The Owl Who Got Left Behind

The Owl Who Got Left Behind by Martine Murray & Anna Read (Parachute Press) PB HB RRP $29.99 ISBN 9 780645 039511

Reviewed by Karen Hendriks

There is an owl who was left behind when the owl and the pussycat went to sea in a pea green boat. This sad and lonely owl waits and hopes for their return. Rhino appears and persists on waiting with Owl. Rhino offers friendship which Owl rejects. Finally, Owl learns the value of a true friend.

Martine Murray has written a story that provokes much thought with strong characters beside the sea. Owl believes that the other Owl and the Pussycat will return. The words are heartfelt and draw the reader into the world of the lonely Owl. I particularly love this sentence. What no one knows is the terrible, sad tale of the owl who got left behind. Nobody likes to be left behind and I wonder why owl was left behind. Murray alludes to the fact that this owl is not spoken about or known. This draws on the reader’s heartstrings by delving into feelings. What might owl be thinking? If only Rhino would go away and leave him to be sad by himself. But Rhino didn’t go away. Murray’s words show that sometimes it takes someone else to see you are not okay. ‘But can’t you see that I’m very, very upset?’ spluttered Owl. ‘That’s why I’m keeping you company,’ said Rhino. As Owl goes about being sad, the themes of friendship and loneliness are explored very well in this book.

Anna Read’s dark toned illustration palette is moody, thought provoking, and powerful. The cover of this book immediately captures attention. A near black cover, red spine, a white rhino, grey owl, and red flag is very striking. The title in a gold font has the feel of a sad tale inside. The endpapers feature egg blue with sailing boats along the bottom of pea green, white, and red, and white with the owl on each one. They lead the eye to the page turn. The illustrations have been created simplistically and powerfully to create a visually beautiful book. The moody darker colour palette gives the reader much to explore on each page. The illustrations compliment the text beautifully.

The Owl Who Got Left Behind is a picture book that covers the themes of friendship and loneliness. This book is an interesting read for children 3-8 years and beyond. The larger word count means children who read junior fiction may well like this book too. There is much to like about this book as it combines image and text perfectly

Henrietta and the Perfect Night

Henrietta and the Perfect Night by Martine Murray (Allen and Unwin)

HB RRP $16.99   ISBN 9781760290245

Reviewed by Daniela Andrews

Fans of Henrietta the Great Go-Getter will be pleased to discover this hardcover book by Martine Murray, featuring five new Henrietta stories.

Henrietta is just as spirited and adventurous as ever: ‘I’m an explorer of life, and that includes trees, bugs, animals and all mysteries.’ In this collection, she practices how to be patient and be a good big sister (‘The Waiting Game’), how to rescue somebody and make a friend at school (‘The First Day’), how to survive a sleepover with the pesky older brother of her best friend (‘The Sleepover’), how to save the school play when the lead gets stage fright (‘The School Play’) and how to adjust to life with a new baby brother (‘The Arrival’). The stories need to be read in sequence to be properly enjoyed, with the title alluding to the final story’s conclusion.

The book is illustrated in full colour by Martine Murray, award-winning author of How to Make a Bird and Molly and Pim and the Millions of Stars. Each double page features an illustration to break up the text, making this a great novel for readers aged 5 years and older who are starting to read chapter books. The design is likely to appeal to the age group too, with key phrases appearing in an alternate font of different size or colour.

Henrietta is ‘a Big Thinker’ and her thoughts and observations are highly amusing! The stories are told in first-person perspective, allowing the author to offer fantastic examples of friendship, courage and kindness without seeming to preach these values to her readers. (‘You only need one friend in a room full of strangers to feel perfectly happy.’) Henrietta is, at times, bold and sassy, at other times quiet and afraid, but the range of emotions she feels gives scope to her situations and makes her very real and lovable.

Molly and Pim and the Millions of Stars

Molly and Pim and the Millions of Stars by Martine Murray (Text Publishing) PB RRP $14.99

ISBN 9781925240085

Reviewed by Wendy Fitzgerald

‘Imagine if you were never scared of falling, how much higher you might climb …. Or if you weren’t afraid of being clumsy and awkward, how much more gracefully you might dance’

I really enjoyed reading this book. Martine Murray has a gentle style that is sprinkled with her own delightful and surprising use of language.

For example-

‘Life was a jagged dance of joys and sorrows, up and then down and sometimes in knots or jolts or dizzying rushes over or around again.’ (P153)

Molly’s mum has a wonderfully free spirit. She likes to gather wild herbs deep in the woods and mix mysterious magic potions. Their house is coloured with Persian carpets, billowy curtains, candles, pot plants and brightly patterned cushions.

Molly’s dad and her two older twin brothers are ‘off having adventures’ in exotic countries with names like Morocco, Madagascar and Cuba.

Molly’s best friend Ellen Palmer lives in a tidy red brick house with a ‘normal’ mother, father and brother. They have a neat yard, a dishwasher, a trampoline and they eat delicious food that comes in packets.

How Molly wishes she had a ‘normal family’ like Ellen.

Next door to Molly and her mum live some terrible neighbours - Prudence and Ernest Grimshaw. When the Grimshaws threaten to kill Molly’s rooster, something has to be done.

Molly’s mum decides to grow a fast-growing tree for privacy. She concocts a potion to make the tree grow faster. But the magic goes seriously wrong. Molly must work out a way to save her mum from a most unusual situation.  Luckily Molly develops a special friendship with a young boy named Pim- and together with Ellen they work together find a solution.

Molly and Pim and the Millions of Stars is about friendship, family, resilience and the power of appreciating life in a world that glitters with curiosity and wonder. I recommend this book to kids who like to read stories that sparkle.