Kay Harker and Cole Hawlings Picture accessed via BBC There are few things more Christmassy than the opening few bars of the theme tune to The Box of Delights . In fact, the tune is based on Victor Hely-Hutchinson's Carol Symphony and had been used in radio adaptations of the same novel years earlier than the 1984 television series. Clearly, everyone already knew that you just couldn't improve on that sound to evoke the magic of Christmas which - for me and for many - is so wonderfully explored in John Masefield's story. As a viewer, one of the things I enjoy most about the television series of The Box of Delights is the acting. Child actors are precarious things: too sweet and they're almost unbearable to watch, not sweet enough and they're unbelievable. They must walk that fine line between the two, and it is a perilous one! Most young actors fall into the first category, where their on-screen presence is almost dangerously saccharine. Not so the child actors ...
This is a lovely story about Norman, a little bat who is perfectly happy with his “particularly average life” until he accidentally ends up going on a series of amazing adventures. He is kidnapped, he goes into space, he is trained to save the world! It’s a great thing to teach children about how exciting things can happen despite modest beginnings! Throughout the book, he meets friends like him and others who are very different, a fantastic thing to encourage children to embrace friendships with others from various backgrounds.
The story is enhanced by exciting illustrations which show the variety of characters as they undertake their adventures. I absolutely fell in love with the Overwatchers, and the villains were wonderfully dastardly!
The tone is perfect for 5-7 year olds, but the language used in the story is really advanced for a child to read themselves. It is somewhere between a picture book and a chapter book. I would recommend it as a book for an adult to read to a child, while the young audience will undoubtedly love to follow along with the fabulous illustrations. Some of the turns of phrase also lend themselves to being read aloud, like the use of question/answer paragraphs.
All in all, Norman Space Bat will provide a lovely story to read aloud with your little ones, or for an older child to read to a younger sibling. There are a lot of life lessons to be learnt from Norman’s adventures, but they’re done in a way which isn’t too heavy handed. And if you don’t just fall in love with the Overwatchers then I don’t know what to say!
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