Quercus, 2019. ISBN: 9781529401424.
(Age: Adult - Senior Secondary) Highly recommended for people who
can cope with books in the vein of Room
by Emma Donoghue. Locked in a windowless cabin in the woods, Lena's
life is bound up by rules made up by the man who captured her to be
the mother to his two children. Everything is regimented, and there
is severe punishment if she deviates from, or questions, his demands.
Lena manages to break free from the cabin one night accompanied by
Hannah, but her escape raises many questions. Who is she? What has
happened to Lena who disappeared 14 years ago? Who is the man found
dead in the cabin and what has happened to Hannah's little brother?
This is a tightly plotted thriller that keeps the reader guessing
the whole way through with its twisty, exciting, and often
heart-wrenching events. There are many tense moments, and the
description of Lena's treatment in the cabin is not for the faint
hearted. It is also disturbing to read about her attempts to make a
normal life again and the grief and heartbreak of Lena's father
Matthias and his desire to find out what happened to Lena is very
compelling.
Written in three voices, that of Jasmin, Hannah and Matthias, the
story unfolds as they tell their version of what has happened and
how they feel.
The conclusion is stunning and very memorable. Dear child will
leave the reader determined to read any novels that this talented
author might produce in the future.
Pat Pledger
Manticores are not real by Nick Dyrenfurth
Illus. by Andrew McIntosh. Little Steps, 2019. ISBN: 9781925839500. Manticores are not real is a picture book about Micah, a
young boy who is awoken in his dreams by a manticore (a creature
part lion, part flamingo and part gazelle with a man's face!) who
takes him on an adventure to his mystical land with a pinkish sky,
shimmering mountains and many other manticore friends. They attend a
party and have a wonderful time. The story concludes with Micah
being woken by his father, and he wonders if it was all a dream or
if in fact . . . manticores were real!
To be honest I was not a huge fan of this book. The story was so
similar to many I had read before: child has a dream, wakes within
the dream, goes on adventure, wakes up in the morning and wonders
whether it was all real or not; and unfortunately it didn't really
hit the mark.
The rhyming throughout was clumsy and I found it hard to read with a
good flow - I had to keep going back over sections to get them to
sound right. There were words put in that seemed to be written just
to keep the rhyme but did not make a lot of sense.
The illustrations were nice, I liked the colours and the attention
to detail in the shading and landscapes.
I think this book could have been written about a real child who has
had this very dream! This is a lovely gesture and will be an amazing
keepsake for years to come. I think the rhyming could be refined a
bit more to ensure that it is easy to read with flow and good
intonation.
I give this book 2 out of 5.
Lauren Fountain
Girl from the sea by Margaret Wild
Illus. by Jane Tanner. Allen & Unwin, 2020. ISBN: 9781760524302.
(Age: 5+) Highly recommended. The whispers of a young girl, drowned
at sea, reveal her longing for life. She sees a cottage by the sea
where a family plays on the beach. She spies the cat and dog as she
comes to the house, and they spy her. She follows the family as they
collect shells along the water's edge. She longs to be with them,
walking more closely to the mother. If she lived in the cottage, she
tells us, she would sweep the floor, and make the children laugh,
but her feet are always in the water. She wonders if they can hear
her as she sings in the wind, or feel her as she wraps herself
around them, or see her as she stands in the garden.
She is a breathe, a shadow, a murmur of a young girl lost in the
waves, as she sighs for what might have been. The animals know she
is there, waiting to be petted, and Mum becomes more aware of her
presence as she makes her way along the beach, with just the
suggestion of a third child by her side.
Margaret Wild's sparse prose give the bare outline of a lost child
and what she has missed. Each sentence rings with longing as she
sees a life that might have been. She watches the family which could
have been hers as they go about the very ordinary things families do
when together on a beach. She yearns to be with them, to be
acknowledged, to be part of their days.
Readers will fall into Jane Tanner's illustrations, reminding them
of times at the beach, playing with their siblings, watching the
birds and dolphins, making sandcastles, collecting shells. She has
used her darker coloured pencils along with charcoal and a charcoal
pencil to develop the most exquisite of beach scenes. Dark and
ominous, yet enveloping and comforting, the darker tones emphasise
the loss of a child, drowned at sea. Her feet are always in water in
Tanner's drawings, her hair wild and unkempt, her look wistful and
full of longing. Shells appear on the beach and in their hands, near
the gravestone and on the windowsill. The sepia images, sometimes
tinged with blue, urge the reader to look more closely, to compare
their own experiences at the beach with those before them, to
imagine more of the story behind the few words and the images, to
fill in the spaces.
