The way I see it, the book is a gentle introduction to introspection – when kids read it and begin to think about how they would programme their own robot, they tiptoe towards a kind of reflection on selfhood that doesn’t come instinctively to them.

To get what I mean, think about one of your classes: you will have a couple of children in there who can capture the attention of everyone in their class when they are telling even a quite objectively boring and uneventful anecdote, and you will have some children who, even if something truly remarkable has happened to them, haven’t got the capacity to tell it well. I could have shared the weird feeling it gives me when I wear gloves for too long, which makes me feel like I am being suffocated. Some kids might point out birthmarks or scars, some of them might talk about trapping their fingers, or about a special piece of jewellery they are wearing, or why they are wearing mehndi at the moment.Philosophy for children this certainly is: I lost count of how many times it opens up space for reflection and discussion. What is shared may or may to be quite personal, but crucially, that decision is made by the children. In telling these stories, what you are needing to do yourself, and what you are encouraging in the kids, is the ability to spin a good yarn – to speak humorously or with pathos, to be able to pre-empt the reactions it might get and to withhold certain information until the very end, to be able to identify the key parts of the ‘plot’ and to tell it appropriately.

Soon, Kevin realizes that he is the embodiment of all his younger selves and although he was made by two parents, he created his own history and developed his particular characteristics.I leave traces of me”, Kevin admits, thinking of how his parents identify his mess or how his peers recognize his belongings. Storytelling can go beyond narrating the written word, and I think there is merit in pupils ability to speak narratively about their own experiences.

After we have shared ideas as a class – I don’t force any individual kid to share unless they are wiling to at this point – we can then get onto producing our own page. Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc. Kevin, a little boy fed up with doing things he doesn’t want to do, like homework and daily chores, decides to spend all his pocket money on a robot that he intends to turn into a clone of himself. Either way, this is a really fun focal point for classrooms and one that works best if children are given enlarged or close-up access to the illustrations.However, before he can bring his cloned self to life, he must embark on a quest to uncover the essence of his individuality. is one of those so well written and profound picture books that dare to explore big, philosophical concepts in such a hilarious and inventive way, that by the time you finish reading it, notions like existentialism, individuality, selfhood or life experience are already familiar. Follows a child's hilarious, wildly inventive train of thought as he decides to make a clone of himself and starts to ponder what makes him HIM. follows a child’s hilarious, wildly inventive train of thought as he decides to make a clone of himself – and starts to ponder what makes him HIM.

This is a wonderful picturebook about the nature of individuality, perfect fo r building a classroom or school culture where the uniqueness of each person is celebrated. I am interrogating the role of anecdotes in the classroom at the minute – I guess this is my little teaching preoccupation – and this book has a great scope for it.

A vital closing part to this session should be the opportunity for children to share their work with each other in the class, perhaps randomising it in some way so that they are not necessarily just sharing with their best friends.