Find Another Book

Book details

The Things That Really Matter

Name: The Things That Really Matter
ISBN: 9781776231133

Jump to At a Glance & Reader Fit

Refiloe Moahloli - Author

Book DashISBN 9781776231133ENEbook

CC BY 4.0

Credits & Licence

Originally published by Book Dash. Writer: Refiloe Moahloli. Illustrator: Subi Bosa. Designer: Natalie Pierre-Eugene. Editor: Louis Greenberg.

Cover resized and converted to WebP; artwork unchanged. Suitabook’s AI guidance is a separate assessment.

Original Book on Book Dash

A family trip becomes a string of small setbacks and changing feelings. The family eventually makes its own good time, even after the car will not start.

Read Free Add to Compare Explore

Book Analysis

At a Glance

Discover

Family· AffirmedTogetherness· AffirmedPossessions and experiences· Affirmed

Consider

Emotional intensity

Personalised Fit

Beyond the Cover

familytogethernesspossessions and experiences

FictionPicture book

Themes in Context

What matters on a family trip

The story contrasts packing for a trip and wanting particular belongings with the family playing, singing and finding a way to enjoy themselves together.

How the book presents it: The ending affirms shared time as important, without suggesting that every family would value the same things.

Talk about: What do you think matters most to this family, and might different people answer differently?

Why It May Be Worth Reading

The repeated question of what to pack gives the story a gentle way to explore whether possessions or shared experiences matter more to this family.

What Deserves Attention

There are brief frustrations and accidents: a parent falls into water, glass breaks at a roadside stop, and the car later will not start. The family is shown upset at points.

A Conversation Worth Having

What do you think the family means by “the things that really matter”? Would your answer change if a trip did not go to plan?

Reading Approach

Pause at the changing expressions in the car and invite your child to notice how each person feels. Then compare those moments with the final scene.

Confidence & Basis

Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. The complete text and illustrations were available for this guide.

What remains unconfirmed

What matters on a family trip: The story offers a family’s example; it does not explore other families’ circumstances or priorities.

Book Dash — The Things That Really Matter

Complete story and illustrations · ISBN 9781776231133

Checked: 8 October 2026.

Relevant to: What matters on a family trip

Benefits, discussion questions and reading approaches are suggestions. Your knowledge of your child remains part of the decision.

Heidi