posted on 14 Apr 2020

Sequin and Stitch by Laura Dockrill, illustrated by Sara Ogilvie

There are still far too few children’s books that reflect the experience of growing up in a high rise flat. It might not always be the ideal environment in which to spend one’s childhood for all kinds of reasons but, nevertheless, it is where many children live and play happily with their families and friends.

This story gives us the perspective of nine year old Sequin who lives with her clever seamstress mum and her baby brother, Stitch, in Primrose Mansions. She feels safe and secure living up high and often spends her time looking down on the world below:

‘Up here I can pretend I’m the princess of the city, sitting on my throne.’

High rise life isn’t always wonderful, especially as they have to put up with the grumpy downstairs neighbour, ‘Moany Bony Mr Tony’ who is always complaining about the noise and smoking on his balcony. But most of the time she is content as she loves watching her mother create pieces of exquisite designer clothing and explains that:

‘its like watching a jungle grow from just a tiny seed before my very eyes’.

All the children in her class have been asked to do a presentation about someone who inspires them and she decides to choose her mum. What she puts together sounds pretty impressive but unfortunately some of her class mates think she is making it all up.

As I read this, I was reminded how vital it is to know how to navigate the line between showing off a bit and providing too much personal information about family circumstances. A lot of children seem to want to just be like everyone else, so highlighting any extraordinary differences can be risky. Being proud of a parent is often encouraged with younger children, but nine year olds can be horribly judgmental. These particular children also escalate the nastiness by jeering at Sequin’s rather down at heel clothes and comment on the strangeness of her mother who never leaves the flat, even to collect Sequin from school. She begins to realise that her palace is more like a prison for her mum and thinks about why that might be.

Despite all this, Sequin is determined to fight her corner and she shows real resolve and confidence when it comes to solving problems. She is thrilled to find out that her mum’s latest commission is a wedding dress for a real princess and although she is sworn to secrecy until the designer gives permission to reveal it to the public, she bubbles over with excitement at the thought of telling people at school. All is looking good until a dreadful disaster strikes.

I was genuinely surprised at the final twists in this eventful little story but I'm clearly not going to reveal it here.....

The book was a real pleasure to read -  not only because it had an interesting plot but because it was so well written. I could vividly imagine what it was like to live in a very small space like Sequin's flat that was rather cluttered but also homely and safe.

Barrington Stoke Publishers always succeed in producing accessible, dyslexia friendly books for young readers - I strongly recommend this one.

 

Karen Argent

April 2020