Sally Fawcett is a primary school teacher with a passion for art, creative writing and education. Her three children are a constant source of inspiration for ideas, and have triggered many of her writing and illustrating adventures. Sally’s motivation for creating picture books is to engage adults and children in a shared experience that will hopefully foster a life-long love of reading, creativity and tapping into the power of the imagination. She is the author and illustrator of What Could It Be?, also with EK Books.
Through the Gate
From: USD $8.99
Through the Gate tells the story of a child who has just moved house and is struggling to cope with all the changes in her life. She relates to the dilapidated house she has moved to, as she sits sad and forlorn upon its broken front step.
But, as the story unfolds, the house is gradually repaired paralleling how the child’s perception of her new situation improves. Each time the child passes ‘through the gate’, into the world beyond, she notices more of her surroundings and discovers that her new life has some wonderful things in it.
Within the illustrations is a ‘spot the difference’ game that encourages interaction with the story and develops observation skills. Younger children can be involved in spotting the more obvious changes and older children will be challenged with the more subtle transformations.
Teacher’s notes available here.
SPECIFICATIONS: Hardback/Paperback | 245 x 255 mm / 9 ½ x 10 Inches | Colour | 32 Pages |
Through the Gate has been shortlisted for the 2018 Speech Pathology Awards, and is recommended by the Australian Association of Family Therapy Award for Children’s Literature. Congrats Sally!
Through the Gate tells the story of a child who has just moved house and is struggling to cope with all the changes in her life. She relates to the dilapidated house she has moved to, as she sits sad and forlorn upon its broken front step.
But, as the story unfolds, the house is gradually repaired paralleling how the child’s perception of her new situation improves. Each time the child passes ‘through the gate’, into the world beyond, she notices more of her surroundings and discovers that her new life has some wonderful things in it. The messages delivered through this story can be understood at different levels — literal and metaphorical. Nothing stays the same and difficult times will pass. A little effort in maintenance can improve our physical surroundings, yet our perceptions also colour our world.
Early Childhood Teachers Association Journal
“The children loved the I Spy aspect of the illustrations, spotting all the new things that had been done. Of great interest was what was happening in the tree. This promoted us to draw the house in its grey and unhappy state and then add paint and colour to make it the happy house it was at the end of the story. Thank you Sally Fawcett for such and enjoyable and insightful language experience.”
SchoolDays Magazine
“The story of change told through the eyes of a child who has moved house and struggling to cope. … Gradually day by day as she arrives home from school and walks through the gate, she notices little changes happening, until one day she realises that it has become a lovely home with a beautiful garden, one to look forward to seeing every day after school. Life takes on a happier new meaning. Ideal for playing the spot the differences as each page is turned to increase awareness of observation.” – Click here to view.
The School Librarian
‘This is a beautifully illustrated and charming story to share with any young child who is going through change. It creates a starting point for further discussion on the story and can be related to a child’s personal circumstances.’
Department of Education and Training – Scan Magazine
“This book exemplifies how a quality text can span and have relevance for various stages in the teaching of English and visual literacy” – Click here to view.
Aussie Reviews
“Through the Gate is a clever, feel-good book about coping with change and, particularly, moving home. Visually, the transformation of the house from a tumble down cottage with a broken picket fence, to a beautifully restored house, with fence and garden, is clever. The use of colour – with early illustrations showing all but the girl in grey scale, and colour being added progressively as the house changes – highlights the girl’s changing attitude as she finds pleasure in her new life, and adapts to the changes. A wonderful story of resilience.” – Click here to view.
Observer Newspaper
“Great fun, emotionally acute – a good, involving read.”
Kids’ Book Buzz
“When I was reading, It felt like I was putting a puzzle together … This relaxing but not boring book is really fun to read, and I enjoyed the drawings.”
Booksellers NZ
“A very cleverly handled and beautifully illustrated story, Through the Gate will be a great way to ease children’s uncertainty and unease over changes happening in their lives. It is a message of hope and encouragement … ”
Boomerang Books
“Through the Gate is a visually striking and emotionally memorable look at affecting and accepting change.”
Margaret River Times
“Children’s author Sally Fawcett will show off her second book, Through the Gate, at the Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival. The book was released this month and tells the story of a girl learning to adapt to a new house and to appreciate change and beauty in life, using colour and spot-the-difference elements.”
In The Good Books
“One of my favourite things about this story is the illustrations. I love how Sally Fawcett has used colour to reflect the feelings and perceptions of the young girl. ..If you have a child that is going through changes, whether it be preparing to begin school, gaining a sibling, or moving home, then this book would be ideal for them.”
Kids’ Book Review
“…a window to our hearts…Through the Gate is a must-have for any family preparing to move house or school. It’s the perfect diving board for sharing thoughts, fears and feelings about the future but it also offers a seed of hope that happiness can grow somewhere else.”
The Bottom Shelf
“This is a story about nothing staying the same; about even the most dismal day waking to a sunrise soon; about how our moods and feelings can colour our world…This is a familiar story for many children who are uprooted from their comfort zone that has been told on so many different levels that it is quite brilliant.”
Jnr Book Worms Book Reviews
“They thoroughly enjoyed the story we read it twice to see if we could find all the changes throughout the story. Sometimes change can turn out to be wonderful thing.”
School Days Magazine
“The story of change told through the eyes of a child who has moved house and struggling to cope…Ideal for playing the spot the difference…We loved the illustrations as well as the story.”
Additional information
Book Type | Paperback, Hardback |
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Download the Teacher’s Notes Here
Specifications: Hardback/Paperback | 245 x 255 mm / 9.5 x 10 inches | 32 Pages | Colour