Marvin, Mayor of Bristol reads BOOM! for Read Aloud Month

Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol reads Boom! For Read Aloud Month

I’ve got this amazing book here called Boom! by Jennifer Lunn with amazing pictures by Diana Ford.

I want to thank them both for contributing these books to Bristol, they’ll go to children across the city for Read Aloud Month and I’m going to read now: Boom!

On the street in the city, in the house on the end, live the twins Jaz and Jet, both each other’s best friend.

They live with their parents, their grandparents too, their cute baby sister and their cat called Kazoo. With all of the family sharing one home, it gets very noisy and no one’s ever alone.

So if someone feels angry the whole family knows, and if someone feels sad well then that also shows.

But if they’re wound up, there are many ways to unwind.

There is football to play and treasure to find. There is singing an scootering, swimming in lakes, there is reading of books and baking of cakes.

And if all that fails, and they’re still in a fug, someone’s always around who can give them a hug.

Then one day the world spins about and around and it feels like their house has been turned upside down.

They aren’t allowed out quite as much anymore. They can’t scooter or swim or play ball like before.

They all feel quite strange with their feet on the ceiling in this downside-up world all their feelings start reeling.

One minute bored, the next worried and jumpy, irritable, anxious, stressed-out and grumpy.

Their feelings unravel like big balls of wool, rolling and reeling till the house quite full.

Twisting and tangling through all of the rooms binding and bungling and balling, till…BOOM!

After all that kerfuffle the place is a mess, and the kids to figure out what to do next. Jaz and Jet wonder – would the feelings untangle if they looked at it all from a different angle?

When they look they can see that the problem is clear. They need all these tangles to just disappear.

The feelings are tied up like knotted shoelaces so Jaz sends them all off to find their own places.

But the feelings get stronger when they sit on their own and then they get worse because they feel all alone.

Then Jet has an idea: ‘Let’s all move about!’ So they jump, stretch and balance until they are worn out.

Then they curl up with stories of adventures and elves, and while they all listen the feelings untangle themselves.

All talking and sharing the family soon find that things are much easier when you are kind.

As they laugh over dinner, a much happier lot, the day’s tangle and troubles are finally forgot.

There will always be tangles. Feelings don’t disappear. But with love, care and kindness we can make smiles appear.

When we help one another, both the bit and the small, the world doesn’t feel upside down after all.

That’s a really nice book and describes my family at the moment, when we’re all bundled up in the house and sometimes things go BOOM! and we have to remind each other to be kind to each other, and we do it on purpose and it makes for a much nicer household.

Amazing book. Thank you Jennifer, thank you Diana.