This is an outstanding offering from two of Australia's foremost
book creators, and will be lovingly read by children of all ages.
Themes: Drowning, Sea, Longing, Family.
Fran Knight
Henrie's hero hunt by Petra James
Illus. by A. Yi. Walker Books, 2020. ISBN: 9781760650858.
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. This fast paced sequel to Hapless
Hero Henrie (2019) will have instant appeal after Henrie receives a
call on the Hero Hotline, a phone she is not allowed to answer.
After all her hero status is not confirmed by the Melchior family,
one in which only the male line takes up heroism.
With Aunt Ellie trying to get her away, and Henrie prevaricating on
whether to answer the phone or not, thirty pages roll away with the
two sparring over words, and Henrie speaking directly to the reader
while the stage is set for another foray into the hilarious
adventures of Hapless Henrie.
The girl on the other end is unsure but Ellie traces the call.
Marley has rung them after finding an ad for the House of Melchior
amongst her dead aunt's things. Her great aunt, Agnes Hunt has left
clues behind leading the two to a dig in Egypt, uncovering Agnes's
association with the Carter expedition of 1922 which resulted in the
discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen. Further investigation reveals
that Agnes was accused of stealing a statue from the tomb. Marley is
appalled and they are determined to find the answer to this mystery.
A trip to the Museum of Antiquities reveals not only that the statue
Aunt Agnes was supposed to steal is not on the Tutankhamen
inventory, but there is another operative after it as well. Violeta
Villarne kidnaps Alex and Marley and bribes Henrie into handing over
the tiny key found in Agnes' embroidery box. From there with Alex
and Marley locked in the backroom at the museum, Henrie must work
hard at outwitting the smart Violeta.
Petra James throws lots into the mix, ensuring middle to upper
primary school readers will be absorbed with hieroglyphics, morse
code, deciphering, espionage, walkie talkies using spy jargon, along
with pages of text broken up with notes and letters, lists and
instructions with illustrations by A. Yi, adding to the fun.
They will be intrigued with the sub plot of Henrie's search for her
parents, last seen in Prague nine years ago, and this amongst many
others layers will keep them reading right to the end.
Themes: Humour, Spying, Family, Egypt, Tutankhamen.
Fran Knight
The Puppet Show by M.W. Craven
Washington Poe book 1. Constable, 2018. ISBN: 9781472127440.
(Age: Adult - Senior secondary) Highly recommended for mystery
lovers. CWA Gold Dagger Award 2019. Washington Poe is brought in to
investigate a series of murders where the victims are burnt alive in
prehistoric stone circles. His name has been carved into one of the
victims and accompanied by Tilly Bradshaw, an awkward criminal
analyist, he follows a trail that is obviously set up for him. I
picked up The puppet show after thoroughly enjoying Black
Summer, the second in the series as I found the
personalities of both Poe and Bradshaw to be ones that I really
liked and wished to read more about.
Craven's narrative is engaging and there are enough twists and turns
to keep any mystery fan engrossed in trying to work out what is
happening. And that ending was a surprise for me, which always makes
for a more enjoyable read for a person who reads a lot of mysteries.
There is a gradual fleshing out of the personalities of Poe and
Bradshaw and the growth of trust between them makes for a great
working relationship. Both are unusual characters, Poe dogged in his
following of the case, over-riding his superiors and going his own
way, and Tilly socially inept, but brilliant in her ability to
analyse what is going on.
The cold landscape of Cumbria with its prehistoric stone circles
makes an interesting background to the murders and the serial
killer, nicknamed The Immolation Man, is one scary murderer.
This is a series that is sure to have a strong following from
readers who enjoy clever plotting and excellent narratives.
Pat Pledger
Haywire by Claire Saxby
Australia's Second World War series. Omnibus, 2020. ISBN:
9781742769196.
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. The second book in the new series of
stories set during the Second World War involves a little known
internment camp at Hay in western New South Wales. Here German boy,
Max Gruber is interned as an enemy alien, sent from England on the
notorious ship, Dunera to a place as distant from his home
town as could be imagined. In Hay, Tom has just declined the
opportunity to study in Sydney because his father needs him in his
bakery. Disappointment covers him like a blanket as he watches the
building of the camp, an enterprise his mother despises, reflecting
the animosity of some of the town's folk for the Germans and
Italians detained there.
