HEADLEY, Gail (text) Jacqui Conias (illus.) Mummy, Who am I? Watson Ferguson & Co, 2014 unpaged $16.95 ISBN 9781925046274 This picture book about identity for young readers explores a mother’s unconditional love for their child. A child questions the pet names given to them by their mother, wondering about their current and future identity – only to be reassured that ‘you are my child and I love you very much’. Even given this sweet refrain, this is quite a difficult title to enjoy. Heavy dialogue, lack of action and awkward grammar and punctuation disguise what is a lovely, simple message. …
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HARDY, David Alfie’s Big Wish Magabala, 2014 unpaged $17.95 pbk ISBN 9781922142535 SCIS 1688086 When Alfie’s best mate moves away he discovers that games are no fun without friends. He makes a wish on a falling star and the next morning his wish comes true. Myrna, a girl Alfie’s own age, appears and they quickly become firm friends. Simply told and written in rhyme, young children will relate to the universal themes of friendship and hope. The accomplished illustrations reflect the author’s considerable experience as a Disney animator. Hardy captures movement and emotion very well. It is in reading the…
GUETTIER, Bénédicte I am the Wolf… and Here I Come! Gecko Press, 2014 NZ$19.99 bdbk ISBN 9781877579424 SCIS 1675226 I can just see this little pre-school child with his/her eyes wide open after the parent introduces the big, bad wolf and, as each page is turned over, the parent’s voice rises with drama and excitement whilst sharing the story of the wolf putting on its underpants, T-shirt, socks, trousers, red top, boots, hat and great big coat (with each sentence and double page spread repeating the same format) until finally the parent exclaims ‘I’m coming to get you,’ and the…
GLEESON, Libby (text) Freya Blackwood (illus.) Go to Sleep, Jessie! Little Hare, 2014 unpaged $24.95 ISBN 9781742977805 SCIS 1684085 The relationship between a child and her younger sibling is a popular theme amongst picture books because it resonates with so many, and one that dynamic duo, Libby Gleeson and Freya Blackwood, so beautifully portray here. The child narrating the story is in despair for having to share her bedroom with her screaming baby sister, Jessie. Especially at bedtime. Not a cuddle with T-bear, a nappy change and gentle song by Mum, or Dad’s soothing music and car ride around the…
GALLAGHER, Heather (text) Liz McGrath (illus.) Happy Pants: why is Mummy so sad? Wombat, 2014 unpaged $22.99 ISBN 9781921632938 SCIS 1660693 This picture book is about one family’s experience with post natal depression, and is a narrative presumably to be used in explaining to young children why their mother may be behaving in a certain way. It is built around the theme that the young protagonist’s mother no longer wears the happy colourful pants she wore during her pregnancy. There are references to ‘being blue’, sleeping all day and crying: the little boy asks perceptive questions such as how a…
DUFFY, Jacque The Bear Said Please Wombat, 2014 unpaged $18.99 ISBN 9781921632945 SCIS 1656612 Waking up with a growling tummy, the bear decides he needs some…honey of course. He searches high and low and all around, to no avail. What does he need? He needs to find a hive! Off he goes in his red car, to the forest where he quickly locates a hive of bees and proceeds to help himself to their honey. The feisty bees, however, will have none of these bad manners and he is soon persuaded, roughly, that it is better to ask nicely, then…
DUBOSARSKY, Ursula (text) Andrew Joyner (illus.) Tim and Ed Viking, 2014 unpaged $24.99 ISBN 9780670074631 SCIS 1676342 The attention to detail in the illustrations matches beautifully with the carefully chosen language for this story. Tim and Ed are twin koalas and their beaming faces on the front cover are a clue to the joyous adventures within. The front and back end papers are delightful and form part of the whole story. The young koalas wear t-shirts with either the capital letter for their name (or lower case) and throughout the illustrations there are two sets of toys in yellow and…
HILL, Aaron (illus.) Gary CREW (text) Corn Field Windy Hollow, 2014 unpaged $25.99 ISBN 9781922081377 SCIS 1678672 The narrator and his best mate agree that the corn field is a ‘bad place’, a feeling confirmed by the story of the Pinchley kid who went ‘nuts’ after going there. Despite this they set off across the field with a mixture of bravado and trepidation . Oppressive heat, the whispering of the corn, a plague of locusts and the unexpected appearance of a headless scarecrow made with a scythe, frighten the boys and they run terrified from the field. A sense of…
Harrold, Sandi (illus.) Uncle Joe Kirk with Greer Casey and Sandi Harrold (text) Budinge and the Min Min Lights ISBN 9781743628577 SCIS 1694594; Duelgum: the story of the mother eel ISBN 9781743623114 SCIS 1692125 Scholastic, 2015 unpaged $15.99 pbk Both these books are beautifully put together with high quality art work, each drawing on stories of Aboriginal culture in the Brisbane area. The Min Min story comes from the dreaming and explains one of the methods that Aboriginal adults used to keep their children safe. The second book is a delightful and interesting tale about the life cycle of the…
After making its way around Victoria, the Itty Bitty Book Van is heading to the big smoke, calling Madame Brussels Lane home for one day only. The concept is the brainchild of Geelong mum Kerri Bennett who said she wanted to find a way for her children to refresh their personal book collections without breaking the bank. “Organised book swapping is both an economically and environmentally friendly way to keep young children interested in reading,” Kerri said. “It’s really lovely to see children pass on a favourite story in the hope someone else will love it, and for them to…