Aruna Khanzada

Harrison Braves The Hill Aruna Khanzada

A simple story about, friendship, courage, overcoming fear and stepping out of one's comfort zone to be rewarded with a wonderful new world.

The story revolves around Harrison, a little bird and his friend Laila caterpillar. They both live at the bottom of the well know London park, Primrose Hill. Laila goes to the top of the hill but Harrison is too scared to venture into unknown territory and instead stays below where he feels safe. Along comes Dolly Dog and befriends Harrison and when an egg rolls down the hill from the top, Dolly gently guides Harrison to make the decision to be brave and take the chick that hatches from the egg up to the top of Primrose Hill. This opens up a world of possibility for Harrison.

Running parallel with this theme of courage and how your world can change by being brave, is one of metamorphosis by way of illustration - a caterpillar into a butterly, an egg into a chick. An echo of how life is always changing.

The book is beautifully illustrated and includes on the last spread, an informal guide to landmark buildings that can be seen from the top of Primrose Hill. These include St. Paul's Catherdral, St. Pancras Station, London Zoo, Canary Wharf, the Gherkin Building, the BT Tower, Centre Point, Westminster and the London Eye.

A great gift for a child but also a lovely keepsake for any adult to remind us to keep striving!