Lucinda Gifford, Arthur and the Curiosity, The Five Mile Press, Feb 2016, 32pp., $19.95 (hbk), ISBN 9781760068387
In the vein of the David McKee classic, Not Now Bernard, this new picture book from award winning Lucinda Gifford accentuates a child’s mixture of consternation and delight when adults ignore the obvious.
Arthur and his classmates are on an educational trip but their teacher is more concerned with “moving on through” the galleries than experiencing what can be discovered there. Everybody wants an imaginary friend but Arthur’s green roguish ‘Curiosity’ seems very real. Readers are left to make up their own minds about that. A lovely twist in the illustration of the last page puts tantalising doubt into the reader’s mind and could lead to some great potential classroom discussions about keeping eyes open and alert, prior to your own school visit.
Clean and bright colours and intricately spaced compositions within a landscape format moves the readers eye through each page and through the museum at a pleasing pace.
The brilliant thing about this book is that it truly makes you want to head down to your local museum and check out the specimens and interactive displays.
Reviewed by Liz Anelli