LoveReading4Kids Says
LoveReading4Kids Says
One day a big, scary, hairy monster appears in playground, splitting up two best friends and ruining everybody’s fun. Bad words are said, others are shouted, and the monsters grows and grows. The monster is called Argument. As the monster’s presence infects everyone else, the bad atmosphere increases and the monster continues to grow to gigantic proportions. There’s only one thing that will stop, just one little word. But who will say it first?
Told with a gentle, lyrical verse, this is a charming picture book about friendship, resilience and saying sorry. The message of knowing when to apologise is strong, but handled in a fun and non-didactic way.
The colours and style of the illustrations perfectly suit the gentle text, whilst hilariously bringing the children’s grumpiness and anger to life. I particularly enjoyed the little girl’s furiously angled eyebrows!
This is a lovely book to share and use to start conversations about navigating early friendships.
Amy McKay
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About
One Little Word Synopsis
A beautiful and moving picture book from Waterstones Children's Laureate, Joseph Coelho, tells the story of how a big, hairy argument gets in between two best friends. The argument came from nowhere. It sat huge and bloated in the middle of the playground between me and my best friend. This big hairy monster appears out of the blue one day, splitting up the best friends and growing bigger and bigger, until it starts to ruin all the children in the playground's fun. Together, they learn how to shrink the monster until it vanishes completely, to the point where they can't even remember what it looks like! Coelho's gentle and lyrical verse pair perfectly with Allison Colpoys' beautiful illustrations to create a book which will be treasured by young readers. This is an ode to the power of an apology, and to treasuring a special bond that runs deeper than even the friends realised.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780711279094 |
| Publication date: |
3rd August 2023 |
| Author: |
Joseph Coelho |
| Illustrator: |
Allison Colpoys |
| Publisher: |
Frances Lincoln Childrens Books an imprint of Frances Lincoln Publishers Ltd |
| Format: |
Hardback |
| Pagination: |
32 pages |
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Press Reviews
Joseph Coelho Press Reviews
A big hairy monster comes between two friends in this rhyming story about friendship and the power of saying sorry by the current UK Children's Laureate. - The Bookseller
A touching story about the importance of friendship and the power of saying sorry. - The Bookseller - Black Issue
Author
About Joseph Coelho
Joseph Coelho is the Waterstones Children’s Laureate 2022-2024, and an award-winning poet, playwright and writer. His first poetry collection, Werewolf Club Rules!, won the CLPE Children's Poetry Award in 2015, and he has been writing and performing ever since. His picture books include If All the World Were... illustrated by Allison Colpoys and Luna Loves Library Day illustrated by Fiona Lumbers. His poetry books for children include Overheard in a Tower Block illustrated by Kate Milner and A Year of Nature Poems illustrated by Kelly Louise Judd.
His ‘Story told in poems’, for age 12+, The Girl Who Became A Tree, was shortlisted for The 2021 Carnegie Medal and received a special mention from the Bologna Ragazzi Award 2021. His YA verse novel, The Boy Lost in the Maze, is longlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Award for Writing 2024, has been chosen as an outstanding international book for The White Ravens collection 2023 and has also been nominated as an IBBY Honour Book for 2024.
He has written plays for the Polka Theatre, the Lyric, Hammersmith, and the Unicorn Theatre. He creates dynamic poetry theatre pieces for young people that he tours nationally. He also performs with the UK's top performance poetry organisation, Apples and Snakes, visiting venues across the UK. Joseph has been a guest poet in Cbeebies' Rhyme Rocket.
Originally from London, he now lives by the sea in Kent.
More About Joseph Coelho
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