We are reminded here that we all leave a footprint on our planet, but that footprint can be thoughtful and sustaining both on a personal level and in a wider realm.
With gently rhyming couplets readers are invited to walk into the morning, into the open air and wake to the wonder of the world around. Listen to the river, watch the wildlife and take the time to ponder and to observe and at all times to ‘Breathe … Yes, breathe.’
A bit like an instruction manual, the story encourages us all to explore the world around us, to wonder at its beauty and rarity and to take an active part in its nurturing. This may not always be easy as the illustration of dirty dark factories spewing smoke shows, but ‘there is no stopping tomorrow, today’. You must find a way as you, the reader, are the future hope and need.
The book can also be seen as a metaphor for one’s journey through life. Get out and explore, embrace and ponder upon the world around you and accept that there will be difficult times but if you nurture and care both for yourself and others if you ‘Walk and wander near and far. No footprint you leave will leave a scar.’
The text is beautifully supported by the soft flowing artwork. Created using soft pastels and colour pencils, each illustration fills the page with colour and a sense of movement and wonder. The book’s layout and design further this sense of movement and wonder. The endpapers with their range of colourful footprints going in all directions, sometimes alone, sometimes together, carries the book’s theme perfectly.
A book with depth and meaning and an excellent one to share and discuss and at all times, ‘Breathe … Yes, breathe.’
Picture Books for Older Readers
