The New Jumper (The Hueys)

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What message is being sent to kids in this story? Am I being overly critical and cynical when I say that I think it's telling kids that no one is truly unique and it's pointless to try to be different/yourself? Or perhaps I should lighten up and simply encourage kids to be like Rupert and think outside the box; don't be like society and copy every passing fad. Een tweede boek van de Hugo’s trekt direct de aandacht door de eenvoud in kleur of juist het opvallende van het oranje op een witte ondergrond.

Ze doen alles hetzelfde. Ze denken hetzelfde. Alles, totdat er toch eentje denkt: ik wil iets nieuws!

Engage children with digital learning

All of the Hueys looked alike. They also all acted and dressed alike. Until, that is, the day that Rupert knitted a bright new orange sweater and made himself stand out. Some of the other Hueys weren't sure that they approved - didn't Rupert know that they were all supposed to be the same?!? - but his friend Gillespie decided he too wanted a sweater. So began a trend, with all the Hueys jumping on the bandwagon. Soon Rupert had to find a new way to stand out...

I first read this book a few weeks ago (March 23ish). I had to reread it before writing my review to see if it was as strange as my memory was telling me it was. Eén Hugootje, Rupert, breit een nieuwe trui in een opvallende kleur. Hoe zouden de anderen hierop reageren? So I spotted this book at the library (one of them), and I just had to read it. I am a big fan of Oliver Jeffers's work and so I just couldn't resist this one. And boy, it was just too fun to read. The Hueys are a group of pod-like people who look the same, think the same and do the same things. The characters are inspired by Oliver's grandfather who could never remember the names of his numerous grandchildren and so called them all Huey, regardless of gender. ​On the one hand, I really liked Rupert and his desire to be a nonconformist, think for himself, and do something unique from his peers. On the other hand, I really didn't like that the rest of the Hueys copied him exactly so they all could "be different." Say hello to the Hueys, a bunch of creatures who look the same, do everything the same, and well, I think you get the gist. :P

I think I'd have liked this book better if Rupert or another of the Hueys had realized that by all of them changing in exactly the same ways, they ended up being exactly the same again. Why are the other Hueys horrified when Rupert does something different? How do people sometimes feel about new / different things? Why is this? In this story Rupert wants to look different. Can you design a different Huey. Here are two to give you some ideas. Look at the picture of the speaker in the illustrations. Can you try to draw sketches of 3D shapes? The ending was a fun surprise and I was just shaking my head and saying something along the lines of: "Oh Rupert, no just no." :PLook at the shadows in the illustrations. How are shadows made? Go outside and see if you can make some shadow shapes. The Hueys are all the same. Imagine what life would be like if everyone was exactly the same. How would this make you feel?

Draw a map showing the world in which the Hueys live. What might their houses / streets / towns look like?I am trying to figure out what I think about this one. Here's sort of the thought process I went through reading it.... And thus the chaos starts as our other Hueys are not amused by their friend's unique ways, but then something happens... and well you will just have to read this book and see for yourself. I am a bit on the fence on if I like it or not. On the one hand it was funny, because here we have the typical Huey behaviour popping up again, but on the other hand I wished that they just could do something else for once. They just seemed like sheep with what they did here. And it did feel like a nudge to how this kind of thing works in real life. Think of different words that can be used to describe Rupert’s new jumper. Can you describe the colours / patterns / texture? Er zijn meerdere prentenboeken met eenzelfde thema waarvan één ook de kleur oranje als hoofdkleur heeft, maar deze Hugo is door het minimalistisch gebruik van kleur en teken, de fijne vertaling, de duidelijke (voorlees)letter, tot aan de schutbladen toe, een absolute aanrader in het onderwerp geloven in jezelf met durf en zelfvertrouwen. Try anwering Mrs Plummer's inference questions in the To Print section. A grown up could ask the questions - you do not have to print them.