Culture writer Abby Rosser reviews ‘Please Don’t Read the Footnotes Please’, praising the author’s use of humour and engaging literary techniques to encourage children’s curiosity and enjoyment of reading
Books aimed at primary school children are usually expected to challenge their imaginations through descriptive writing and the creation of exciting characters and worlds. Rob Walton takes this one step further in his book of short stories Please Don’t Read the Footnotes Please by encouraging the creative and critical thinking of children through a variety of unique methods, paired with illustrations by Reena Makwana.
His footnotes provide hilarious and welcome disruptions to the text, providing interesting facts, suggestions and opinions designed to build on the intellectual curiosity of children, such as my personal favourite: the plural for a gerbil. His encouragement of subversive reading is effective- by drawing children to the bottom of the page he encourages them to look for explanations and further information.
“His footnotes provide hilarious and welcome disruptions to the text
Most of the short stories in his book are set in a primary school, which connects the accounts to his intended demographic, provoking interest and relatability. He also provides hilarious insights into the minds of teachers and students alike. One story depicts a child interrupting his teacher with silly questions, such as “what is an America?”. Walton provides a footnote for this comment, stating that Ant (the child) would go home and laugh about his antics with his family.
Walton introduces a variety of literary methods with entertaining explanations, such as alliteration. He continually encourages primary-school children to look up definitions for new words and emphasises the importance of growing their vocabulary, hiding under the pretence that he was “too tired” to provide a definition himself. His self-depreciating humour successfully cements his relatability to the minds of children: this book provides a unique opportunity to break through the intellectual barriers of those at a primary school age.
Ultimately, the purpose of Walton’s book is to encourage children to think creatively, which I believe he achieved with resounding success. The book finishes with starting points for children to write their own stories, derived from his own writing. Each chapter is revealed to be an inspiration for a child’s own story-writing, and Walton provides helpful pointers and inspiration for getting started.
“this book provides a unique opportunity to break through the intellectual barriers of those at a primary school age
Please Don’t Read the Footnotes Please is a well-executed creative endeavour that I whole-heartedly recommend for children of primary-school age. It provides a unique opportunity for children to build on their creative thinking and literacy skills in a variety of ways!
Please Don’t Read the Footnotes Please is published by The Emma Press and is available for pre-order now.
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