Saxby neatly reveals the different positions taken by the town's
folk, showing the conversation at the dinner table. The meeting up
of the two boys, when Tom is delivering bread and Max is sheltering
from the bullies at the camp, results in a friendship, but when Max
is bullied again into doing homework for one of the older boys, he
decides to escape.
In this timely plea for people to accept others for who they
are and not judge by appearances or prejudices, Tom sees Max for who
he is, a young frightened boy who has endured immense hardship and
sent to a place beyond his comprehension.
The semantics around the words 'detention' or 'internment' or
'jail', are just so much wordplay then as it is now, and this book
will encourage readers to know more of our past where internment
camps were used to house prisoners despite having not been to court.
That many of these men (900) chose to stay in Australia after the
war, is testament more to their treatment by people such as Tom and
his father, rather than the bigots in the community.
The story of the Dunera can be found here, while
that of the internment camp at Hay here.
Melbourne author, Claire Saxby writes fiction, non-fiction and
poetry for children, with about forty books in print. The first in
the series is War
and Resistance by Sophie Masson. Themes: War, Internment
camp, World War Two, Hay, NSW, Series: Australia's Second World War:
Book 2, Friendship.
Fran Knight
The Lost Witch by Melvin Burgess
Andersen, 2020. ISBN: 9781783448357.
(Age: 15+) Highly recommended. Leeds Book Awards Nominee for 14-16
(2019). This is not a book for the faint-hearted or for fans of easy
to read stories about young witches. As the back-cover states, it is
not suitable for younger readers, but for older readers, the
combination of the supernatural and tough realism that Melvin
Burgess, author of Junk, is famous for, makes for an engrossing,
dark and compelling read. Bea has begun to see things that no one
else can see - as the family are returning home late one night, she
sees evil creatures, the Hunt, and discovers that she can summon
help for the creatures that are being chased. Known as the Summoner,
she has the rare ability to call the spirits of people and animals
out of their bodies. She meets a charismatic young man Lars, who has
taught her how to skate board as well as a young girl, Silvis, who
introduces her to her grandfather, Odi, who warns her to be careful
as the huntsmen want to use her to gain these magical spirits.
However her parents believe she is hallucinating and take her to a
hospital where she is chased by the Hunt but rescued by Lars and
from then on Bea is confused, not knowing who she can trust and what
is the right thing to do. Lars assures Bea that he is on the side of
good and is against the Hunt, but gradually the reader becomes
concerned for her well-being as she is introduced to drugs and
begins to summon the spirits of living creatures.
Bea is a likeable but naive young woman who doesn't know where to
put her trust and under Lars' influence seems unable to work out
what is good and what is evil. He assures her that by helping him
her family will be rescued and Bea goes along with what he wants her
to do. The final, dramatic event when Bea must take responsibility
for her actions and try to set things right will have readers on the
edge of their seats.
Burgess' narrative is perfectly constructed, with twists and turns,
leaving the reader wondering who can be trusted. His characters come
alive and it is easy to believe this tale of myth and magic, witches
and the Hunt. Bea's friendship with the loyal and sympathetic Silvis
is a highlight of the story, but the failings of her father make a
grim contrast, as the reader finds that parents are not always right
and do the correct thing for their children.
Pat Pledger
The Unadoptables by Hana Tooke
Puffin Books, 2020. ISBN: 9780241453612.
(Ages: 9+ years). Highly recommended. The Unadoptables by
Hana Tooke is an exciting and cleverly written middle grade read.
The story is action-packed with mystery, danger, adventure and some
very evil characters. In 1800 five orphans are abandoned in the same
week in different receptacles at the Little Tulip Orphanage. Chapter
One begins with the rules for abandoning babies being broken and an
introduction to each child who is given an unusual name by the cruel
and dastardly matron Elinora Gassbeek. The children, named Lotta,
Egg, Fenna, Sem and Milou, have their own special qualities that
they share with each other. They have never been adopted and have a
strong familial bond and survival instinct. They are treated
miserably and work all day and night for little food and no
comforts. Milou is determined to find her parents and is a wonderful
storyteller. She creates all sorts of reasons as to why she was
abandoned and keeps a Book of Theories. Milou is the driving force
behind the five escaping the orphanage after the villainous Mr
Rotman offers to buy them from the matron to become child slaves on
his ship. He and the matron are in partnership and profiting from
the sale of the orphans. Milou with the help of the other children
finds a home in the guise of a windmill using map coordinates left
in her baby coffin. The abandoned property also contains an old
rundown theatre and puppets similar to the one Milou has had with
her from her arrival at the orphanage. Once at the windmill the five
decide to stay and live there but need to earn money to survive.
