The Boy and the Elephant

The Boy and the Elephant by Freya Blackwood (HarperCollins) RRP HB $24.99

ISBN 9781460759998

Reviewed by Kylie Buckley

The Boy and the Elephant is a stunning wordless picture book from the multi-award-winning author/illustrator Freya Blackwood. The images tell a beautiful story of a little boy who lives in a bustling city, where everyone around him seems to be consumed by constant busyness. Fortunately, he finds a place of daily solace in the vacant lot next to his apartment where tall trees grow. Within this rare and quiet space in nature the boy finds peace and friendship. However, one day he discovers that the trees are earmarked for logging, and all could be lost.

The Boy and the Elephant includes exquisite artwork on every page, the high standard we have come to expect from Blackwood. The tactile cover and tranquil endpapers set the scene for this visual delight. The illustrations have been created using pencil and oil paints on watercolour paper. A predominately cool toned green and blue colour palette has been used, creating a beautiful sense of calm. The book comprises a variety of page layouts including: single and double-page spreads along with vignettes and picture sequences that create a reading path and convey a sense of time. Angles are used to create a sense of space, and at times fragility.

The Boy and the Elephant is a gorgeous story about mindfulness, imagination and the environment, highly recommended for readers aged 4 years and older. New details in the illustrations will be discovered each time the book is read and meaningful discussion is likely to stem from the variety of inferences that the audience makes. The Boy and the Elephant is a masterpiece in the promotion of visual literacy.

The Tiny Star

The Tiny Star by Mem Fox, illustrated by Freya Blackwood (Puffin) HB RRP $24.99 ISBN 9780670078127

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

Two of Australia’s best-known and best-selling children’s picture book creators have collaborated on this book, which is a celebration of family and community following the loss of a loved one.

The fly and title pages depict a night sky and two houses side by side, both with windows lit up. This leads to the opening lines, ‘Once upon a time, although this happens all the time, a tiny star fell to earth. There’s a neighbour scene, though no depiction of where the star has fallen. 

On the next page, an interior scene, the reader discovers that the star is a baby, discovered by a couple who take it home ‘wrapped (it) warmly in a quilt covered in stars.’ The baby, which gets ‘rounder and rounder’ is loved by all in the neighbourhood until one day it is all ground up ‘loved and adored’.

The story relates how the child becomes an adult and then so old and ‘so tiny it disappeared altogether.’ The community grieves the loss but ‘the tiny star hadn’t vanished at all!’ It has returned to its home in the heavens and ‘there it remained, to rest.’ ‘Everyone knew that they star they had loved so much would be there always, loving them from afar and watching over them… forever.’

This touching story is timeless, and the book ideal for reading to a child who has lost a loved one as a way of simply explaining the cycle of life and death in a non-religious but touching way.

Blackwood’s illustrations are, as usual, ideal for the story. Here is an artist who can faithfully depict real-life children and put them into scenes which are warm and loving. There are pages with lots of white space, while others are full-page coloured spreads.

No doubt this book with its pared-back text, uplifting message and eye-catching illustrations, will win awards. It will also win the hearts of readers aged 5 years and up.

Making Up

Making Up by Jan Ormerod, illustrated by Freya Blackwood (Little Hare Books) HB RRP $14.99

ISBN 9781760128999

Reviewed by Liz Ledden

Making Up is a short board book consisting of a tale extracted from Ormerod and Blackwood’s picture book Maudie & Bear.

Feisty Maudie takes offence when Bear laughs at her dancing. Bear explains he is laughing with her rather than at her; however, Maudie is quite a strong-willed little character and doesn’t accept this. Bear is gentle yet persistent in attempting to coax Maudie out of her bedroom and make amends, until he finally comes up with an idea to bring them back together.

The contrast between petulant Maudie and patient Bear captures the irrational moments of the toddler and preschool years. It also suggests the endless love of a parent or carer, even in the face of difficult behaviour. Maudie is a flawed and very real character, who reflects the emotional highs and lows experienced by the two to five year old set, the book’s target market. Blackwood’s gentle illustrations capture the moods evoked in the story beautifully.

Other books in the series include The Bike Ride, with further titles to come in 2017.

Molly & Mae

Molly & Mae by Danny Parker, illustrated by Freya Blackwood (Little Hare Books) HB RRP $24.99

ISBN 9781742975276

Reviewed by Joanne Wishart

This gentle picture book tells the story of two lively girls, Molly and Mae, who are about to embark on a train trip with family. They have a long day of travel ahead, and the girls busily find games to play, first throughout the station and then the cabin, occasionally managing to get into trouble. The girls’ journey is paralleled in the illustrations by familiar elements of travel, such as timetables and signage along the way. We share the girls’ mercurial imaginings and see their close friendship. When they have a minor falling-out, the station signs are used to add layers of meaning to scenes.

