SuitabookI Am Ray’s Imaginary Friend
Brian Moses, illustrated by Bethan Welby
- Reading
- Read in short sections, allowing time to discuss the verse and illustrations. Before the later refugee storyline, check whether your child wants context or a pause; afterwards, explore how uncertainty and kindness coexist.
- Themes
- Coping with change: Ray resists leaving his village, school and friends, then gradually settles after the family moves. The story presents coping with change as difficult but possible, with Ray’s adjustment unfolding over time rather than instantly.
- Imaginary friendship and inner feelings: Ray creates Jacob, who listens, watches and narrates the story as Ray faces distress. Jacob is portrayed as a supportive mechanism for expressing and witnessing Ray’s feelings, rather than as a way to change the family’s decision.
- Empathy towards unfamiliar circumstances: Ray meets a homeless man while running away and later encounters a Ukrainian woman and her son, who receive help from his family. The book presents this favourably.
- Worth knowing
- The story includes strong distress about leaving home, running away, a homeless man, and a Ukrainian mother and son seeking refuge in the context of the war in Ukraine. The treatment is described as gentle, but these elements may still merit preparation.