They embark on a grand plan to raise money by holding a puppet show
for the local community and also in the hope of finding Milou's
parents whom she strongly believes are searching for her. Added to
this scenario is the suspicious neighbour, an official from the
Kinderbureau, a man-eating dog, one of the children held captive,
the dramatic rescue, plus a mysterious stranger and there is the
makings of a great tale for avid readers of mystery and danger.
Themes: Orphans, Family, 1800's, Amsterdam, Adventure, Excitement,
Danger, Mystery.
Kathryn Beilby
Ten minutes to bed Little Dinosaur by Rhiannon Fielding
Illus. by Chris Chatterton. Penguin Random House UK, 2020. ISBN:
9780241386736.
(Ages: 2-5) This is a new title in a series of Ten Minutes to
Bed books (including Little
Monster and Little
Mermaid). It's an overt bedtime story set in The Land of
Nod (the endpapers show a map of the land and where each of the
characters live) and is similar in concept to other books about
bedtime reluctance such as Play and I Am Not Sleepy
and I Will Not Go to Bed. In addition, a counting element is
included as it counts down the minutes until bedtime from ten to
one. 'Ten minutes to bed!' Mum tells Rumble. But Rumble just loves
to have fun. So off he thunders, sending birds and frogs hopping and
fluttering, splashing about in the mud and running all the way to an
erupting volcano. 'Five minutes' say all the dinosaurs racing past
him in a rush to escape the lava. 'Four minutes to bed . . . but
where am I, I wonder?', he says when he finds a safe place to rest.
It's rainy and thundery and getting dark when a shadow appears. It's
Mum, come to take him home. 'Two minutes,' she said. 'You are never
alone.' Before the last minute is even done, Rumble is in bed and
fast asleep, snoring.
Rumble's romping journey will delight young ones, who will see in
the illustrations the progression from sunset light to moonlight.
The mountain forest where the dinosaurs live is vivid and magical
and the depiction of light will cleverly calm and soothe children
(glowing lights within the forest, moon and shimmering stars). There
is a nice message here for children about being responsible and in
control of their own body and winding down for sleep. Little
Dinosaur seems to pay no attention to the countdown but by the end
of the ten minutes he is already asleep. It may even help some
younger children to set in place their own countdown to bedtime and
assist with an understanding of self-settling. Themes: Bedtime,
Counting Book, Rhyming Book, Dinosaurs.
Nicole Nelson
Barkley by Rebecca Crane
Walker Books, 2020. ISBN: 9781760651404.
(Age: 3+) Highly recommended. Barkley is unsure of just what sort of
dog he is. He compares himself to all the neighbourhood dogs: he is
not big like the biggest dog, or fluffy like the really fluffy ones,
or long and stretched out like the long greyhounds. He looks around
and is concerned that he does not fit any category: he is not fast
or fierce or fancy, and concludes that he is a nothing dog, a dog
that no one values, and runs away. In doing this he becomes lost and
does not know how to get back home. Now he is a tired, cold and wet
dog, and very very lost. But in searching for Max, he comes across a
poster with a picture of himself and Max on it, telling people that
Barkley is a lost dog. The poster describes him as small, black and
white and Max's best friend. Barkley puts the poster in his mouth
and sets off to find Max. In searching for Max, Barkley finds that
he is being searched for as well, and the two are reunited.
Now he is a very happy dog.
This lovely story, reiterating that we all have value, uses words to
describe the traits of the dogs in the neighbourhood, and very
easily, readers will be able to apply those words to themselves. All
of the descriptive words (adjectives); long, short, fluffy, lost,
etc could be used in a variety of ways in the classroom, introducing
the role of such words and how they enhance meaning. The positive
outcome uses affirming words, happy, best friend, encouraging the
readers to apply them more widely. They will see the connection
between these positive words and their self esteem, and recognise
that Barkley's self esteem plummeted when he felt he had no value.