Blackwood’s illustrations – a mix of oil paint and printing on watercolour paper – have a raw yet delicate quality. Her recognisable sketch lines and subtle details provide plenty to delight the eye. The use of sepia tones and hazy visions of countryside from the train window evoke a sense of nostalgia or a tale told from memory, while the sometimes-bumpy journey of Molly and Mae’s friendship is contrasted by the straightforwardness of a journey by rail. The use of signs and symbols, scenes from the journey, and the simple but central storyline, enables a multilayered reading experience.

The girls must learn to solve their own problems as the day goes on. The illustrations give a sense of increasing richness and complexity as the journey progresses, also suggesting change and growth. The promise of new experiences is evoked by the final pages and endpapers, which, in contrast to the journey’s start, show their arrival in the atmospheric city station and the vision of a dramatic skyline. Molly & Mae could be a good book for children to enjoy in anticipation of a trip, or just to prompt dreams about possibilities. 

Budding trainspotters will enjoy the trains and railway paraphernalia. The story’s message about friendship – its ups and downs, but ultimate benefits – should also resonate for readers of all ages.

Molly & Mae

Molly & Mae written by Danny Parker, illustrated by Freya Blackwood (Little Hare Books) HB RRP $24.99

ISBN 9781742975276

Reviewed by Liz Ledden

Off the back of their recent collaboration, Perfect, comes another beautiful picture book from Danny Parker and Freya Blackwood. Molly & Mae is a tale of a friendship that unfolds over the course of a train journey.

Molly and Mae first meet on a train platform, where they giggle, play and delight in each other’s company. They continue to bond on a beautiful spread that chronicles a timetable of events (8.45 Sherbet, 9.05 Secrets), cementing their friendship as the ‘forever’ kind.

On board the train, we see their friendship deepen, then boredom sets in. Eventually, things go wrong. The clever use of train signage in the illustrations helps to chart their journey. For example, when Molly and Mae identify each other’s faults, there’s a ‘Signal Failure’ sign in the background. The sign pointing to a ‘Bridge’ indicates a resolution.

The text reflects the emotional ups and downs of any relationship – ‘There were hills and valleys and bends and straight runs, bridges and tunnels’. Molly and Mae’s journey is highly relatable, and offers a reflection on navigating differences, resolving problems, accepting others and strengthening bonds. Blackwood’s signature illustration style is perfectly suited to the story, with its muted pastels and expressive portrayals of the characters.

Perfect

Perfect written by Danny Parker, illustrated by Freya Blackwood (Little Hare Books/Hardie Grant Egmont)

HB RRP $24.95

ISBN 9781921894848

Reviewed by Liz Ledden

This beautiful, evocative picture book perfectly captures the magic of childhood. Parker’s simple yet thoughtful words conjure the fun and freedom of a day filled with creative pursuits and adventure, without an electronic device (or an adult!) to be seen.

Three siblings and an adorable, loyal cat have the space to do and dream as they scribble, mix, climb and run through Blackwood’s depiction of a country cottage and idyllic landscape, in her inimitable, signature style. Even my five year old co-reviewer recognised her art – ‘it’s Cleo!’ she exclaimed, in reference to Blackwood’s illustrations in The Cleo Stories.

The gentle narrative is divided by a wordless, double-page spread in the book’s centre, which provides an aerial view of the children’s surrounds. Their world spans the beach, farmland and a hilltop village – a dreamlike childhood setting. This signifies their return home and the onset of rain, and a reflective, cosy ending to their day. It does indeed look perfect.

The Terrible Suitcase

The Terrible Suitcase by Emma Allen, illustrated by Freya Blackwood (Omnibus Books)
HB RRP $24.99
ISBN 978-1-86291-940-2
Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

The first day of school is a big experience. It is long awaited and anticipated with a mixture of nervousness and excitement. So imagine how you’d feel it you were given a terrible suitcase instead of the red backpack with rockets which you desperately wanted as a going-to-school present. Would it make you mad, mad, MAD?

It certainly makes the main character in The Terrible Suitcase mad, especially when her friend Howard is given the backpack with rockets and all the other children starting school have incredible new backpacks.

This charming story about starting school, fitting in and outer space is told through the eyes of a girl with strength, passion and a glorious imagination. The story follows her predicament as she moves through mad, grumpy, and sulky until she slowly eases herself out of her moods.

I haven’t read many picture books which are written in the first person and it makes this story refreshingly intimate. Children will be able to get inside the head of the character and relate to her. It reminds me a little of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, (a great favourite in our house when my children were young) in the way that it explores how moods and actions can build up and affect the day.

Although there is far more text than is usual in a picture book for preschoolers, the words flow beautifully and fit the character and voice, making it a pleasure to read aloud.

There is much to explore in the beautifully soft but busy illustrations. There are many children doing different things, with different backpacks and different personalities.

The appeal of rockets and space travel is wide and young children will respond to the imagination of both the text and the pictures. This is a picture book well worth including in any young person’s book collection.