Maria Speyer, A Feather on a Wing, University of Queensland Press, May 2022, 40 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780702263255
Now a resident of Sydney, this is Danish author and artist Maria Speyer’s first book in English. A little girl, unable to sleep because she is scared of the dark, is comforted by her sister who encourages her to close her eyes and imagine that she is a part of the natural world: a feather on a wing, a raindrop in a shower, a branch in a treetop, and a wave in the sea. She reminds her that in the morning they will have lots of stories to share.
With a background of soft blue grey, the pastel-coloured illustrations are full of action with small children participating in all that the sister has suggested. The gentle tale does lend itself to a night-time story and the book also includes the music notation so that the story can be sung as a lullaby.
Ages 2-6.
Reviewed by Elizabeth Douglas
