Umbrella; Elena Arevalo Melville

The park would have been brilliant except Clara had no-one to play with. But when she spots an umbrella lying on the ground and gently places it onto the bench everything changes. The umbrella is a wonderful world of possibilities where anything is possible. It is a place where friends can be found, where hopes and dreams are realised and where magic and music make the world a better place…

Umbrella is a sweet story about a lonely girl in the park and the magical umbrella that she finds. After placing the umbrella on a bench the girl receives one wish in return for her kindness, and in the umbrella she finds someone to play with. As the girl observes those around her she offers the umbrella to those in need. Those in need of something are granted their wish but when greedy and selfish Mr. Fox tries to use the umbrella for selfish reasons he receives a drenching.

The magical umbrella helps bring the park community together as wishes are granted and the park gradually fills with people, magic, music and rainbows. It really is a joyous read full of kindness as friends are found, apples are picked by elephants, a butterfly band turns the cries of a family’s children to smiles and Mr. Fox learns the error of his ways. It is a great book for exploring messages of kindness, sharing, empathy and greed with young children. The book is illustrated throughout using a limited colour palette until the final page where everything bursts into colour.

A wonderful book about kindness and selfless good deeds. Lots of us perhaps dream of finding a magical object, in this case an umbrella, that could grant us our wishes. What would you wish for?

Recommended for 4+.