Your Hand in My Hand by Mark Sperring and Britta Teckentrup

Your Hand in My Hand by Mark Sperring and Britta Teckentrup
Buy Your Hand in My Hand by Mark Sperring and Britta Teckentrup at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Sam Tyler
Summary: Take my hand and come on a journey through the seasons with me. We will see wonders and magic; you will remain safe as long as your hand is in my hand. This is a sentimental and beautiful book that explores the bond between people.
Buy? Maybe	Borrow? Maybe
Pages: 32	Date: September 2014
Publisher: Orchard Books
ISBN: 9781408333167
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When I was young my Mum always wanted me to come over for a lean or hold her hand if we were walking. I would be asked how much I loved her and I would reply, This Much whilst stretching out my arms as far as they would go. It seems that my Mum was quite a sentimental person, so this book would have been perfect for her to read to me before bed.

‘Your Hand in My Hand’ does not have a narrative as such, but is a book that follows two mice as they walk along hand in hand. They could be mother and child, siblings, or even Dad. Who they represent will mean different things to different people and it is here that the book works best. ‘Hand’ is what I like to call a string puller; a children’s book that pulls at the heartstrings of the adult. The words written by Mark Sperring are small poems on each page that has the mice seeing another wonder. Everything will be ok as long as they hold hands. This is a lovely sentiment, but does it make for fun reading?

There is a definite connection between the book and adults, but the subtlety of the bond between the mice is lost on the toddlers whom the book is aimed at. They instead get a rather abstract tale about two mice doing things together and not exciting things either. This is a book about vistas and wonders, not a book about mice holding hands as the race down an amazing waterslide.

This is certainly a book that will appeal to the reader and perhaps not the listener. Thankfully then, the illustrations by Britta Teckentrup are fantastic. Teckentrup uses colour and texture to her images that add to the words. The book follows the seasons and the shades change as the year does. There is a slight coldness to the drawings that reflect the mood of the piece. Adults may find this haunting, but children may simply find it dull.

As a piece of fiction that will make you feel good about your bond with a child ‘Your Hand in My Hand’ is a great book, but as a story that is meant to entertain a 2-4 year old, it falls a little flat. I am someone who likes my sharing books to appeal first to the child and secondly to the adult; this book does not do this. However, it still has a lovely magical quality to it that may bring a tear to the more sentimental out there.

If this book appeals then we think that you might also enjoy I Love You by Giles Andreae and Emma Dodd and Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Your Hand in My Hand by Mark Sperring and Britta Teckentrup at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.

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