Wednesday 8 April 2020

Midge & Mo Book Review

As children get older they migrate from picture books, to worded books, all the way up to longer chapter books.

Now some younger ones struggle with these differences.

The more words there are on the page, the harder it becomes to engage with the a book because sometimes there is more of a focus on reading the words on the page correctly rather than concentrating on the actual story itself.

Midge & Mo is a brand new book written by Lara Williamson and published by the fantastic Little Tiger Group.

midge-mo-little-tiger-group

What this story aims to do is bridge the gap between those fabulous picture books and the more grown up chapter style books.

This is a tale that will help your little readers become more independent when reading.

Midge doesn't want to go to a new school. He wants everything back the way it was.

Mo is desperate to be Midge's friend but nothing she does makes Midge smile.

Is there anything Mo can do to help Midge feel happy again?

This is a beautiful tale for younger readers.


Simple, effective illustrations from illustrator Becky Cameron and short, snappy paragraphs are well spaced out over the pages. Both together making this a truly heart-warming story.

Midge is a boy struggling with so many things. He's overwhelmed with the emotions that he feels, from the confusion from his parents separating, to the anxiety of starting at a new school and having to form new friendships.

Then there's Mo. A kind-hearted little girl, who ultimately wants to help others. She is one of those people who always looks for the positives in life and the more I read, I found her upbeat nature to be quite infectious.

Friendship is like a plant - when you take care of it, it grows.

As the story progresses, we see a mix of darkness and light, rain and sun. Those opposites which when you think about it actually compliment each other.

I feel like this is a piece of writing which will allow other children to really think about their own feelings and just how they express them. It will make them realise that it is ok to be sad, in fact it can be a good thing.

"After the rain we have sun and after the tears things can get brighter, too"

This stunning hardback is a tale about friendship, empathy and change.

I'd describe this as a gentle and thoughtful tale, one that is made so much more powerful by the illustrations that accompany those all important words. The mix of greys and rainbows really  help to promote message that the story seems to be portraying.

Midge and Mo is an ideal book to start a discussion between young ones about those big feelings that they might be unsure or uncertain about. 

Everyone deserves to know that the sun will always shine for them in the end.

3 comments:

  1. I really love this book. I reviewed it on Story Snug too.

    #ReadWithMe

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  2. This sounds a delightful story and great the way that it is helping children progress to the next stage in reading

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  3. It sounds like a really lovely story and it's great that so much thought goes into books which are suitable for struggling readers.

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