Categories: Being Different & Being Yourself, Experiences, Facts of Life

As We Grow

A comforting story with beautiful illustrations discusses how life may change as we grow older.

Author: Libby Walden
Illustrator: Richard Jones
Publisher: Caterpillar Books

This narrative takes the reader through each stage of a person’s life, from babyhood to old age. It highlights the differences and changes that occur as a person grows in a positive and comforting light.

The messages we found in this book:

Acknowledgement:

Growth and change are framed as positive and exciting, but the book also acknowledges that there is a degree of uncertainty that comes with the future.

Hope & Inspiration:

Overall the narrative emphasises that life experiences will be different for all, and that this is a positive part of growth.
The story does not follow a specific person and so is generalisable to a range of experiences, which allows the child to apply the narrative to their own life. It has a positive, uplifting feel to the end which may provide hope.

Worth noting:

The book uses a lot of metaphors regarding life stages, for example, an adult “putting down roots” which may be engaging for some children but confusing for others.

This book does not discuss death.

Review by: Cleo Allan