Book Review: Tortoise Vs Hare: THE REMATCH
Going near a classic tale, or fable, taking it from your children’s bookcase, and doing anything other than reading it, is always going to be a tricky business.
Children’s stories, classics, those laced with subtle, and the not-so-subtle morals, those ingrained in the memories of millions of children, and their parents, most – I would have thought – full of positivity, and some, of course, held with cynicism. Like Ricky Gervais’ take on the industrious mouse (which does contain some swearing). But basically, very risky messing with any of them.
But Preston Rutt, author of; Tortoise Vs Hare : The Rematch, is a much braver man than me.
Bold enough to take the timeless tale of the much underrated, and plodding Tortoise, overcoming the fast, yet overly confident and complacent, Hare. Pitching them versus each other again, in another race, to put the matter of ‘who is the fastest’ to bed forever.
When I received this book, I really was not sure where, and which way, the story was going to go. There was also a shim of reluctance to read it, as its beginnings are in a very old, and forever told story.
However, I was intrigued if it would go down a similar path, reinforcing the original themes of the first tale? Or if it would go a completely different way, and bring new ideas, and different things for children to think about in the process?
I am not about to spoil it for you, but I would say I enjoyed what it did bring to the table, or more specifically, my son’s bunk bed.
In a complete break from the traditional tale, the story is told from the perspective of a sports commentator. Jonny Fox is like a Des Lynam and Brendan Foster all rolled into one, and he basically takes the reader through all the action, with a brief interlude from his trackside reporter.
This puts a twist on the story, making the book much more interesting, than if it was simply told along the regular ‘straightforward-description-of-what-is-happening-in-the-illustrations’ way.
It did take my son a little longer than usual to understand how this story is being told, but learning new styles and spins, is a wondrous thing to watch a youngster do.
The text is clear and well laid out. Even reading it aloud for the first time was easy, which is not always the case, as the words that need different emphasis are very clear, and BOLDER, making it easy for a numpty like me to give them their correct enunciation.
Reading it is also easy as Rutt’s words are eloquent, while still simple, and he uses repetition, within a changing style and pace, very fluidly.
The illustrations match the story very well, and I would suggest even for a younger child most of the story would be understood, and certainly enjoyed, from them alone.
It is a great night-time read, especially as the book ceases with the race narrator going to sleep himself, thus encouraging the reader to get some shut-eye too.
A conclusion I enjoy in a book, as that is when we do the vast majority of our reading.
Tortoise Vs Hare: The Rematch, is published by Meadowside Children’s Books, and is available from Amazon.
Although, I hear, you are much more likely to find the book’s author, Preston Rutt, searching for it in the Kew Bookshop.
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