Themes: Self esteem, Mental health, Loss, Dogs, Friendship.
Fran Knight
Hodgepodge: How to make a pet monster by Lili Wilkinson
Illus. by Dustin Spence. Albert Street Books, 2020. ISBN:
9781760877385.
(Age: 6+) Recommended. Artie an eleven year old science nut who
definitely does not believe in monsters, ghouls, ghost or fairies,
finds himself in an old house with his renovation driven single
mother and her new partner David. Not knowing what to call David is
only part of his problem, the main one being that he has moved in
with his twelve yer old daughter, Willow.
Determined not to like her, Artie retreats to the attic where he
finds an old book with recipes for producing monsters. Willow takes
to the book instantly and focusses on which monster to create.
Each few pages of this very funny book has a fact file about a
particular monster, and the whole book is presented with engaging
cartoons, illustrations and different fonts. An easy read, the book
is divided into twelve short chapters, each of about fifteen pages,
thrilling the readers with witty text and comic illustrations.
The relationship between Artie and Willow develops despite their
animosity and when they do create a pet monster, Hodgepodge, are at
a loss as to what to do with it.
He causes some problems which are blamed on Artie and Willow, so
they decide to send him back. Their attempts fail each time and the
monster's farting shows that he is still around. But in the
background is an oddly dressed gentleman wanting to help. They visit
his museum but are unimpressed with his motives and so decide they
must retrieve Hodgepodge.
The first in a sparkling new series, the misadventures of Artie and
Willow are sure to win a wide audience.
Themes: Monsters, Pets, Humour, Step families.
Fran Knight
If I can't have you by Charlotte Levin
Macmillan, 2020. ISBN: 9781529032383.
(Age: Adult) Charlotte Levin plunges us into the horror of a young
woman, Constance, riding on a London tram, wearing what appears to
be a blood-stained white dress. When a tooth drops out of her mouth
she is even more mortified but has no choice but to stay on the tram
so that she can go back to her own home. The passengers are silenced
by her condition, and no-one on the bus offers either help nor any
word of compassion. The narrative is told in the first person, as we
see from the title, as the narrator, Constance, reveals all of the
problems and the angst that she is experiencing. We are positioned
to gradually comprehend her loneliness, her history of the loss of
all family, and her mistreatment by, and obsession with, one man who
should know better.
We discover that she has no one to support her, in the way of family
or friends. She does have a job in a medical practice and it is this
that grounds her, to some extent, but also it is where the catalyst
arises that adds violence and trauma to her life. The doctor in the
practice where she works has behaved inappropriately, and she is
both obsessed by him and angry, and we hear of her angst as she
addresses him, as the 'you' in the narrative. When she finds an old
man whose flat overlooks the doctor's apartment, she visits him so
that she can spy on the doctor, yet unexpectedly she comes to care
for this lonely man, and he for her. When she realises that she has
become an important part of the older man's life, there is a dawning
recognition of her own kindness and a realisation that this may be
her chance to help someone else and to find meaning in her life.
The language is frequently harsh, coarse and angry, her words
plunging us into the darkness of her world. We are aware that the
behaviour of the doctor is most inappropriate, but he is depicted as
careless about the emotional well-being of others, having little
compunction about the appropriacy of his actions. Unsettling, richly
descriptive of the loneliness that is her reality, and of her
physical and sexual encounters, this novel is not for the
faint-hearted. While Charlotte Levin evokes a world that few of us
would wish for, she elicits a sense of deep compassion for the
woman, and evokes a notion of the terrible loneliness that some
people experience. It would be appropriate for adults and older
adolescent readers and is not suitable for younger adolescents.
Elizabeth Bondar
Busy Kangaroo by Campbell Books
Illus. by Carlo Beranek. Busy Books. Campbell Books, 2020. ISBN:
9781529017700.
(Age: 1-3) Push, pull and slide with Busy Kangaroo as she hops
around looking at all the Australian animals and bush. She jumps up
high to see a cockatoo, hops to make the quokkas smile and watches
out for the crocodile. She sees the wombats burrow deep "and when
it's nearly time for bed, out pops her baby's fluffy head."
