The Tin Forest

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One day, he finally started to create a forest that's made of these things and soon, a bird happened to visit his place. The Tin Forest reads like a fable, telling the story of an old man living in a desolate jungle of cast away rubbish, trying to make good of unwanted, forgotten objects. Each sentence gives some information about the old man with some information being obviously apparent and other information based on making simple inferences. The primary color is yellow, and it stands in stark contrast to the metallic gray of the tin forest. There was once a wide, windswept place, near nowhere and close to forgotten that was filled with all the things that no one wanted.

Burton tells the audience that one way the kids recovered hope after 9/11 was learning they weren’t alone. With faith, ingenuity and hard work, he transforms it into a wonderland in this poetic modern fable. The book could be used as a trigger for some fantastic artwork, exploring contrasts in tone and texture, exploring mixed media or responding emotionally to the story. I also love the story’s real forest, illustrated first in a book the old man reads, then in his dream, then in isolated patches, then in full color. This is a great book to teach children to dream, to be artistic and to make the best out of your situation.

Question 11 involves your class putting themselves into the old man’s shoes to determine what he appreciates at the end of the story. The rich, detailed illustrations and the lyrical text carry an important, empowering message for children and adults alike: No matter where you live or what your circumstances are, where there is imagination, there is hope. The story has fantastic pictures which increase in colour and animation as the story continues and as hope grows.

Beautifully told, and I highly recommend this to those who love an enchanted story filled with gorgeous artwork. It tells the story of an old man who dreams of living in a wild forest bursting with life, but lives in a grey and barren scrap-metal wasteland. Really enjoyed this book because there is some really interesting vocabulary used and many hidden meanings within the text. After all, I have often, on a hopeless day, taken a walk down a country lane and instantly felt a bit more hopeful. The man’s connection with nature in the midst of his desolation and how nature grows from dreamt to constructed to lived is, I think, why the book endures.Lots of lovely opportunities for children to look at abandoned homes, towns or cities that have given way to nature.

I found myself thinking a lot about the restorative power of nature, and the ease to which it can reclaim developed landscapes. This feels like a story that is more relevant than ever in the current crisis of never ending rubbish being discarded, and the destruction of green spaces- which, as pointed out by Ward, really are so important for wellbeing and connecting to the world.Helen Ward won the first Walker Prize for Children’s Illustration and twice won the British National Art Library Award. Because I’d never heard of this book, I now have its story and the story of this particular elementary school intertwined. Although we are focusing on English, it would be remiss not to mention the artistic potential of The Tin Forest. I like how the author has taken some familiar words and put them into a different context which makes the reader question why the author has chosen to do this. Beautiful story, sweetly told with engrossing illustrations that are magical and yet almost ugly at times in perfect keeping with the garbage-metal world the man lives in at first.