great Realisation is a celebration of the many things that have brought us together at a time of crisis. See what Jaxon and his mum thought about the book and grab your own copy ⬇️
The post-pandemic bedtime tale that has captured the hearts of millions.
Jaxon and his mum review The Great Realisation
2020 has been a tumultuous year for everybody, but as a parent there has been the added challenge of making sure our kids are ok through all of the uncertainty. After a second Auckland lockdown, and another disrupted school term, I decided it was a good time to read this book to my 7-year old.
We had already watched the Youtube video of the author reading it aloud during the first lockdown, but the book is so beautifully illustrated and being able to read through the poem together meant we could really take in the meaning behind it.
The poem begins with descriptions of our busy pre-pandemic lifestyles – everyone on their phones and no one really connecting with each other, people travelling by plane and car, sitting in traffic and creating pollution, a world where everyone has “forgotten” how to run.
Then the virus appears and changes everything – at first, people are scared but then they begin to adapt and they start doing things that they never had time to do before. They dance, they sing, they bake. They talk to each other and treat each other with kindness. The earth starts to breathe again, and nature blossoms with less people causing pollution and destruction.
Finding the positives
Jaxon had a few questions as we read, and his little sister Aria crept in half way through to see what we were talking about which gave us the chance to highlight some of the fun things we did in the lockdowns as a family – the long bike rides, spotting teddy bears in windows, not spending any time in the car. Jaxon said he liked being able to spend time at home and not have to wear his school uniform every day and his little sister said she enjoyed having more time to play Barbies and watch movies with the family
I said that I had enjoyed slowing down and not rushing everywhere, that we could all be safe and happy together at home while the world got better. Aria agreed and summed up my experience, in her opinion, that “rushing makes you grumpy” which is pretty accurate!
At the end of the book, we talked about how good things can sometimes come out of bad situations and how important it is to look for these positives even if it may seem difficult at the time.
Building resilience
I could see both kids understood the concept, and they even tried to find examples of bad things they’d experienced that had ended up positively (like getting your 4 year jabs which hurt, but then being treated to candy floss afterwards which was delicious!). This understanding is so important to build resilience and The Great Realisation offers such a lovely perspective into something that has caused great confusion this year.
A wonderful read for all kids and their parents, this book summarises the year that has been in a beautifully unique way.
Grab your copy of The Great Realisation by Tomos Roberts today!
See Tomos reading The Great Realisation
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