The Great Realisation - Review

In late April, in response to the pandemic and lockdown kiwi-born Tomos Roberts, aka Tomfoolery, released his poem The Great Realisation on YouTube. It was an instant hit, reported in the Otago Daily Times a few days later as a viral fairytale (pun noted). Five months on HarperCollins have produced a beautiful hardback picture book of his poem with illustrations by London-based Japanese artist Nomoco.

The author has a dream for a brighter future to come out of the pandemic, and his poem, now picture book, spells it out clearly: what are the things about the way we live in 2020 that have to change? The poem reads like a fairy tale in tone, but in a fairy tale readers are left to work out potential messages, here however, the message is patently loud and clear and it is aimed at adults, particularly parents, but also our leaders and decision makers.

This is not a picture book for young children, it is one that older children will appreciate more, and one adults might reflect upon. The book could act as a primer for understanding the difference between humankind's wants and needs; it may lead readers to ask significant adults in their lives about their use of plastic and petrol, but will it make them question their own dependence on electronic devices? Clearly the author thinks it might, by spelling out what the world, and our relationships, could be like if we reconsider our choices around consumption, pollution, technology and work/life imbalance. Lockdown (or variations of it) continue around the world, and everyone is forced to do things differently. It is a sobering thought that as things go back to 'normal' here, we are back to queuing in traffic.