Tricksters use their wits instead of their fists to outsmart more powerful opponents. Stories about these wily characters are told all over the nation. The cropper who drove a hard bargain keeps his hoe at the ready, and his head up. A woman of the Mohican carries the god Wasis on her back while keepingContinue reading “From Sea to Shining Sea 1993”
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The Rainbow Fish 1992
The little blue fish whizzed through the ocean with his scale flashing, so it didn’t take long before the Rainbow Fish was surrounded by the other fish. Everyone wanted a glittering scale. The Rainbow Fish shared his scales left and right. And the more delighted he became. When the water around him filled with glitteringContinue reading “The Rainbow Fish 1992”
My Old Teddy 1991
Then poor old Teddy’s head came off. Teddy has to rest. The wear and tear on a beloved toy is seldom as graphically depicted as in this book by Dom Mansell. The narrator cheerfully involves Teddy in her daily adventures, leading to the loss of leg, arm and ear in successive pages. The exuberant disorderContinue reading “My Old Teddy 1991”
The Chocolate Wedding 1990
Lulu is to be a bridesmaid at her aunt’s wedding – her dress has ‘two hundred petticoats’, she has boasted to her school friends. In the confusion of preparations for a home reception she and little brother Willy are banished to the front room where she unfortunately eats many of the Easter treats she hasContinue reading “The Chocolate Wedding 1990”
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt 1989
Uh-uh! Grass! Long wavy grass. We can’t go over it. We can’t go under it. Oh no! We’ve got to go through it! Helen Oxenbury’s family doesn’t falter as they go through all of the obstacle on their bear hunt. Father carries, cajoles, shelters and protects each child individually as needed. The baby, asContinue reading “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt 1989”
Shy Charles 1988
“He saved my life,” moaned Mrs Block. “He’s a prince, a gem, a hero!” And everyone shouted, “Thank you, Charles!” But Charles said … Zero. Rosemary Wells makes the eyes say it all in this illustration of the moment that adulation floods over Charles. Amid the chaos of first responders attending to babysitter Mrs Block,Continue reading “Shy Charles 1988”
Growing Vegetable Soup 1987
We’re ready to work, and our tools are ready, too. We are planting the seeds, and all the seedlings, and watering them, and waiting for warm sun to make them grow, and grow, and grow into plants. Lois Ehlert’s childhood was spent playing with offcuts from her father’s workshop and her mother’s home sewing, andContinue reading “Growing Vegetable Soup 1987”
The Jolly Postman, or, Other People’s Letters 1986
Soon the Jolly Postman We hear tell, Stopped at a door with a giant bell and a giant Bottle of milk as well With a postcard for … guess who? Janet Ahlberg’s lines flesh out the verse with economy of line but plenty of gesture. Mr V. Bigg is stuck at home, wearing his tweedyContinue reading “The Jolly Postman, or, Other People’s Letters 1986”
The Year without A Book 1985
I thought I’d made a big mistake. Leaving a library with only one branch in a single local government would widen my horizons, I thought. So, at the beginning of this year, I applied to be the Children’s Librarian at the Central Highlands Regional Library Service. Based in Ballarat, the library service was made upContinue reading “The Year without A Book 1985”
The Little Mouse, the Ripe Red Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear 1984
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The Bear will tromp through the forest on his big, hungry feet, and SNIFF! SNIFF! SNIFF! find the strawberry … No matter where it is hidden, or who is guarding it, or how it is disguised. Don Woods’ soft pencil drawings take the reader right into a rodent-scale environment. The lush greensContinue reading “The Little Mouse, the Ripe Red Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear 1984”
40 Years of Picture Books 