CHILDREN’S book of the week

THE DAY WAR CAME by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Rebecca Cobb, Walker Books, £10

CHILDREN’S author and poet Nicola Davies was outraged by the British government’s decision to not accept unaccompanied child refugees in 2016.

When she heard a child refugee had been turned away from a school near a refugee camp because there wasn’t a chair for her to sit on, it was just another story of many that prompted a poem and that poem has now turned into a book illustrated by Rebecca Cobb.

It isn’t an easy read with its descriptions of the impact of war, and in a sense harks back to some of the horrors of Grimms’ Fairy Tales, but it ends on a hopeful note about the power of kindness and the potential for a better future. Parents reading it to their children may need to be ready to talk about what it means, but it could open up discussions about what is on the news every day, and how we can help.