Picture Book Reviews
by Joy in Books at Paperbark Words blog
Books published by ABC Books, HarperCollins Australia & Working Title Press
2023 has produced a really great stash of picture books from ABC Books, Working Title Press and HarperCollins, as well as the reissue of some of the latter’s contemporary classics.
The following books should be bought, borrowed and read all year round but also make great Christmas gifts.
*****
Two Sides to Every Story by Beck and Robin Feiner (ABC Books)
This is a clever, clever book for children aged four and older.
Oscar is a “mental gymnast”. He approaches life’s simple and more serious questions from different directions and viewpoints to get the best answer, outcome or decision at the time.
Will he choose the healthier or tastier way of cooking eggs for his breakfast? Is it better to be a carnivore or vegetarian? Dogs or cats? History or science? City or country …
Refreshingly told as a narrative that culminates in Oscar’s speech competition rather than as a selection of disparate scenarios, we are privy to Oscar’s thought processes and can see why he chooses what he does.
Beck Feiner’s illustrations are in bright, bold, block colours, similar to those she uses in her other books such as Big Love (written by Megan Jacobson).
As well as being an original idea, Two Sides to Every Story helps children learn how to think – in an entertaining way and with plenty of humour.
In My Garden by Kate Mayes and Tamsin Ainslie (ABC Books)
Beautifully composed words and detailed pencil, watercolour and gouache illustrations take children aged three and older around the world visiting different children in their gardens. Like Two Sides to Every Story, In My Garden is a stunning concept.
Aiko’s garden in Japan sets the tone for a sensory, immersive experience. It features blossoms, koi fish, a maple in a pot and a nightingale.
Francisco’s expansive garden in the American desert is a deliberate contrast. We then meet Tenson in Malawi, Freyja in Iceland, Ari in New Zealand, Sami in Syria and others before Olivia follows a bush track to her Australian billabong garden of brolgas, frogs and crocodiles.
This book shares and teaches in a calm, peaceful way (without being passive). Each child is either building something, hoping for the unexpected, feeling nurtured or dreaming big things, which also leads readers to imagine more of their story.
My Little Barlaagany (Sunshine) by Melissa Greenwood (ABC Books)
My Little Barlaagany is one of two books featured here by Melissa Greenwood, a Gumbaynggirr custodian from the mid-north coast of New South Wales. It is designed as a bedtime story for the very young.
Like In My Garden, My Little Barlaagany mentions that quintessential but often overlooked Australian space, a bush track. In this tale, the child is encouraged to think about the day past, wind down for the night and wonder about the day to come. They may meet creatures to play with on the bush track before reaching new “waterholes to discover, animals to greet. Special times with family and bush food to eat.”
The second of Melissa Greenwod’s books is Giinagay Gaagal (Hello Ocean) (ABC Books). Naturally, this book emphasises the ocean, a special place to swim, fish, eat, dance and play. The family watch out for sharks and see whales, their “totems … that make us feel safe”. This book is rich in language, lifestyle and culture.
Both books incorporate Gumbaynggirr Language and the illustrations are created with acrylics on canvas.
The Lucky Shack by Apsara Baldovino & Jennifer Falkner (Working Title Press)
In an interesting authorial choice, this story is told by the lucky shack (situated beside the sea) itself. Using an inanimate object as the narrator works well in this tale.
The shack was first built and inhabited by a fisherman who tended it but disappeared without explanation – perhaps during the fierce storm that is sensorily pictured. Unloved, the shack deteriorates and oscillates between giving up and hoping for new life. This arrives in Spring with the arrival of another boat and a woman who gradually repairs the shack and then “brings the best thing of all …”
Seasons and cycles are sensitively expressed and illustrated using watercolour and Adobe Photoshop. An unexpected highlight is the double-page spread that explores the colours green and blue to epitomise the setting around the shack: a rainbow of green – “Grass green, moss green, meadow green and emerald green.” And we enjoy a “spectrum of blue. Sky blue, sea blue, deep blue and midnight blue.”
The Turtle and the Flood by Jackie French and Danny Snell (HarperCollins)
A different type of water appears in The Turtle and the Flood -flood water.
Despite the potential angst encountered in a book about a flood, the creators find exactly the right pitch and tone for young children, beginning with the book’s cover picture of the endearing, animated-looking turtle riding the floodwaters on a log while subtly interacting with a termite queen.
Once inside the book, I loved the illustration of a maze-like waterway on the title page, followed by the graphic panels interspersed with double-page spreads (and even a consummately designed vertical spread) that are used to illustrate the narrative, which tells of Myrtle the turtle’s unerring instinct to predict a flood and take herself to high land.
