Flour Babies centres around Simon Martin, his peers in Form 4C and their experiences of a 'Child Development' project, where they each take on the responsibility of a small sack of flour for several weeks. The bag of flour comes equipped with a set of rules: "The flour babies must be kept clean and dry at all times. No flour baby may be left unattended at any time, night or day" and they are weighed weekly to check for leakages or weight gain through taking on water (both are signs of neglect). The students are to think of their flour baby as a real baby and it is designed to teach them about responsibility and parenthood. Unsurprisingly, they hate the project, but Simon, who regularly finds himself in trouble and doesn't gain very much from school generally, finds that he begins to enjoy the project and it helps him come to terms with his own absent father.I read this book as a child and enjoyed it - I remember hoping that our school would give us a similar experiment! Re-reading it now, I find that the language has dated and I wonder whether children would relate to it now. Written in 1992 (which unbelievably is 21 years ago!) the text is peppered with phrases that seem quaint today: "Oh go walk the plank... a major wally..."; "Wimpo!"; "Don't be a plague-spot!" "It's dead boring"; "I was ear-wigging...". It seems unbelievable that a boy like Simon (a teenager and an 'underachiever') would express himself in these terms. However it would start an interesting debate on slang and students reading it today could draw up translations, working out the modern-day equivalents.Flour Babies is largely set in a school environment and describes the relationships between teachers and pupils in a knowing and humorous way. Despite the fact that the text feels dated, the dynamics of teacher-student relationships are not so different to those in modern day schools. It is written from third person perspective and although it often centres on Simon's thoughts we also follow the form tutor, Mr Cartwright, and hear his thoughts too. The book is set in an all-boys school and no girl characters are present in any detail. However Simon's mother is an important character and Simon gradually appreciates her, and how her life was affected by being a single mother. There are some tender scenes, for example the description of Simon first appreciating that he is alive: "He pulled the flesh on the back of his hand up into a miniature tent, and then let go. The skin sprang back instantly, keeping him in shape. His shape. It struck Simon for the first time in his life that he was totally unique." Simon matures as the story develops, but throughout finds himself in trouble - in the last chapter he accrues six after-school detentions. It is this which makes the story more believable - Simon is a funny, lively boy who doesn't enjoy or appreciate the structure and routine of school, but the unconventional nature of the project has in fact taught him things.Anne Fine does not attempt to sugarcoat Simon's absent father - there is no tearful reunion or happy ending. Simon simply realises that his father did not stay and accepts it; he doesn't know his father and decides that "only the people who know you really count".The language in the book and the sentence structures are quite complex. In addition the narrative frequently jumps around in time, which could prove confusing for under-confident readers. However as a class text, I think this is a strong contender - it provides debate on parenthood, teenage parents, responsibility and friendship.
Simon Martin and his classmates are problematic. Labeled as emotionally deficit and intellectually challenged, this motley group of "Room 8's" are perceived as too stupid to participate in the difficult projects for the science fair.Instead, each are given the task of a parent-child experiment. For the duration of 21 days each student must tote around a six pound bag of flour and "parent" their ward. At the end of that time all flour bags will be weighed and checked for cleanliness.What ensues is a laughable, heartwarming tale of those, like Simon, who take the responsibility seriously, and those who give up, punting the sack of flour baby smack in the river.Winner of the British Carnegie Medal (the British equivalent to the US Newbery award), the author created a wonderful, insightful balance between humor and seriousness, depicting a range of emotions from the perspective of student, teacher and parent.There is a touching, poignant beauty of Simon grappling with his father's abandonment when he was six weeks old and his commitment to taking care of his flour baby in the manner he would have wanted his father to care for him.What I liked most about the book is that the author did not resort to cuteness, nor did she feel the need to wrap up the ending in a big red bow of cheer.While changed by the insights of the difficulty of parenting, Simon and his peers remained realistically problematic.This was listed in 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up.Highly recommended.
What do You think about Flour Babies (2001)?
I remember borrowing this from the library time and time again when I was younger - I loved this story. Anne Fine is a great childrens author. It teaches children how much responsibility is involved in looking after a child (or anything really).10/07/09 - Re-readI checked this out from the library to read again. I still found this a fun read from an adult perspective. It's not surprising that this book won awards. I think that it's a very informative book for a child to read and raises some very valid arguments showing how difficult it is to look after a baby - and this one doesn't eat, poop, cry or get ill! Maybe if more children read this book there'd be less teenage pregnancies?! Who am I kidding... still, I think that this should be required reading in schools. The writing is great and the story moves on at a good pace. This is a really great childrens book.
—Kirsty
Well, the annual school science fair is coming and Mr Cartridge's class doesn't get to work on one of those fun things like the Maggot Farm or the Exploding Custard Tins. To their intense disgust, they get the flour babies - all thanks to Simon, the next kid in class who made a noise. It's just a sweet lifeless six pounds bag of flour, but, as if torture, they need to take extra care of it. Simon hung on to it, just because he wanted to live the Big Explosion ( which he actually misunderstood because what he heard was Mr Cartridge talking dramatically ), but the longer he has the little flour baby, the more he thinks of his almost shall I say " ranaway " father.And Simon wants an answer.
—Lost booby
The school science fair has come round and the classes are given something to do. Mr Cartwright's class are given flour babies. These are just bags of flour and the boys have to look after them as if they where real babies. Simon has the only baby with a face on,and he only wants to do this because he thinks after it has finished they will be able to explode the flour. At the beginning Simon hates it when his mother is always telling him not to forget the flour baby. As time goes on Simon begins to look into his past and wonders why his father left him and his mother. The other boys also learn about themselves during this time with the flour babies.
—Winifred