This is an exceptionally sturdy board book that will stand a lot of
heavy handling. The pull, push and slide tags are all marked with a
yellow circle with black arrows to indicate the way that the tab
works and are made of heavy cardboard.
The rhyming text will be enjoyed by the young children who are the
book's audience and makes it a good read aloud and its ending will
make it a very suitable bedtime story too. The little speech bubbles
with a question to be answered on each double page spread add to the
enjoyment of the text and pictures. Children will have fun counting
the shark fins and spiders on different pages. The illustrations are
cute and will appeal to kids as will the humorous little details on
each page.
Pat Pledger
How to grow a family tree by Eliza Henry-Jones
Angus & Robertson, 2020. ISBN: 9781460754955. 331pp.
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. Stella's world is turned upside down
when her Dad's addiction sees them evicted from their modest home,
where the sister's stuff may occasionally go missing - also down to
Dad's gambling. Exiled to the Fairyland Caravan Park with her
parents and short, delinquent step-sister Taylor, Stella tells
no-one in her friendship circle - not even Clem, her best friend.
For an odd girl who reads nothing but self-help books, she has a
small but supportive group of friends. Taylor seems a misfit by
comparison but fixing people isn't Stella's only fixation. Her
natural mother has requested a meet-up. Too many chapters later, she
still hasn't opened the envelope or confided in anyone.
The Fairyland Park, is a close-knit community of fringe dwellers.
The park manager mistreats his son Michael, Taylor sleepwalks, Mum
(Judy) cries for her old home . . . everybody has problems -
even those who don't complain. Stella strives to put her how-to
information into practice with limited success but it helps her, to
give her life direction.
When Stella's real mother, Kelly, invites her to stay, the apartment
is luxurious compared to the cramped caravan, but Kelly is distant -
stunted by her past experiences. Kelly's sister Mary, makes up for
her birth mother's silence, introduces her to her curmudgeonly
grandfather and slowly Stella learns why she was given up for
adoption. Charlie, her placid step dad, saves the park mascot and
'therapy' dog, from a snake bite, but he is unable to heal himself.
When a flood threatens the caravan park, Stella knows where she
wants to be.
Stella is an eclectic young woman on the brink of leaving school and
her friends are lively and believable. Clem will be adored for his
constancy and restraint. Will his love remain unrequited? Typically,
home is where the heart is and How to Grow a Family Tree
will fill your heart and mind from the small seed of a girl's birth
spreading outward into the community - some natural, some adopted
and thankfully a heady mix of friends and neighbours. Themes:
Bildungsroman.
Deborah Robins
Littlelight by Kelly Canby
Fremantle Press, 2020. ISBN: 9781925815764.
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. When the Mayor of a walled city
notices that some bricks are missing, he is very cross, thinking
that a thief has stolen the bricks. The wall keeps other people out,
and protects his city from things that are different. He calls the
attention of his fellow citizens to the theft, and they are equally
angry that this should happen. They are all concerned that something
different should get into their city and help him to find the thief.
They look at all corners of the town. The walls to the south protect
them from people who look a little different and grow unusual food,
those to the north grow unusual food, act a little differently and
speak different words. To the east the people grow unusual food,
speak different words, look a little different and have upbeat
music, while to the west, they are different in all the ways that
the others are different, but on top of all that difference, they
read unfamiliar books. The Mayor cannot be more furious. He and the
people double their efforts at finding the culprit and eventually
find that it is a young girl. Just as the Mayor is about to admonish
her, the populace realise that the smell of new food, the sound of
new words, the beat of new music and the promise of new stories was
not something to be feared. And they realised the the little girl
had not taken anything from them, but had given them a gift, a gift
of seeing something different. Through the gaps in the wall they
could see how others lived, they had windows and now doors and then
bridges.
A modern fable, readers be entranced by the backward looking mayor,
and the possibilities that have opened up for the populace of his
city.
They will readily see the parallels to walls being built and those
torn down, those that have stood for centuries and those that have
lasted less than a few decades. They will recognise that his book is
about welcoming difference: difference in how we look, what we eat,
how we sing and what we read. The book will open up a range of
discussions, opinions and thoughts. All augmented by the wonderful
illustrations, the few colours peeping through redolent of the
possibilities offered by difference. The greys give way to more
colour as the book proceeds, the people realising the richness that
light brings.
Themes: Colour, Difference, Multiculturalism, Tyranny, Walls.
Fran Knight
