posted on 22 May 2019

What can we be? by Ryan Crawford and Kayla Coombs

Millie finds life at home very boring compared to the time she spends at school with her friends. They even seem to have more fun at home than she does, telling her tales about fighting dragons, casting spells and protecting cities from bad guys with their dads - all from the comfort of their bedrooms!

But everything changes when her firefighter dad promises to spend time with her when he returns home from work. He is concerned that she seems rather sad and lacking in inspiration. So, she is thrilled when he too offers to play at heroes, knights or pirates like her friends but Millie decides that she would quite like to play at firefighters instead.

I liked the strong message about the power of the imagination in this story and the lively, colourful illustrations show a range of assertive girls shaping the games with dads following their lead. It is refreshing to see children in charge of willing adults who seem very happy to be spending time playing. My favourite example is probably the one where we see a smiling child at the helm of what looks like a real pirate ship sailing on the sea with a parallel illustration of her and her dad sailing on her bed wearing paper hats with skull and crossbones:

‘ My dad steers the boat to find all the treasure.

We can find anything if we’re working together’.

With a playful imagination and sufficiently encouraging parents, it seems that children can enjoy their childhood and dream of anything from being an astronaut to a sorceress when they grow up.

This is a story that would be a great basis for discussion with children about how everyday objects can be transformed. If you have a couple of towels to hand - why not make superhero capes? And boxes can become boats, spaceships or whatever you might choose. The adult isn’t always necessary to make these imaginative games work, but I can also see how this might be a timely gift for dads on Fathers Day to remind them about the importance of spending time rather than money with their daughters. Strongly recommended.

 

Karen Argent

May 2019