A very short, but pleasant book.
Draw Me Close to You is a charming book, each page accompanied by a clear, colourful illustration. The message is very simple, keep talking and listening to each other. Tunde is a little African boy who lost his mother, but has a loving father who doesn't really appreciate his boy's love of drawing. The boy ignores his father's pleas to do better at school, the kind of situation many families find themselves in. It takes an unfortunate accident to bring them back together again. All's well at the end, although I think the ending could have been a little more drawn out , possibly with some conversation between father and son. It ended a bit abruptly, maybe they could have gone to the park together. A very short, but pleasant book.
An uplifting book.
'Draw Me Close to You' by Kossim Osseni is an inspiring book for pre-teens, delightfully illustrated by Diana Torres. It's multicultural setting and characters make it accessible and appealing to all.
The story is about Tunde and his father, Papa Dele, not long after the death of the boy's mother. When his son's school grades begin to suffer, Papa Dele bans all Tunde's drawing materials, thinking that all the time taken up with them could be better used studying. He doesn't appreciate that drawing is his son's mechanism for coping with his loss until he too uses the healing power of art to prevent losing Tunde too.
This moving story of love and loss will touch all readers, not only those who've experienced the death of someone close.
It handles the difficulty of being a single parent, particularly a father, with sympathy and addresses the natural desire for your child to follow in your footsteps, whilst pointing out that parental expectation can have a destructive side. An uplifting book.
a charming tale which provokes discussion.
When Tunde's mother sadly dies, he finds comfort in his art work. However, as his school grades begin to suffer, his father - Papa Dele - throws away Tunde's crayons and drawings. As Tunde rushes out of their apartment feeling upset, he is run over and remains in a coma in hospital for three weeks. Papa Dele hears his wife telling him to soften his hard heart but although Tunde recovers, he suffers memory loss. Weeks pass and Tunde performs well in all his school and household tasks but does not seem to find fun or joy in anything. His father seeks professional support but to no avail. One evening Papa Dele sees a pencil, that Tunde had given him in the past, with its inscribed invitation to write, on his desk and spends all night drawing. It evokes memories of happier times with his wife and when Tunde sees it he is able to recover his memory.
Illustrated using bright and colourful evocative drawings, this touching little story has a reflective message that is as much aimed for adults, as it is children. This is highlighted by the author's comment at the end of the book when he recalls his experiences as a child of parents who expected him to be a high achiever.
The book may not have a wide audience but it is a charming tale which provokes discussion.