Colour for Curlews

Colour for Curlews written and illustrated by Renée Treml (Random House Australia Children’s)
HB RRP $19.95
ISBN 9781742759210
Reviewed by Marian McGuinness

Having reviewed Renée Treml’s first picture book One Very Tired Wombat (shortlisted for the CBCA’s 2013 Crichton Award), I was looking forward to seeing her interpretation of the rather plainly feathered, Aussie curlew.

Two cheeky curlews wander into an artist’s studio, and like two little kids, find delight in squeezing paint tubes and dabbing themselves ‘with golden eyes that glimmer in the sun.’

Other birds come to play as well. Bowerbird naturally seizes the tube of blue, Brolga selects red for ‘some colour near her face’, three quails slide across the yellow and red blobs and create orange. Lorikeet stirs blue into yellow and wallows around in a green puddle.

Treml uses a plethora of Australian birds to mix and match the artist’s primary coloured palette until there is a rainbow as, ‘splashes fly and birds all laugh as colours go here and there!’

Not only will pre-schoolers and young readers love the colour fun, they’ll delight in seeing One Very Tired Wombat waddle across the page, lie down in the pool of paint, roll around, stretch and scratch until all the colours mix into brown as ‘wombat closes both his eyes to sleep the day away.’

This multi-coloured picture book combines Treml’s love of mixing colours with her passion for native birds, so it’s a double-whammy for readers. Her artwork is crisp, yet subtly detailed and her splashes of colour bring joy to every page.

Starting with her alliterative title, Treml combines rhyme, vivid verbs and changing font to engage her audience. Her endpapers provide extra information about the quirkiness of our native birds for potential bird watchers, big and small.

Esther’s Rainbow

Esther’s Rainbow written by Kim Kane and illustrated by Sara Acton (Allen and Unwin)
PB RRP $24.99
ISBN 978-1-74331-370-1
Reviewed by Ann Harth (www.annharth.com )

Esther’s Rainbow starts and ends with a rainbow and colours fill every page. Esther spies a rainbow while eating lunch on Sunday. It’s soft, warm and smells like honey.

On Monday Esther looks for her rainbow but instead, sees all things violet, like Daddy’s shirt and Granny’s chocolate creams. On Tuesday she sees indigo in a forgotten feather and the midnight sky but Esther still can’t find her rainbow. The days of the week go by and Esther sees a different colour each day. When she wakes on a Monday to a soft, sweet rain shower, her rainbow returns.

Kim Kane and Sara Acton have introduced colours and the days of the week within the page turning quality of their book, but the unique imagery and memorable language are what attracted me. Children will be able to relate to the violet in hard, shiny nail polish, the blue in the echo of a swimming pool and yellow on baby’s I-like-butter chin. The words flow beautifully and the simple but effective illustrations allow you to fall in love with Esther immediately.

Esther’s Rainbow is suitable for children aged 3-6 but children younger and older will enjoy it as well. It recreates a familiar but colourful week in the life of a child but enhances it with a unique touch. Most children will identify with Esther’s experiences.

Kim Kane was born in London but now resides with her family in Melbourne. 2011 was a big year for her as two of her picture books, Family Forest and Vegetable Ark were recognised by the Children’s Book Council of Australia. Family Forest was shortlisted for the CBCA award and Vegetable Ark was a CBCA notable book in two separate categories. But those aren’t her only awards. Her first book, Pip: the Story of Olive, received the Barbara Ramsden Award in 2008.

Sara Acton was also born in England and lived in New Zealand before moving to Australia. She now lives near the ocean in New South Wales. She is an award winner in her own right and her work in Esther’s Rainbow illustrates the reason for this. Her book, Ben and Duck, was the winner of the CBCA Crichton Award for new illustrators.

Ann Harth is a published children's author and writing tutor at Australian College of Journalism. She loves to read and is committed to creating children's literature that inspires, entertains and triggers a tiny twist in the mind. Her latest middle-grade novel, The Art of Magic, will be released in 2012.