Teacup

A young boy leaves his homeland and sets off in a rowboat, taking along only a book, a bottle, a blanket, and a teacup filled with dirt from home. Complex themes about place and identity and the symbolic life journey are broached through compelling pictures that convey an emotional narrative. Yet, the story’s simple language allows primary and lower-intermediate students to wonder, make inferences and connections. The boy’s adventure is full of light, darkness, and strange encounters, eventually ending his journey by finding a friend. In the classroom, “Teacup” could be used to explore literary elements such as allegory and metaphor. Its artistic techniques may inspire lessons about shape, colour, mood, and texture, and some of the protagonist’s experiences can lead to explorations of weather processes, plant cycles, and scientific observations.