Sirius is humbled in various ways – first by enduring the horror of being unwanted; and then by becoming the pet of a poor family who mistreat both their animals and their children. Luckily he’s rescued by Kathleen, who loves the dog wholeheartedly, calling him ‘Leo’ – an imposition Sirius puts up with. Life is still not easy – Kathleen lives with an abusive aunt; and the search for the Zoi is hampered by Sirius’s doggy nature, which has him following his nose, literally, after all sorts of diversions from the path. Sirius still gets angry in his dog form – his eyes flashing green when he does – but it’s usually short-lived and in response to injustices suffered by Kathleen rather than himself. And when he finally returns to life as a shimmering, green star, he is far less inclined to rage and rant, having learnt to accept a few home truths.
Inappropriate outbursts of rage are explored in an eye-opening fashion in Breathing Underwater. On the surface, Nick Andreas has it all – a rich dad, a cool car provided by said rich dad, good looks and good grades. He’s also got a girlfriend, Caitlin. Told from Nick’s point of view, the story begins as Nick – having lost his temper and slapped Caitlin, leaving her badly bruised – complies with a court order to write five hundred words a week in a journal and attend an anger management course with other aggressive teens. At first Nick comes across as a sympathetic character. But gradually we start to see what really happens between him and Caitlin. When Caitlin wants to enter a talent contest for her singing, Nick won’t let her. Caitlin enters secretly – convinced that when he sees her from the audience fulfilling her dream, he’ll be thrilled. But the moment the recital is over, Nick takes her outside and hits her until she blacks out.
We abhor Nick’s actions, but by now we also know what he has had to endure at the hands of his own father, who has constantly criticised him and left him feeling worthless (see: abuse). When Nick begins to see how unacceptable his behaviour is, and that he needs to find ways to be a good boyfriend – and a good man – we root for him. For teens who find expression in their fists, or aggressive words, this story shows where the anger might be coming from – and how getting help will be like finally coming up for air.
| CURE FOR GROWN-UPS |
Children generally let us know when they’re angry in blunt and basic ways – such as hurling the ‘I hate you!’ line. Even the most quick-witted grown-up can find themselves lost for words when this happens – and feel hurt even though they know it’s an unconsidered sentiment provoked by a fleeting emotion. This book contains some good ideas on how to respond.
SEE ALSO: arguments, getting into • betrayal • sulking • violence
animals, being unkind to
What makes otherwise angelic children want to stamp on ants and slice worms in half? Perhaps it’s the rare chance to lord it over others (see: beastly, being). Or perhaps it’s because they haven’t yet learnt to feel empathy for the suffering of others (see: feelings, hurting someone’s). If you catch a child near you torturing insects, intervene with James and the Giant Peach.
When unhappy young orphan James – who, by the way, is on the receiving end of beastliness from humans himself – finds himself inside a giant peach, he’s alarmed to discover he’s sharing it with a variety of giant insects, including a grasshopper, a ladybird, a spider, a centipede, an earthworm and a silkworm. He’s convinced they’re going to eat him – but they’re quick to reassure him. ‘You are one of us now,’ they tell him. ‘We’re all in the same boat.’
This turns out to be true in more ways than one as, having started off in James’s aunts’ garden, the giant peach starts to roll downhill, toppling off the cliffs of southern England and floating out to sea in what is at times an exceedingly perilous adventure. And, as happens in stressful circumstances, the true colours of each of the characters begin to emerge. The grasshopper is wise, the spider hard-working, and the earthworm always hovers on the verge of despair. The lazy centipede, who is forever asking James to help him lace and unlace his forty-two boots5, turns out to be an even bigger pest than everyone suspected – although James is prepared to forgive a lot in return for his rascally sense of humour. All in all, the insects are shown to be as various in personality as humans are themselves – and indeed much more likeable than Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker, James’s two wretched aunts who were, thankfully, flattened to death by the peach at the start. The ants in your garden will breathe more easily after the kids have read this story. Your rellies may not.
The possibility that animals might experience feelings just as we do is explored with an admirable lack of sentiment in Incident at Hawk’s Hill – a story that may transform the attitudes to animals of everyone in the household. Set on the prairies of Canada in the late 19th century, it is the story of six-year-old Ben, the youngest of four siblings and the only one their hardworking settler father, William MacDonald, doesn’t understand. ‘There’s just no communicating with him,’ William complains to his wife. Ben’s strange habit of mimicking the animals and birds around the farm makes his father wonder if the child is even quite normal.
One day, wandering over the emerald-green grasslands, Ben comes face to face with a large female badger – a ferocious predator, quite capable of killing a wolf – who hisses and bares her sharp teeth. Awed and alarmed in equal measure, Ben hisses back; but when he realises the badger is more interested than frightened, he ‘chitters’ and grunts instead. Soon she’s letting him approach her, accepting a dead mouse from his hands, and even allowing him to touch her. When Ben goes home for lunch that day, he is all aglow with the encounter.
Some time later, Ben gets caught in a lightning storm and, frightened and shoeless, takes refuge by backing down a burrow. It turns out to belong to the same badger, recognisable by the notch on her ear; and so begins an extraordinary few weeks in which they share the burrow and care for one another, Ben becoming increasingly badger-like in his behaviour and movements, and the badger increasingly zealous in her protection of the small boy. Told with a keen naturalist’s eye, this story shows that even wild animals may have a lot to teach us about loyalty and respect for others. No teen will treat animals thoughtlessly after reading this.
SEE ALSO: beastly, being • bully, being a • in charge, wanting to be
animals, fear of
In our atomised and increasingly urban world – where most of us live a long way from the beginnings of the food chain and have no use for animals in our daily lives – it’s no surprise that children can develop a fear of fur, claw, wing and whisker. Such children will learn to love small beasts more easily if they meet them first in books.
My Family and Other Animals – a memoir6 which reads like fiction – is the most entrancing story of living with animals we know. Set on the sun-kissed island of Corfu, it tells of a young Gerald Durrell – known as Gerry – as he discovers a natural affinity for