Everybody’s Welcome

Review

The topic of Brexit may not seem like a natural or easy one to bring into an early years setting – however, the divisions that have arisen in the UK around the issue of whether or not we should stay in the EU, and particularly with regard to immigration, will without a doubt already be having an impact on even very young children; for some, more explicitly than for others.

The ongoing refugee crisis is also something about which they may have questions, and whilst it’s not practitioners’ place to influence ideologies, promoting British values – such as tolerance and inclusion – is their clear responsibility.

This gentle and empowering story about a little mouse who dreams of building a ‘great big happy house’ in the forest, and achieves his goal with the help of a succession of animals who are themselves in need of assistance, was commissioned by Thomas Truong, publisher of Caterpillar Books and himself the son of a refugee and a European migrant, following the results of the referendum. It’s message is simple: if we are all kind and welcoming then together, we can create a home where everyone can be safe and joyful.