Hopefully through works like this readers of all ages will be encouraged to "nurture a little piece of wilderness" in the best ways. This is a three-week Writing Root using the film (which can be found online) and text of Varmints by Helen Ward and Marc Craste. I also viewed the short film on Vimeo and enjoyed it as well; it takes the basic premise of the story and develops it a bit more--creating a real connection between the viewer and the sweet-eyed varmint.

As a result, Varmints would make a great addition to a science class exploring environmental issues and would be an interesting addition to a dystopia unit.There is a picture with a rectangular frame in the middle of the page, this means the character is insecure. Which is interesting as normally the characters in a picture book are on the left page going right but the environment is perfect for them and doesn't need to go anywhere. The story is as old as industrialisation but I'm sure it has never been told so succinctly and beautifully as here. However, this could be an implied reader because the reader would have to know about the dangers of not looking after the environment to be able to understand the story so for children this might be hard but a good way to show them the impacts it could have.

The book begins with the sentence, “There was once only the sound of bees and the wind in the wiry grass, the low murmuring of moles in the cool dark earth and the song of birds in the high blue sky.A sinister but powerful picture book giving an analogy of our industrialisation of the planet, and the beauty and wonder, but also sense of self and connection to the world we have lost as a result. This book is very dark but thinks it has to be to give the right message on how important it is to look after the environment around us. Children in KS2 will, I think, love the animation and the central character, and be engaged by the conversations around its content.

The children writing their own versions of the story focusing firstly on the drastic comparison between the peaceful earth and what happens when ‘the others’ arrive.These warmed the hearts of those who cared to listen – until the others came to fill the sky with a cacophony of noise. Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc. The story of one small creature’s struggle to preserve a world in danger of being lost forever through recklessness and indifference. The story is a little dark and depressing for really young children - although it does have a more uplifting ending! It's an analogy for our own industrialisation, and the sacrifices we've made - and the wilderness has made.

When the plant gets taken to receive the light and grows, the page starts to become more light again until its back to how it use to be. Really detailed, deep/dark and clever illustrations make the reader really ponder and make meaning of the text. That this is a fuzzily environmental story about nature doesn’t make this careless use of language ok. Sparing, wistful words are brought to life by involving and epic images to make the imagination and the heart soar. Problematic, highly charged language, considering the history of the demonisation of migrants and ‘foreigners’.

Simply beautiful artwork with a good underlying message worth talking about but the transition to the ending chapter really seemed too abrupt a change in tone and could potentially undermine the goal of making this a more meaningful thought provoking endeavor. Once, the only sounds to be heard were the buzzing of bees in the grass, the murmuring of moles in the earth, and the song of birds in the sky. minutes long, it can be broken up into sections for viewing in the classroom (and is unfortunately interrupted anyway by pesky youtube advertising).