This is a three-week Writing Root using the film (which can be found online) and text of Varmints by Helen Ward and Marc Craste. These warmed the hearts of those who cared to listen - until the others came to fill the sky with a cacophony of noise. Which is interesting as normally the characters in a picture book are on the left page going right but the environment is perfect for them and doesn't need to go anywhere. I love the cover which first attracted me to the book with the character that looks like a bunny in the centre of the page, dark looking, with all the plants around also dark but has a light background behind him. Can someone find the time and space to stop, think and plant the seeds of change before it’s too late.

It's also the type of book I would have absolutely loved as a small child (I love it now, too, of course) - at five, six years of age, The Dark Crystal was my favourite movie and it was a dark, menacing tale with sinister creatures, death, violence and adventure. The class are watching the animation of the story alongside this which adds extra information to the story.I loved it though, I got chills the first time I got to the page that said "so they stopped thinking". Its message demonstrates how the planet is being destroyed but the possibility that there is always hope and the need for brave individuals to take action and find the light. Varmints, written by Helen Ward and illustrated by Marc Craste, is a simple yet powerful picture book for older readers (Grades 4 and up).

The idea that life is becoming over run with buildings, noises, and all kinds of extra "STUFF" is a concern of mine.minutes long, it can be broken up into sections for viewing in the classroom (and is unfortunately interrupted anyway by pesky youtube advertising). A sinister but powerful picture book giving an analogy of our industrialisation of the planet, and the beauty and wonder, but also sense of self and connection to the world we have lost as a result. A breathtaking and magical piece of work, that is wholly original and allows your imagination space to work.