Perfectly Norman: beautiful with a brilliant message
“Norman had always been perfectly normal. That was until the day he grew a pair of wings! Norman is very surprised to have wings suddenly – and he has the most fun ever trying them out high in the sky. But then he has to go in for dinner. What will his parents think? What will everyone else think? Norman feels the safest plan is to cover his wings with a big coat. But hiding the thing that makes you different proves tricky and upsetting. Can Norman ever truly be himself?”
Perfectly Norman is a gorgeous, vibrant picture book telling the story of Norman – the boy who is so normal, but he grows wings. As you go through the book you see that Norman tries to hide what is most special about him which makes him sad and withdrawn. It stops him doing the things he loves best. It makes him lonely and unsociable. When he finally realises that his wings, the thing that make him special, should be the things that he celebrates, he embraces them and he shows them to the world. When he does there’s colour and happiness everywhere.
I loved the illustrations and the use of colour in the book. One of my littles pointed the link between grey and blues when Norman is sad, and then all of the colour when Norman decides to embrace himself and is therefore happy again. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful. We definitely loved looking at the illustrations that accompany the story.
This would be a brilliant story to read to kids regardless of age. Brilliant one for KS1 or KS2. Delivers the same brilliant message either way: you’re special and different, but that’s to be embraced and celebrated. Everyone’s different but everyone’s special. Embracing your uniqueness is important.
Absolutely loved Perfectly Norman, can’t wait to share it with more kids at school!
Check out the book trailer too: Click, click, click.
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Author & Illustrator: Tom Percival
Release Date: 10th August 2017
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35892618-perfectly-norman
Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Perfectly-Norman-Tom-Percival/dp/1408880962
Check out the rest of the blog tour! I can’t wait to see what everyone else thinks of Norman!
Tom Percival writes and illustrates picture books and has also produced covers and internal illustrations for the Skulduggery Pleasant series. Tom has written and illustrated three books for Bloomsbury: HERMAN’S LETTER, BUBBLE TROUBLE and the forthcoming HERMAN’S HOLIDAY. He grew up in a remote and beautiful part of South Shropshire. He now lives in a far more conventional building (a house), with his girlfriend and their young sons.
Website: http://tom-percival.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/TomPercivalsays
Thank you so much Bloomsbury and Faye Rogers for sending me a copy of Perfectly Norman!
S x
