We read a lot of picture books in our house, and one of my new favorites is A Tale of Two Beasts, by Fiona Roberton. This book is a clever way of not only telling a great story, but showing children that there are two sides to every story depending on the narrator’s point of view.
In this book, a little girl is walking through the woods when she finds a lemur and decides to “rescue” him and take him home as a pet. She wraps him up in her scarf and carries him home where she proceeds to “care” for him with a bath, clothing and food.
Alas, later that evening, “Fang” runs away out an open window and the little girl can’t understand why. She is even more frustrated when instead of being able to go look for him, her mother proceeds to tell her that it is time for her to eat, take a bath, and go to bed.
So we are already seeing a different perspective because the little girl’s mother is making her do the same things that she was doing to Fang, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg. The little girl’s recounting of her day was only part one of the story….turn the page and you get the tale from Fang’s perspective.
See, poor Fang was hanging around one day having a marvelous time when this girl came up and grabbed him, growled at him, tied him up and took him home to her “secret lair.” There she tortured him in various ways, including giving him squirrel food!
Through subtle changes in the illustrations as well, the reader truly feels like they are getting the story from Fang’s perspective.
This is such a fun story and a great way to let children see that there are two sides to every story. It is easy to know how you perceive a situation, but you never really know what is going on in the minds of those around you. This is one book that I know we will read again and again!
A Tale of Two Beasts is an outstanding Kane Miller publication sold by Usborne Books. I did recently become an independent Usborne Books & More consultant, but the review is all mine. If you are interesting in purchasing this book, check out this link.