ABSTRACT
The teacher was nearing the end of the story. As she revealed the final page of The Tunnel, Sam’s (10) face was transformed by a smile so immediate and engaging that I neglected to observe the reactions of other pupils. What was it that Sam had seen? What had spoken to him so directly to cause this involuntary expression of empathy and understanding? Tantalising questions, as Sam had arrived in this English classroom from Tanzania only three months ago. It was easy to assume an incongruity between Sam’s experience of growing up in a different tradition and the Englishness of Browne’s book, but something had transcended language, place and culture to enable Sam to find himself within and be touched at the deepest level.
