Girls Like

Girls Like (Midnight Sun Publishing) Katrina Germein & Deb Hudson PB RRP $29.99 ISBN 9781922858726

Reviewed by Karen Hendriks

Katrina Germein is a best-selling author, published and translated internationally. Her popular titles include Bev and Kev, Fabulous Frogs and One Little Duck. Her work has been Highly Commended in the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards and won a CBCA Honour. She is a past winner of the Speech Pathology Book of the Year Award and the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award.

Deb Hudson has a passion for drawing bright, happy illustrations that evoke emotion and thought in the reader. Her whimsical work takes you to fantastic places and worlds. She has illustrated ten books, with more coming.

Girls Like is a book that encourages girls to pursue their passions, have confidence in themselves and others, and achieve their dreams.

Katrina Germein uses simple, rhythmic phrases to explore a wide variety of activities girls do. Her book is a celebration of being a girl rather than a narrative style text. The language reads aloud well because of its brevity and carefully chosen words. Girls like…Long hair, Short hair, Bow Hair, Sport Hair. There are no joining words used or long sentences.  

Germein truly celebrates the joy of being a girl and shows girls that they can like and do very different things. She often uses a second- and fourth-line rhyming pattern for readability. Beach swims, Pool swims, Dry Swims, Cool Swims. I did have to think twice about what a dry swim was. The message is strong: each girl is unique and perfect just the way she is. Germein has created an empowering book for girls that’s designed to help girls feel good about themselves.

Deb Hudson’s illustrations are not only bright, happy and colourful but also showcase diversity. The stunning cover not only catches the eye but frames the story content well. Different girls are doing different things immediately, so the story lets girls know what the book is about. The endpapers are in pastel colours, arranged in a triangular grid, featuring shapes and images of girls who are active and unique. The title page invites the reader to turn the page and dive in.

Once inside the book, Hudson’s illustrations are full of movement, activity and character. The characters dancing, riding, scooting, playing, and celebrating are lively, endearing and engaging. Their roundness and softness make them appealing. I love her use of whitespace and lots of vignettes to show many moments at once. This allows for variety and individuality, with many different girls doing different things. This works well for this type of book.

Girls Like is a celebration of all the ways to be a girl and is suited for children 3-7 years. It’s a great bedtime or classroom read. I can see parents of girls wanting to share this book with their daughters to celebrate their individuality. The book's simplicity and celebration of self-expression are both empowering and enjoyable for a girl. This book would also make a great gift for baby girls. I do hope a book like this is also made for boys.

Once Upon an A to Z

Once Upon an A to Z by Amy Dunjey, illustrated by Deb Hudson (Affirm Press) HB RRP $22.99 ISBN: 9781923022089

Reviewed by Dannielle Viera 

When a trio of children open an old book, they discover that ‘alphabet magic is hidden inside’. They go on an adventure into the spellbinding sphere of stories, where they ‘dance with dragons’, ‘fly with fairies’ and ‘kiss a kraken’. Along the way, they encounter a ‘purple potion’, ‘jinxes, jewels’ and a ‘queenly quest’. In the end, they return to the library and fall into a deep sleep, dreaming of their ‘happy ever after’.

Amy Dunjey’s exuberant take on the ABCs will enchant two- to seven-year-olds who are starting to learn their letters. Rhyming couplets roll through a wealth of wondrous worlds – from crystal castles to salty seas – bringing both language and literature to life. This is the ideal text to instill a love of books from a young age.

Deb Hudson’s vibrant illustrations dazzle the eyes and delight the heart. Smiles sprinkled across sweet faces ensure that even the scariest of creatures – ogres, trolls and vampires – are fun and friendly. Youngsters will adore scanning each spread for the cute black cat that accompanies the characters on their joyful journey.

Bewitching and brilliant, Once Upon an A to Z is brimming with fantastical fairytale realms that inspire imaginative thinking. As kids explore the pages, they’ll soon become well versed in the vital building blocks of reading and writing.

The Brightest Christmas Star

The Brightest Christmas Star by Laura Motherway and Deb Hudson (Lothian Children’s Books) HB RRP $19.99 ISBN9780734423085

A little star reflects on the different ways families celebrate being together in this bedtime story that captures the magic of Christmas. As the sun goes down on Christmas Eve, a little star rises, and watches over the celebrations below.

One family hangs a wreath on their door, another plays on the beach, another gives a present to someone who needs it more. The little star shines brighter as they share in the joy and magic of this special night.

 

This text is a heartwarming, contemporary lullaby for little ones to listen to as they snuggle up at bedtime, The Brightest Christmas Star gently acknowledges that Christmas means different things to different people, but at the heart of it all is love.

