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”
Tag Archives: picture books from the 1980s
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”
Possum Magic 1983
From that time onwards Hush was visible. But once a year, on her birthday, she and Grandma Poss ate a vegemite sandwich, a piece of pavlova and a half a lamington, just to make sure that Hush stayed visible forever. Julie Vivas’s watercoloured scenes and characters exist in white space, anchored by the horizontal linesContinue reading “Possum Magic 1983”
Who Sank the Boat? 1982
Was it the little mouse, the last to get in, who was lightest of all? Could it be him? The toddler – as picture reader and listener – knows that the climax of the story is coming, and their delight in the triumph of the smallest creature will be complete. Allen has drawn all eyesContinue reading “Who Sank the Boat? 1982”
Sunshine 1981
The blurb says: Everybody gets up sometime in the morning. This is the story of one small girl who one day woke up rather earlier than anyone else. Artist Jan Ormerod constructed in her silent picturebook a layout of panels, differing in sizes and orientation, to show increments of time as actions. The page aboveContinue reading “Sunshine 1981”
In a Flap 1980
The question on the cover Where’s Spot? alerts the reader that this will be a quest. There is backstory in this first spread. Sally must be Spot’s mother – if the smacky opening sentence doesn’t give it away, we see that her bowl is the larger. She’s rolling her eyes so that we know we’reContinue reading “In a Flap 1980”
40 Years of Picture Books 