The other animals and creatures – red-bellied black snakes, wombats, echidnas, wallabies, kangaroos, termite queens and swallows – notice Myrtle’s actions and know that they need to move to safety too.
Based on true facts about the Common Long-necked Turtle or Eastern Snake-necked Turtle, The Turtle and the Flood is an excellent book for children aged three and older.
One Little Duck by Katrina Germein & Danny Snell (HarperCollins)
One Little Duck is the second book in this review survey that is illustrated by Danny Snell. Apparently, he gave author Katrina Germein the concept, so this is a true collaboration.
My review of this book first appeared in Magpies magazine and is reproduced here with permission.
One Little Duck is a clever, exuberant remake of the children’s song Five Little Ducks. The clear coloured line drawings show the action (and add appealing detail) in perfect synergy with the words. The story begins with Little Duck going for a walk by herself: One little duck went out one day, over the hills and far away. Mother Duck said … Moo Moo Moo Moo, and Cow said, ‘Wait! Now I’m coming too.’ Young children will enjoy the recurring joke where Mother Duck makes different farmyard noises instead of quacking and will wonder which creature comes home with Little Duck next. It is always a surprise, dependent on Mother Duck’s animal call.
On another level the story becomes a cumulative tale. Each day Little Duck makes a new friend and the group increases to embrace Sheepdog, Chicken, Lamb, Donkey, Piglet and, of course, Little Duck and Cow. Children will absorb a seamless message here about having diverse friends. They also vicariously experience different activities such as picking flowers, playing in the sand and camping, many of these in different weather conditions.
At the end of each day, Little Duck’s home becomes a cosy sanctuary where Mother Duck serves hot food cooked over the fire for everyone – until one evening when none of the seven friends arrive. However, once Mother Duck finally makes the right quacking noise, her child comes back. One Little Duck is a lovely parable about friends and parent-child love wrapped in a warm, witty package.
How to Hatch a Dragon #1 Bunny and Bird series by Nick Bland (HarperCollins)
You know a book will ooze child-appeal if Nick Bland is the creator. He is the mastermind behind ‘The Very Cranky Bear’ series, The Wrong Book, Walk of the Whales and he also illustrated Freya Blackwood’s The Runaway Hug. ‘Bunny and Bird’ is his new picture book series for children aged 3 and older.
The first in the series, How to Hatch a Dragon, has a brilliant broken eggshell-like gritty-feeling tactile cover that shows Bird and Bunny leaning against a rock with an eggshell inside a nest on top, reading a concertina instruction booklet.
Bunny has bought Bird a dragon egg. They don’t know how long it will take to hatch or whether it will be a yellow or blue dragon. Blue dragons are fantastic pets but, if you end up with a yellow dragon, you will need plenty of good luck. It will grow to be enormous and cause great devastation.
While the friends read the instructions, a big yellow dragon demonstrates all the terrible things it will do.
This book is full of humour and the kind of clever suspense and twist that children (and adults) relish.
The second book in the series is How To Be Invisible. I can’t wait!
******
Let’s finish with two Australian classics … and they’re both funny as well …
Edward the Emu by Sheena Knowles, illustrated by Rod Clement (HarperCollins)
Celebrating 35 years since first being published, Edward the Emu is a contemporary classic.
Right from the first cover glimpse we have of his flat-to-the-ground stance and long-suffering facial expression, Edward is hilarious. In fact, he is hilarious in every picture all the way through the book! No wonder he is one of our most loved Australian picture book characters.
“Edward the emu was sick of the zoo,
There was nowhere to go, there was nothing to do,
And compared to the seals that lived right next door,
Well being an emu was frankly a bore.”
(Edward the Emu)
Since Edward thinks seals are the best, he tries to be one and even manages to balance a ball on his nose. But when he overhears someone saying that lions are the best, he decides to be one. He snarls and growls in inimitable lion fashion.
But of course, someone in the crowd prefers a snake, and so Edward tries to be one until he gets a big shock …
Tone, voice, denouement … everything is perfect in this book.
Mulga Bill’s Bicycle by A.B. Paterson, illustrated by Kilmeny and Deborah Niland (HarperCollins)
This outstanding version of Banjo Paterson’s 1896 rollicking poem is now fifty years in print. What a well-deserved achievement!
Twin sisters Deborah and Kilmeny Niland (daughters of Ruth Park) capture the sheer exuberance and delight of this tall tale.
A classic indeed.
Thank you to HarperCollins, ABC Books and Working Title Press for keeping our classics in print and for publishing quality new books that brim with ideas and fun. There may even be some future classics in this lot too.
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