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Cool! ISBN: 9780007131037
Foreman, Michael and Morpurgo, Michael
Published by Collins, 2002
This is a difficult book to classify neatly. It is about a boy in a coma. Hit by a car when he runs after his dog, Lucky, Robbie can hear everything going on around him, but is unable to move or speak. He believes Lucky is dead, and this makes him very sad, but he is also saddened by his parents' recent break-up, and he blames himself for this. The 103 pages in largish print with Foreman's black and white illustrations are written in the first person in Robbie's head. His mum and sister's visits, his teacher, Dr Smellybreath, the nurse Tracey, his dad's reading to him 'The BFG'- he hears all they say and makes pictures in his head. His classmates send a tape for him, his favourite big-time football star visits. He desperately wants to come out of the coma, but it is only when dad smuggles Lucky (who hasn't died after all) into his hospital room that Robbie wakes. It would be interesting to give this to a child who has experienced being in a coma. I wondered how true the situation is. There is a happy ending, not only Robbie's recovery, but the parents are going to try again. Interesting and unusual, if not altogether believable.
Age: 8+
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