For me, one of the silver linings of the Covid pandemic was the establishment of little free libraries in many cities. These took the form of phone boxes or cabinets attached to garden walls or railings for passers-by to pick up or leave books. Although these are still thriving in Bristol where I previously lived, they don’t seem to be as evident in Cardiff where I now live. However, almost all of my reading material comes from charity shops or bookshelves with donation box in supermarkets. I love the randomness of this approach to book acquisition, you never know what you will find and often select books that you wouldn’t see or choose in a book shop.
An example of a book swap in Bristol. For those of you in the UK, there is a Facebook page dedicated to little libraries.
In this blog I will share my two most recent reads I picked up randomly that surpassed my expectations.
- Saturdays at Noon by Rachel Marks
I chose this book based on its reviews, with no idea of its core theme. As you can see, the book itself was a little water damaged!
While Saturdays at Noon is predominantly a novel about relationships, at the heart of the story is a young boy, Alfie, with a PDA and OCD profile. By coincidence, this week is OCD Awareness Week, so it turned out to be very timely! It is Rachel Marks’ debut novel and was inspired by her son.
The chapters alternate between the two adults giving their perspective on unfolding events; but interspersed are some beautifully written chapters in Alfie’s words that express his emotions and explain his behaviours in a profoundly moving way. In reality most children are not able to convey their experience so articulately or, as Alfie says, they don’t want to accused of being weird or silly so they keep it to themselves. Of course, they may also not understand that their reality is different to others’. The way Rachel marks gives Alfie a voice is such a powerful way to help readers get a glimpse of what day-to-day life challenges children with OCD and/or PDA struggle with.
The scene when they are trying to get to school on time when Alfie is having a ‘funny hand day’ and can’t touch the door handle or the seatbelt, but can’t explain this to his father is told form his perspective.
“I hold my hand out in front of me with the fingers spread so that they don’t touch. Some days I don’t mind touching things. I don’t even notice. But other days, my brain says if I touch things I have to say it out loud or I have to wash my hands. I can’t say it out loud because Daddy will get cross and say, ‘What are you on about, Alfie? and when I say, I have to say it; he’ll say, ‘Stop being silly’, but I’m not. When I’m silly, it’s fun. like being silly, but I don’t like it when I have my funny hand days.”
He goes on to explain that if the teacher won’t allow him to go straight to the toilet so he can wash his hand:
“I’ll have to hold my hand out until she lets me go and the other children will say, ‘Alfie’s trying to touch me’, and I’ll cry because I’m not.”
In another chapter Alfie gives examples of other challenges at school. He outlines how being asked to retell Aliens Love Underpants is distressing because he is unable to suppress memories of a dream featuring the aliens where they tried to blow up the world. The writing process is complicated further by knowing that if he gets his letters the wrong way around he’ll have to erase and rewrite them, will finish last and there will only be carrots left for snack. Navigating break times is also difficult. Alfie doesn’t want to be alone because negative intrusive thoughts creep up on him, but he struggles to play with others when they don’t follow the rules / script leading to angry arguments and reprimands.
These vignettes are interesting from an educator’s point of view. Have you supported children with similar challenges? I know I have. How can we try to be more understanding of children’s needs and make it possible for them to thrive at school? The descriptions capture a class of six year olds perfectly, so it came as no surprise to read that the author was previously a primary school teacher!
As readers, we learn alongside Alfie and the adults as the story unfolds about his conditions and some approaches to making life better for children like Alfie.
In Alfie’s words:
“They say I have PDA and a little bit of OCD. I’m not sure why they have funny letter names instead of real names – they don’t even spell anything. Emily says what the funny letter names mean is that I have a superhero brain so it works a bit differently to the other children’s and that’s why I get sad if people don’t follow my rules or if they make me do things that I don’t want to. And the OCD bully is the one that puts the horrible thoughts in my brain”
The Mental Health Foundation have this to say on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD):
The phrase OCD is often used casually to describe certain behaviours or personality quirks, but this can result in the condition being overlooked or dismissed.
So, what is OCD and why does the language around it matter?
OCD is a mental health condition that anyone can have. It usually starts in early adulthood, although it can start at any age. It involves obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours which can be distressing and interfere with your daily life.
How we speak about OCD matters. This OCD Awareness Week and beyond let’s challenge assumptions and stigma, and show people living with OCD that they are not alone.
For more on children with PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance), I highly recommend a recent video series by Dr Naomi Fisher and Eliza Fricker https://www.autismcentral.org.uk/news/navigating-education-and-working-well-school
2. The Penguin Lessons A True Story by Tom Michell.
There’s not much i can say about this without spoiling this magical account of the life of an English teacher with a penguin in 1970s Argentina, so I’ll keep it brief! Another beautifully written book that also tugs at the heart strings. Another aspect in common with the previous book, is how it is thought provoking for educators, especially the chapters near the end where a shy under achieving boy’s self esteem and status are transformed through his relationship with the penguin.
As I read, I kept thinking of the wonderful Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers and wondering whether it was inspired by this real life adventure. If you enjoy Lost and Found, you’ll love this. Since reading, I have seen that it was made into a film starring Steve Coogan this year, but I can’t find where to watch it. This video talks about making the film. I also feel torn as whether I want to watch it. There is however and audio book read by Bill Nighy and you can watch the actual footage of the penguin on YouTube!
What books have you read recently that you would recommend?