 

This is a perfect gift for baby's first Christmas, or for families seeking a book that reflects the Australian Christmas experience in an inclusive way that doesn't focus on Santa Claus or traditional family structures.

Zola and the Christmas Lights

Zola and the Christmas Lights written by Melina Marchetta, illustrated by Deb Hudson (Puffin Books by Penguin Random House) PB RRP $19.99 ISBN 978014377749

Reviewed by Sarah Tegerdine

Zola and the Christmas Lights is a reflective and heartfelt exploration of family, diversity, community, light, hope and love.

It is nearing Christmas and Zola’s class is about to break for the summer school holidays. Just before the bell goes, Ms Divis, Zola’s favourite teacher, encourages the class to reflect on their learnings about the various traditions and celebrations held by different cultures. Reminding them that ‘not all’ celebrate Christmas but poses the question ‘What do they all have in common?’ Zola is left pondering the answer.

Walking home with her Nonna Rosa and younger cousin Alessandro, she enquires if they will be putting up Christmas lights. But Zola’s Nonna withdraws from the conversation, Christmas hasn’t been the same since they lost Nonno. But Zola remembers…

Then, a few short days before Christmas, Zola is in the kitchen helping her Mummy and Nonna prepare meals for the people in their local community who have fallen on hard times. She is sent to the cellar to fetch some bottled sauce. She collects the sauce but becomes distracted and forgets to close the door behind her. Time passes while they have been out and return home to discover that their two dogs (Monty and Gigi) have been into the cellar, to which chaos has ensued.

But from the chaos something unexpected appears that leaves Zola and her family filled with wonder and memories.

Melina Marchetta has woven the perfect story this festive season, Zola and the Christmas Lights is a true celebration of togetherness. The illustrations by Deb Hudson simply dazzle and delight with every turn of the page.

 

 

 

 

 

Milly and the Mulberry Tree

Milly and the Mulberry Tree by Vicki Conley and Deb Hudson (EK) HB RRP $24.99 ISBN 9781922539120

Reviewed by Kathleen Grace

Here is a picture book for children aged 4 to 8 years about growing up, family, and home. It explores our ties with nature and places in a way that will resonate with young readers who like playing outdoors or have their own special hideaway. It also holds an inspirational message about the importance of exploring new worlds as we grow, while keeping home close to her hears.

One day Milly helps her Papa plant a tree. He tells her it’s a mulberry tree, and she, cutely, calls it a ‘bulberry twee.’ As Milly grows, so does the tree. Eventually the tree is large enough to support silkworms which become Milly’s first pets: she calls them Silky, Milky and Wilky. When they weave themselves inside their silky cocoons, Milly waits until they hatch into moths. “‘I’ll remember you forever,’ said Milly.” On her 5^th birthday, she discovers mulberries are magical. “And magically, they transformed into pixies, lanterns, and feather boas.”

As Milly grows, she discovers the delicate fabric that her silkworms created. She sketches gowns from the mulberry shapes in her memory and eats white mulberries under red lanterns. She even drinks mulberry leaf tea. When she is married, she dresses in silk and celebrates her wedding under the mulberry tree.

This book for readers aged 4 to 8 years, is full of colourful, whimsical illustrations, and fly pages, with scenes of a mulberry tree with mulberries, silk cocoons, silkworms, and moths, that are colourfully and eye-catchingly vivid.

Pear of Hope

Pear of Hope by Wenda Shurety, illustrated by Deb Hudson (EK Books) HB RRP $24.99 ISBN: 9781925820867 

Reviewed by Dannielle Viera

Anna adores the old pear tree at the bottom of her garden. It is her ‘secret hideout’, a ‘giver of rough and crinkled hugs’. When Anna becomes seriously ill with cancer, something is missing from the garden, and the leafless tree is left standing alone in the cold. Spring brings hope, as bareheaded Anna returns to the garden. She plants a pear seed, and the cycle of life continues.

Wenda Shurety blends simple yet startlingly beautiful language with a sanguine storyline in this breathtaking ode to hope. The pear tree sits at the centre of the tale as the comforting symbol of enduring life, yet it is also a vital character that offers warmth and wisdom to both the protagonist and the child reader. Anna’s cancer is not explicitly mentioned, with Wenda focusing instead on nature’s ability to invigorate.

Lush and lively, Deb Hudson’s illustrations are dripping with juicy colour. Even the endpapers are visually delicious! Bluebirds and butterflies add dynamic energy to the light and happy pages, but are conspicuous in their absence from the dark and sombre spreads. Deb’s characterisation of Anna – especially her hair loss – is handled with great care.

Pear of Hope is a gentle yet uplifting way to introduce the subject of childhood cancer to kids aged six to eight. More broadly, it is also a powerful promise to anyone on a difficult journey that where there is life, there is hope.