The Tin Forest

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Burton tells the audience that one way the kids recovered hope after 9/11 was learning they weren’t alone. And that’s what bugs me about The Tin Forest. Over the course of the story the old man changes the forest from something “filled with all the things that no one wanted,” to something “filled with all the things that everyone wanted.” But we never see “everyone.” He’s still alone. The Tin Forest by Helen Ward is a beautiful and poetic fable written about an old man who lives in a Tin Forest, otherwise known as a rubbish dump of unloved things nobody wanted anymore. The old man wishes for a better place to live. With his own initiative, will he make this junkyard into a wonderland? Unless you count the animals. The man’s connection with nature in the midst of his desolation and how nature grows from dreamt to constructed to lived is, I think, why the book endures. After all, I have often, on a hopeless day, taken a walk down a country lane and instantly felt a bit more hopeful.

The Tin Forest will provide a starting point for a wealth of writing. Children can devise stories set in wild places (see plan link below); contrast settings of the wasteland and the forest; empathise with the character and write in role; and write persuasively about caring for the environment or explain how plant lifecycles work. One day, he finally started to create a forest that's made of these things and soon, a bird happened to visit his place. Such was the joy the old man felt, but also got disappointed and sad when the bird went away. This wonderful picture book is for anyone who has hope and believes that there is a way. Or for those who believe that our world is without hope and so why care...We have differentiated the resource which covers Year 2 and Year 3 classes. Your class can also choose their words to challenge themselves . Although we are focusing on English, it would be remiss not to mention the artistic potential of The Tin Forest. The book could be used as a trigger for some fantastic artwork, exploring contrasts in tone and texture, exploring mixed media or responding emotionally to the story. Maybe your class will be inspired to create a forest of their own!

In the middle of a windswept wasteland full of discarded scrap metal lives a sad and lonely old man. In spite of his gloomy surroundings, he dreams every night of a lively forest full of trees, birds, and animals. When he finds a broken light fixture that looks like a flower, his imagination is sparked. He begins to build a tin forest, branch by branch, creature by creature. In time, real birds arrive, bearing seeds, and soon the artificial forest is taken over by living vines and animals until it looks just like the forest of the old man's dreams.

Hosted by actor LeVar Burton, Reading Rainbow ran on PBS from 1983-2006. The episode on which The Tin Forest was read ran in 2002. The subject is the aftermath of 9/11, specifically, what happened to the students who attended PS 234 in Manhattan. The theme of the episode, like the theme of the book, is hope. Di tengah-tengah rasa sepi dan kerinduannya, Sang Kakek tidak mau menyerah. Pikiran dan tangannya yang kreatif menciptakan hutan dari besi. Ia percaya pada perubahan. Didukung oleh ilustrasi semi hitam putih yang keren, buku ini tak hanya cocok dibaca anak-anak, tetapi juga orang dewasa. We have asked a range of questions from retrieval to inference and encourage your class to reflect on more implicit information. The Tin Forest was once a Reading Rainbow book. (Can you hear the theme song in your head? If not, listen now! Don’t you feel happier?)

Question 10 talks about his wish. It could be two answers and hopefully children will recognise that. The story is quite simple, but the lessons contained within are quite valuable. It's important to see the potential beauty in all things and also that it is possible to make your dreams come true, if at first the solution is not quite what you expect. Your class must complete the passage by adding in adjective using their knowledge or the word bank. They will then think of descriptions of the old man at the beginning of the story using explicit information like appearance etc. or deeper information linked to his thoughts, feelings and what type of a person he is, always looking for concise explanations too. The Tin Forest reads like a fable, telling the story of an old man living in a desolate jungle of cast away rubbish, trying to make good of unwanted, forgotten objects. With no nature around him, the man dreams of a colourful forest alive with life, something that seemingly could not be further from the metal wasteland where he spends his days. That is, until an idea sparks, and a new type of forest begins to form. There was once a wide, windswept place, near nowhere and close to forgotten that was filled with all the things that no one wanted.The Tin Forest was published in 2001, making it a natural choice for a Reading Rainbow episode about 9/11. The larger theme of the episode was picture books for dark days: “If you’re ever going through a rough time, the students at PS 234 would like to help you out by suggesting some books that will make you feel better,” Burton says, then adds, as he does in every episode, “But you don’t have to take my word for it.” Setiap hari ia bekerja memilah besi-besi tersebut sambil merindukan kehadiran hewan-hewan hutan yang pernah menemaninya. Burung rangkong, kucing, harimau... Your Year 2 / Year 3 class will focus on adding in the capital letters, full stops, commas and apostrophe to the sentences or passage. I also love the story’s real forest, illustrated first in a book the old man reads, then in his dream, then in isolated patches, then in full color. The primary color is yellow, and it stands in stark contrast to the metallic gray of the tin forest. For me, the art of this book works better than the text. I think I would prefer it as a wordless picture book. Your class will complete the first sheet and make observations using the images. They will then look at the sheets we have created that describes the settings and asks questions for discussion purposes.