Gregory Cool

Product Information

I have looked into the Kate Greenaway Medal which was established in 1955, it is awarded for outstanding book in terms of illustration for children and young people and this book certainly deserved to be shortlisted. The obvious issues of culture shock crop up right away-unfamiliar foods, no TV, different games, each magnifying Gregory's discomfort.

I believe this book could be a useful resource for literacy as part of a block creative writing task for key stage 1. The fact that Lennox walked around barefoot, climbed trees for fruits and played in the intense heat was foreign to Gregory.

A contrast was found in the use of light, fainted watercolours in Burningham’s work, ‘Mr Grumpys Outing’. Even better, a comparison could be made between where children in the class visit their family members, and if one is further afield, using this location as a class study will really help pupils to feel represented and will celebrate their different heritages. This story shows how we might view things in a negative light without trying but once we do it is not as bad as we first thought. Gregory Cool by Caroline Binch is a story about a young boy Gregory who travels to Tobago to meet his grandparents.

Lennox is only a year older than Gregory, Lennox is used to Tobago and enjoys everything it has to offer. They really enjoyed it as we previously looked at the Isle of Shruay in Scotland, which was very different to Tobago. This is an appealing book to young children, especially for them to understand the different lives other children lead in different parts of the world.The book is beautifully illustrated and cleverly presents a child's perspective on understanding another culture. An important aspect that adults could convey and engage in conversation with children about is asking what the colours represent. You know immediately that Gregory has gone on holiday from the illustrations in the front of the book.