Alex Smith reviews Margie Orford and Andrew Walton’s The Adventures of the Very Brave and Particular Nose. It’s a firm carrot; here’s the complete review:
What do you do if one fine Cape day your usually friendly dog unexpectedly leaps up and bites your neighbour’s child in the face? After all the blood and tears, apologies and emergency room stitches, if you are an internationally published crime writer like Margie Orford, whose novels are translated into several languages including Russian and French, you turn the terrible trauma into a story, and then of course a book.
Since time and tales began humans have used story-telling as a way of not only spreading knowledge and wisdom, but healing hurts. Nowadays professional therapists employ Story Therapy for children and adults alike. Story Therapy is a particularly effective, soothing and also fun, mode of conveying important ideas and emotions to children. The Adventures of the Very Brave and Particular Nose is a jolly and wittily told story, about a Nose, of course, and what must have been an extremely frightening event in the life of the Nose and the Nose’s owner, Jack, who is Margie Orford’s young friend.
I was fortunate enough to attend the launch at the Book Lounge of The Adventures of the Very Brave and Particular Nose, where the Nose, and Jack were present (and smiling in a roomful of admiring friends). Margie Orford read us the story and the all the children present were entranced. Afterwards, the Nose, Jack and Margie signed books and as I watched this, I thought what a remarkable little book it was: it represented the transformation of a truly horrible happening into what will surely be a happy and very memorable moment in Jack’s life. It is a tiny triumph, illustrated with whimsical line drawings by Andrew Walton, and just small enough to fit into a Christmas sock.
Best of all, the proceeds from the sale of this story of being brave, are all going to the Shine Centre for reading support for children with reading difficulties who would not otherwise have access to remedial lessons. At only R50, the remarkable little book is a perfect gift, and if you feel like being generous you can make up a price (over R50) and support the Shine Centre further (one nosey, bookish person paid R1000 for the tiny book!).
– Review by Alex Smith
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