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NZ Writer and Illustrator

Ben Brown, illustrated by Helen Taylor

The Song of the Ship Rat

Scholastic 2013       $19.50pb     32 pages

ISBN 978 1 7754 3048 3

Themes: Old age/ Rats/ Stories in rhyme/ Voyages 

In wonderfully lyrical verse we follow the adventures of an aging ship rat as he looks back on the places he has been and sights he has seen. He feels he may be on his last voyage but when he comes to his old home upon which he once looked as paradise, he finds all the familiar things, people and animals have gone. He must go back to the life he has chosen.

Unroll the maps to Far-Away!

We’ll sail before the sun,

for I am a sea-worn ship rat, friends…

I’ll sail until I’m done.

As with all the books on which this husband and wife team have collaborated, this proves a perfect match of text and illustration.

Google Helen Taylor and Ben Brown to find many more titles to share with pleasure with individual children or a whole class.

Year 1 up/ Age 5 up