SuitabookThe Most Amazing Thing
Ian Hayward Robinson
- Reading
- Read it slowly and pause after each family member’s idea. Look closely at the illustrations, then invite your child to name, draw or discuss something they find amazing, accepting an answer different from the book’s.
- Themes
- Wonder and meaning: Henry asks his family what the most amazing thing is, and receives answers centred on life, the mind and the universe. The book presents several ways of thinking about wonder before leaving the search for meaning as personal rather than purely factual.
- Individuality: Henry’s mother offers an answer focused on each person being unique, and accounts of the conclusion centre on Henry’s individuality. The book appears to value personal uniqueness as a meaningful response to the larger wonders discussed by the family.
- Different perspectives in a family: Each family member is busy with a different activity and gives a different response to Henry’s question. The exchange treats differing answers as opportunities for exploration rather than as a single debate that must be won.
- Worth knowing
- The ideas move from observable life to the mind and the vast universe, so some parts may be more abstract than Henry can picture. The ending’s precise effect is not fully clear without reading the book.