Inspiring Young Readers
Finding Esio Trot
(Scene: Customer enters bookshop and heads for the section marked ‘Children’s Books’ and starts to take books of the shelf, quickly replacing them after a cursory look at the back cover. It becomes evident that she is getting a bit frustrated or even a little panicked by not being able to settle on something to buy. The bookshop owner decides it’s time to try and help.)
Bookseller: Are you looking for something in particular? Can I help?
Customer: I don’t know really. I’m looking for something I can use with younger children… and I want it to quite easy to read, quite gentle and kind and maybe something which will help them understand more about how adults behave.
Bookseller : Hmm.. That’s quite a specific list. Maybe something from the Lauren Child Charlie & Lola series?
( Takes book from the shelf and passes it to the customer – who has a look inside)
Customer: No, not really. Too child-centred. Maybe a bit too quirky?
Bookseller: Or possibly, a Michael Foreman / Michael Morpurgo collaboration?
( Again, passes the customer a couple of titles. She flips through them again but shakes her head in the negative)
Customer : Too wordy for my lot, I’m afraid. They are lovely but I need something we can all read together and which won’t take too long to get through.
( The Bookseller frowns and begins to move along the shelves more systematically examining the titles)
Bookseller: That’s it! I know just the thing! How about Roald Dahl?!
Customer : (in a voice reminiscent of Oscar Wilde’s Lady Bracknell) ROALD DAHL!? ARE YOU QUITE MAD?
Bookseller: No, really. I was thinking that maybe Esio Trot might be just what you’re after.
Customer : But Roald Dahl? Everyone knows he’s not gentle and that his adults are evil or stupid and that his children often find themselves in terrible danger. And he seems to hate so many women!
Bookseller: Yes, it’s true – people do say many of these things and in lots of instances that’s the case. But not in Esio Trot.
Customer: What’s that title again? I don’t really know that one. I’ve heard of the big ones – Charlie and Danny and James but not this Esme Trot - what’s it about and who is she?
Bookseller: Sorry – not Esme but Esio. Esio Trot is tortoise backwards. ( He plucks the book from the shelf and holds it up for her to see) It’s a love story involving two older people who are neighbours and who live alone. The man is too shy to tell the woman that he loves her but he knows she’s devoted to her pet tortoise. She tells him the thing that would make her the most happy woman in the world would be if her beloved tortoise would grow more quickly. So he hatches a cunning plan to make this happen.
Customer: No, don’t tell me. Something terrible goes wrong?
Bookseller: No, not at all. It all works perfectly.
Customer: I suppose some selfish child turns up to spoil it all?
Bookseller: No, nothing like that. There aren’t any children in the book at all.
Customer: So, this is a children’s book – for children – with no children in it. Just old people?
Bookseller: That’s right. Unusual hey? And a happy ending! Even all the tortoises live happily ever after.
Customer: But Dahl’s books can be quite long. Is that going to be a problem?
Bookseller: Not in this case. It’s only about 60 pages and most of those have drawings on. And that’s a bonus too because it’s illustrated by Quentin Blake.
Customer: Oooh. I like his stuff – and the children have seen his drawings before. So all that sounds great.
Bookseller: I think we’ve got this one copy here on the shelf - will that be ok?
Customer: Goodness no. I need 20 copies please.
Bookseller: Ah, that might take a little longer to sort out. Perhaps you’d like to come over to the till?
( As they walk back to the till the customer is already engrossed in reading the one copy that was on the shelf and she has a broad grin on her face)
Fade out………………………….
Terry Potter
July 2016