When the mountain wakes by Matt Shanks

This large format picture book is deceptively sophisticated in its message. With very few words the graphic novel leans on the images to tell a story from the beginnings of time through to a future of hope. It follows a mountain which slumbers as various forms of life and civilizations come and go in a cycle of creation and destruction until a silence in the world wakes it and loneliness sends the mountain searching “for a song”. The thousands of years the mountain spends searching fruitlessly, shifts our perspective from our own brief timelines to consider more long-term thinking, that just when we think there is no hope, life will surprise us. The lovely illustrations carry the story of the cycle of life, not dwelling unduly on destruction and a young reader will take away positive feelings about the resilience of nature. At a time when anxiety about climate change and destructive events can overwhelm us it is good to see books like this and Tull Suwannakit's Higher Ground expressing hope for the future. Best read by or with an adult to guide and explain the many geological and historical references and to guide a discussion, it can stand alone as a picture book, and the mountain is a very appealing character.

Themes: Nature, Environment, Resilience..

Sue Speck