My book review of 'Aaron Slater Illustrator' by Andrea Beaty and Illustrated by David Roberts

by Andrea Beaty and Illustrated by David Roberts
Recommended age: 5+
Aaron Slater Illustrator
by Andrea Beaty and Illustrated by David Roberts

Aaon Slater loves hearing stories read to him and would like to write his own. One day his teacher asks all the children in the class to do just that but Aaron can't put a single word on the page.

He has always struggled to decipher letters. These strange squiggles move about on the page. He is dreading his turn to stand in front of the class but then...inspiration strikes. Although he can't write the words, he has another way of sharing his story and it turns his life around.

There are so many elements to this simple but colourful and lively book. In addition to the entertaining and quirky illustrations and the rhyming text, the typeface has been specially designed to help readers with dyslexia. And there is an explanation of dyslexia and a motivational message at the end of the book. Also, Aaron is named after Aaron Douglas, an African American painter, muralist and graphic artist who lived from 1899-1979, and there is a little biography about him too.

I first came to these books when the first two titles were released a few years ago now - 'Rosie Revere, Engineer' and 'Iggy Peck, Architect' - but this is the fifth in the collection and they each appear as picture books, chapter books and activity books. They're great and work beautifully on so many different levels. I hope you'll look them up!

Date of this review: January 2022
Book publication date: 9th December 2021