Helen Ward Books

Varmints is an intriguing and mysterious picture book, with an environmental theme, and images that play with concepts of light and dark. This is not a story to enjoy in the traditional storytime sense, but an intriguing picturebook to offer reward to those willing to ponder over, consider and reflect upon the multi-layered offerings on each page. The ideal age of the audience for this book is Upper Key Stage 2 children.

A once peaceful place becomes darker when varmints turn up. They destroy the bees and plants and bring with them grey buildings and too much noise to think. Peace and tranquillity become lost – as does thinking – and the environment gets darker and more ominous with each page turn. Some of the images are stark and haunting – almost cinematic at times. In one tiny moment, a creature restores hope by nurturing a pocket of wildlife and a little bit of wilderness grows once again.