Read a wonderful review of A Rainbow in My Pocket by Anne Harding:
A Rainbow in My Pocket is a meditative and thought-provoking picture book that captures the fleeting musings, dreams and concerns of a young child. Through the course of a week we see what sparks a little girl’s curiosity and imagination. Her attention is caught by her flowery dress spinning in the washing machine. ‘Good thing I’m not in it!’ she thinks. But she would like to be in it once it’s dancing on the washing line. She wonders why ants queue in a straight line and why trees are green. She yearns for the snow to fall hard enough to close schools but not parks, cinemas and restaurants. She wishes people would talk using only nice words: ‘poetry, songs, not harsh words that prod and poke you’. The book ends: ‘I think and I dream and I write. I keep a rainbow in my pocket.’
This is a book that asks more questions than it answers, and that celebrates reflection and curiosity. A book to share one-to-one or in a small group rather than with a whole class, to give opportunities for discussion and wondering. The lyrical, pensive, child-like text in blank verse – the work of a famous Iranian poet and children’s author, well translated from the Persian by Azita Rassi – is complemented by sparing, delicate collage illustrations that are deliberately child-like too and that capture the ephemeral nature of the girl’s thoughts.
- Watch this short video introducing Hoda Hadadi, the illustrator.
- Read more new and reviews about this book.
