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A review by alicebennett
You're Safe with Me by Chitra Soundar
4.0
The vibrant, engaging illustrations in this book will encourage children to look closely and see what they can find hidden in the colourful pages. The story is ideal for a Reception class as they will be able to relate to the baby animal's fears of the dark, the scary noises at night and the loud thunder cracking in the sky above.
The book follows a pattern where the animals express their different fears one by one and each time the mother calms them with a beautiful story about why something is happening and reassuring them that: "You are safe with me". For example, when the babies are scared because the wind is rattling the trees, Mama Elephant personifies the wind as a: "friend of the forest"; showing that there is nothing to be scared of.
In PSHE we would discuss our different fears and think about when we have had to be really brave in a situation, for example going to the dentist. We would talk about how our parents/carers can make us feel safe, just like the Mama Elephant, by comforting us and making up stories to make us feel better.
The book reminded me of 'Can't you Sleep, Little bear?' where a young bear cub is terrified of the dark but with the help of his caring Mother, he learns there's nothing to be afraid of. I would use these two books together to help the children learn this too.
The book follows a pattern where the animals express their different fears one by one and each time the mother calms them with a beautiful story about why something is happening and reassuring them that: "You are safe with me". For example, when the babies are scared because the wind is rattling the trees, Mama Elephant personifies the wind as a: "friend of the forest"; showing that there is nothing to be scared of.
In PSHE we would discuss our different fears and think about when we have had to be really brave in a situation, for example going to the dentist. We would talk about how our parents/carers can make us feel safe, just like the Mama Elephant, by comforting us and making up stories to make us feel better.
The book reminded me of 'Can't you Sleep, Little bear?' where a young bear cub is terrified of the dark but with the help of his caring Mother, he learns there's nothing to be afraid of. I would use these two books together to help the children learn this too.