The Last Chip by Duncan Beedie

The Last Chip, written and illustrated by Duncan Beedie and published by Templar Publishing is a beautiful tale about a little pigeon who conveys a big message.

 

Percy is a small pigeon who is always hungry but life is tough on the streets when it comes to food, there always seems to be bigger, stronger birds who beat him to the crumbs. Percy thinks of lots of different places where he might be able to get something to eat only to find the same problem, the other birds keep the food for themselves and Percy is too small to fight for it.

Downhearted and hungry, Percy heads back to the city streets where he happens upon a stranger, a stranger who has very little just like him, a stranger who is kind and offers him her last chip.

A gentle colour palette combined with plenty of action make for striking illustrations and cleverly mix with the text to create an engaging read.

The story is set in Bristol, Duncan Beedie’s hometown, with beautiful double page spreads of buildings and landmarks that will be recognisable to those familiar with the area.

We love the subtly in which Duncan manages to weave important environmental and humanitarian issues into his picture books with gentle humour and in doing so, instilling an awareness of social responsibility in children from an early age. More examples of this can be found in two of Duncan Beedie’s other picture books, The Bear who Stared and The Lumberjack’s Beard.

A wonderful tale of charity and the kindness of strangers with a serious message that highlights the real suffering faced by some. Lighthearted enough to share with little ones but deep enough to effect us all.

10% of profits from the sales of this book will go to The Trussell Trust, an organisation that runs food banks across the UK and works to stop poverty and hunger.

Many thanks to Templar Publishing for sending a copy of this book for review. 

Find out more about Duncan Beedie’s work on his website here.

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