SuitabookOctober, October
Katya Balen
- Reading
- Read alongside the child, pausing after major changes to name what October may be feeling without diagnosing her. Afterwards, compare the characters’ viewpoints and discuss which kinds of patience or support seem helpful.
- Themes
- Freedom, home and change: October values her self-sustaining woodland life and resists being taken into a different home and way of living. The woodland life is presented with vivid appeal, while the story also leaves room for good things beyond it; neither setting is simply dismissed.
- Different ways of experiencing the world: The book addresses different ways of experiencing the world; the detail of how it is developed remains unclear. The story treats these differences as part of October rather than something to be fixed, while showing how others may initially misunderstand them.
- Family connection and patience: October, her mother and her father are affected by the distance and misunderstanding between October and her mother. The mother’s frustration and hurt are acknowledged alongside October’s difficulty, and the relationship is described as improving through greater patience and consideration.
- Worth knowing
- Some readers may need support with the upsetting disruption of October’s home life, her father’s hospitalisation, separation, isolation and difficult feelings. The story also contains sadness before reaching a more hopeful, improving situation.