Little People, Big Dreams: Agatha Christie

Little People, Big Dreams: Agatha Christie written by Maria Isabella Sanchez Vegara and illustrated by Elisa Munsó (Quarto Group UK)

HB RRP $18.99  ISBN 9781847809599

Reviewed by Daniela Andrews

When Agatha Christie was a young girl, she would read lots of books with her mum … and she always offered ‘a better idea for how the story should end’! It seems she was always destined to be a writer, as showcased in this title in the ‘Little People, Big Dreams’ series that highlights successes of high-achieving women in history.

Agatha’s wartime nursing experience taught her much about poisonous concoctions, and her imagination ‘wouldn’t stay quiet’. After the war, she began to write her own stories – great, murderous thrillers that hooked her readers immediately. She invented the great detectives, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, and many of her books became stage productions.

This hardcover picture book conveys Agatha’s story in simple text targeting readers aged 5–8 years. Each double-page spread features no more than 1–3 sentences. A longer biography appears at the back of the book, featuring four black and white photographs. It mentions the success of And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express, detailing how her particular writing style made her ‘the queen of mystery’. It also mentions her baffling disappearance in 1925 – a personal mystery that sparked a nationwide search!

The illustrations by Elisa Munsó are black and white, with selected splashes of red – especially striking and appropriate for a writer of murder mysteries! (I particularly loved the page showing a black and white cemetery, featuring the headstones of some of her murder victims, with an elderly Agatha looking on in her bright red coat.)

Other women featured in the ‘Little People, Big Dreams’ series include Amelia Earhart, Frida Kahlo, Coco Chanel Maya Angelou and Marie Curie. This terrific series of books is definitely aiming to empower children (particularly girls) to follow their childhood dreams and make a difference in the world.

Labyrinth: find your way through 14 magical mazes

Labyrinth: find your way through 14 magical mazes by Théo Guignard (Quarto Publishing Group UK)  HB RRP $24.99  ISBN 9781847809988

Reviewed by Daniela Andrews

‘The king has laid down the red carpet for his royal guest. Can you find the way to his throne? On the way, look out for: someone looking out of a window; a roof with a crescent shape; a clock tower; a lady in a violet dress, and two pairs of sentries on guard.’

This amazing hardcover collection of geometric mazes by Théo Guignard is a true feast for the eyes as well as the brain. Young readers (aged 5 and over) will enjoy solving the mazes and finding the hidden items in each double-paged spread, whilst adult readers will appreciate the book as an eye-catching compilation of artwork.

Guignard is a renowned French graphic artist, best known for his film and television animations. His style, a calculated positioning of kaleidoscopic shapes and patterns, evokes a powerful depth of field that gives his work a 3D feel. Forget your concept of a basic maze … this book is, indeed, a collection of challenging labyrinths, each progressing in difficulty.

Be prepared to audibly gasp as you turn the pages. There is so much to see! Wind yourself through the rooms of the ‘magical mansion’, a maze formed by interlocking cubes with varied numbers of doorway options to confuse your path. Or try your luck at making a path through the dragon’s lair by selecting the appropriate staircases, tunnels and underpasses to guide your way. Help the police hunt down a red robot by sorting through the mess of overlapping roads – a definite workout for the eyes! There is also a castle scene, a beach, a town and a factory, amongst others.

As you progress through the book, the overlapping of shapes becomes far more intense to suit the difficulty level. I imagine people of all ages will find satisfaction in solving these mazes. The book has become quite a favourite in our household, and captures the attention of visitors too. Thankfully, for those of us that simply ‘give up’, an illustrated bird’s eye view of the answers has been included!