A Life Song
A Life Song
Jane Godwin
Anna Walker
Puffin, 2023
32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99
9781761047640
When you are born, you make up a song
It doesn’t rhyme, and it isn’t long
A song of everything you hold dear
It’s your own tune, it’s loud and clear
And your whole world is in it…
One of the favourite units my Kindy kids loved to explore was one based on A. A. Milne’s poem, The End. They loved to discover how much they had grown and changed and learned since they had been born and feel the sense of empowerment and excitement of being in charge of what was to come next.
The End
I had just begun.When I was Two,
I was nearly new.
When I was Three,
I was hardly me.
When I was Four,
I was not much more.
When I was Five,
I was just alive.
But now I am six,
I’m as clever as clever
So I think I’ll be six now
Forever and ever.
This new release is the perfect complement to that showing how the child has grown, building on the song of their life as they mature, learn and do more things, and meet more people, each of whom contributes something to the lyrics, loud or soft. Likened to a tiny stream at birth, it grows stronger and bigger as does the child, meandering this way and that as new people and experiences occur, until it becomes one with the river flowing ever onward. The key difference between Milne’s poem and this, though, is that the poem focuses on the child exclusively while this has the suggestion that there is much more to the child’s song that their own melody – that it started before they were born, will gather momentum during their lifetime and rather than reaching a crescendo at the end, will continue on afterwards. So it adds to that reflection and appreciation of where they have come from by speculating and anticipating what might come next.
One for the collection and toolbox of any teacher working with little ones who need reassurance that they are unique, that there are brighter days coming and that they have much to offer and contribute not only to their song but to the orchestra playing it.
