STICK YOUR NECK OUT
Leigh Hay
Illus: Andrew McKenzie
Poetica Christi Press
I was attracted to the cover of Stick Your Neck Out by Leigh Hay and fully expected and was mentally prepared for a children’s light-hearted story book. The double message was a surprise but the excellent illustrations by Andrew McKenzie are both fun and appealing.
Geoffrey the giraffe is in retreat from life and sinks deeper and deeper into depression until he finds himself and the bottom of a huge black hole. There he stays until fun-loving Penelope lights up the black hole with her fun and her laughter.
STICK YOUR NECK OUT
Leigh Hay
Illus: Andrew McKenzie
Poetica Christi Press
This short story by Leigh Hay attempts to deal with the very difficult and complex issue of depression. Aimed to be read to children, it has cute illustrations by Andrew McKenzie which are remarkably full of movement and life. There is also a website listed inside the front cover where you can get a sneak preview of what the book is about.
Geoffrey the Giraffe gets into depression by making decisions to isolate himself from positive and life-giving attitudes and people. This affects people around him. Penelope the Giraffe attacks Geoffrey’s black hole with her box of lights and the black hole goes ‘boom’…There are some good lessons in the book, such as not letting other people’s problems make you feel bad too, and how giving can bounce back good feelings to us. On one level, we can all encourage one another through life’s challenges.
Naturally, depression can take many forms and levels of severity. The light does overcome the darkness, but, as obviously cannot be fully expanded in a short children’s book, the way the light is applied to a person’s situation needs to be treated with prayerful and sensitive understanding. Many root causes may need to be addressed before the ‘black hole’ can be dissipated and this is not fully developed in the book.
Some discussion with children may be necessary so they understand that simply having positive attitudes and being happy around someone who is badly depressed will not necessarily help them or change the way they feel.
Certainly a thought-provoking book which attempts to deal at a child’s level of understanding with a complex and difficult subject.
AC
STICK YOUR NECK OUT: A TALE OF TWO GIRAFFES AND A BLACK HOLE THAT SUCKS
Leigh Hay
Poetica Christi
The subtitle may imply that this book is merely a romantic tale or an unusual approach to cosmology, but the book’s dedicatory paragraph clearly indicates that this is an original approach to the problem of feeling low. The “black hole that sucks” encompasses depression as well as the accumulation of negative attitudes that sap the human psyche. It looks like a story designed for children, but it has a relevant message for an older audience as well. The main character, Geoffrey the giraffe, lives a self-centred life. He eschews friends, neighbours, laughter, sympathy, thankfulness, forgiveness, trust, etc. In challenging readers to examine their own personal attitudes, the author uses interesting descriptors, eg the light bulbs of love and the vials of values. The heroine Penelope, with her armoury of glitter balls, sparklers, torches and AAA batteries, enters halfway through the tale. Her bright approach helps Geoffrey see the positive side of life. The paintings of first-time illustrator Andrew McKenzie add another layer of liveliness. NS
STICK YOUR NECK OUT
Leigh Hay
Illus. A. McKenzie
Poetica Christi
Geoffrey Giraffe is depressed and his life has become a black hole. Nothing and no one can reach him until Penelope Giraffe sticks her neck out. The story is a wonderful tool for broaching the topic of depression, particularly with young people. WN