Cory and The Seventh Story -a review

This is a lovely book. I love that in reading it with children, many adults would be given pause for thought. The illustrations are lovely, making the book a desirable artefact in itself. The story is simple yet with a profound point about the way that the stories we tell ourselves justify and shape the way we respond to others and enable or disable good relating to other people in our society. The overall story has a parabolic feel but without being too didactic. This has the potential to be one of those fables that gets re-told and becomes a reference-point for conversations. If it helps lots of people to gain a vocabulary to speak about the kinds of stories we tell and to make better choices as a result, it will have achieved much and I hope it does.



I liked also that it doesn't have a 'happily ever after' ending but rather a 'where are we/you in the story' sort of ending which invites reflection and response. I do hope that this book gets a wide readership before the inevitable take down by the foxes and the badgers gets underway.



In terms of my less positive comments, I think I was slightly disappointed that the implicitly-critiqued stories in the book didn't really include the redemptive violence trope (though it does show up by implication). I was rather hoping that this would have been more directly challenged, but I see that the aim of this book wasn't quite consistent with that, so I do not fault it for not being the book I thought it might be. On the other hand, this does point to the need for us maybe to find ways to demythologise also the myth of redemptive violence for children and young people. I hope that more progressive writers will attempt to produce good stuff for children (and those who read to them, of course). This is a model of what could be possible.



Children's Book — The Seventh Story

Cory & the Seventh Story Website
Brian McLaren’s Website
Gareth Higgins’ Website
The Porch Magazine Website
Ireland Retreats Website
Movies & Meaning Website
The New Story Festival Website

#CoryAndTheSeventhStory



I received and e-copy of this book for review purposes. I doing so I am under no obligation to write a favourable review, merely to review it within 30 days of receiving it.