Violet's Tempest by Ian Eagleton

This book has been reviewed by myself, and a little bit by my 2.5 year old Thea!

Thea was completely involved in the story from the beginning. It’s such a lovely story, and it really has a great moral. When I asked Thea what her favourite part was, she said “the fairy” but we were able to go on and have a discussion about how sometimes things are scary at first, but once we give them a go they’re not so scary!

I look forward to reading it with her many more times to come, and it will gain meaning as she gets older and faces new challenges!

What a lovely story! Matthew has really enjoyed reading this book. It has come at a very good time for him, the first thing he said after reading the story was “If Violet can do it, then I can do anything” . This week he has changed his outlook and instead of saying “I can’t do this” for everything he has changed to “I can do this” and not given up.
We also loved how diverse this book is and at the end when the two uncles are holding hands Matthew asked “ so you can marry anyone?” And it has opened him up to the idea that not everyone follows the same path In life and that is okay.
I would ask say, Matthew read the majority of the book himself, he is 7 and a very good reader. There was a couple of tricky words for him, but overall it was fine. It’s definitely a nice one to read to children too, the pictures are very bright and colourful and inviting.

Violet's been selected to play Ariel in her school play and she doesn't know why, although she can remember the lines easily enough, she's too nervous to say them in front of everyone, but with the love and support of her Grandma and Uncles and a supportive teacher her whisper turns into roar

We've the loved the gentle way the story inspires confidence. The inclusiveness, diversity and the beautiful illustrations have been a huge hit with the whole family, we've read the book every night for the past week and I can see it being a favourite for quite a while!

The cover drew my fairy loving 3 year old in straight away as soon as I pulled it out of the package and it had to be the bedtime story! Sat on my lap, mr 3 listened eagerly and followed the story throughout; the pacing is just right and the illustrations captured his attention as we read. Violet’s Tempest combines considered, inclusive writing and carefully crafted illustrations to convey Violet’s feelings in an accessible way that both my 3 and 6 year old could identify, understand and discuss. If you have a child that sometimes feels nervous, unsure or lacks in confidence this is a perfect book to open up the discussion around overcoming fears and perseverance. It even includes Shakespeare references in an accessible way. I would highly recommend this book, both for home and school use and look forward to sharing it with my pupils too. {Book received free of charge in exchange for honest review}

Straight away my daughter was drawn to this book because of the front cover! Her Grandma was the first person to read it to her and as Grandma is about to appear in her very first pantomime, they ended up both getting lots out of the story. It's beautifully written and is all about confidence and understanding emotions. The illustrations are very well done and are wonderfully inclusive.