In an era of glossy covers, embossed reflective highlighting and even 'bling' on our book covers to compete with the next best thing on the shelves it is a great tactile and sensual delight to discover a book that evokes memories of favourite books of old, time stilling simplicity and finger tempting textures.

A mouthful of words I know. I think like that because I was a child of the famous Cole's Funny Picture Books, those wonderfully rich and full volumes of everything serious and funny, ridiculous, educational and challenging. Books that you went back to over and over again and, I will confess, I still do. So what a delight to my senses to dip my hand into a large envelope that arrive this morning via the postie to discover a textured, matt, minimally  coloured book for me to review.
But we must not judge a book by its cover...so they say. Well, the cover often gives a taste of what will be revealed inside, so judgement can begin at the cover.
 
Australia Illustrated by author Tania McCartney (and her debut as an illustrator) (EK Books,  ISBN: 978-1-925335-21-7), didn't let me down in any way. That old fashioned girl in me was excited by the cover but what of the inside? What of the story  it would tell? How far should that old fashioned sense of tactility go, especially for the younger reader? I couldn't wait to find out.

This new book from McCartney offers a journey for young and old and more importantly young and old together. We journey through fresh, funky and up-to-date images dancing and resting on each page with the textures and colours sampled by the reader on the cover. Even the end-papers, simple and basic, are a visually tactile delight. It was as if my brain was a little confused by the new smell of the book and at times I thought I could smell it's oldness as well.

We journey through the sections of the book discovering Australia through fresh eyes, and eyes that remind us of what we have forgotten or taken for granted. It is light, funny and insightful. We learn about each state and what it has to offer in the way of food, culture, lifestyle, people, community, environment, flora and fauna. Each state is represented well (an important thing for a Tassie girl, we are often left off the map or incorporated into Victoria). There is something for everyone, with some elements being safely understood by the adult reading to the child which cleverly makes us grown-ups feel welcome.

What I loved most of all about my Cole's Funny Picture Book is that you could discover something new each time you visited it. You didn't have to read it from front cover to end and you could spend an eternity pouring over the details of any given page. So I will describe Australia Illustrated as having an air of 'Cole-ism' to it. It is a book that takes you on a journey, to be shared with others or taken solo. It is a travelling book, to take with you as you visit the places it describes, a memory book, to remember the places you have been or even a book of hope, where you dream of going and can journey on the pages until you get there in reality.
I need to comment on McCartney's illustrations. In her debut as a published illustrator she has set the bar high. If there were ever any doubts (I'm talking about the creator here, not the audience) that she was up to the task then that has been shown to not be true. McCartney's simple yet characterful children and adults speak to us clearly and warmly about life in Australia. Her diversity and use of colour, gender, age and ethnicity represents this country so well. Each character belonging on the page and an essential part of this country. They are not token, PC placed characters, they have ownership of this journey and invite us to join them in it. McCartney's clever use of watercolour, digital design and enhancement pulls together a well balanced visual feast that we will never tire of. I am excited to see her emerge as an illustrator after many years as a successful author for children and adults and dearly hope this is the beginning of a huge feast of books from her drawing desk.
 
It is hard to pick a favourite element in this delightful book. It is a very balanced and easily read journey both as a narrative and as a visual story but there was one page that struck me, one line that really grabbed me and that would be the environmentalist in me, I can't help it.
On the page entitled Endangered Animals, McCartney cleverly uses a gently but obvious image of a Red Cross nurse overseeing a short list of animals that are endangered in Australia. There just isn't room to feature them all but the line that states 'and this is only a small selection, which is not good at all!' grabs you and causes you to think.
Congratulations to Tania McCartney on her illustration debut and creation of this beautiful sensory book for all ages. Well done to the team at EK Books who have given this book a home in the publishing world so we might all enjoy it's delights.
Australia illustrated is being released November 2016 through EK Books and will be available at all good bookstores.

I live in a house filled with music. Just like the athlete or artist, the musician commits to practice at every opportunity to hone their skills and perfect their craft. As my daughter prepares herself for her year twelve exams and auditions to enter the Conservatorium to study classical piano, I am treated every day to her beautiful renditions. The classes were worth it. Enduring those early 'tinky tonk' repetitive years has now paid off, however I think my daughter would like to own, just for a short while, the gloves that appear in Julie Hunt and Dale Newman's award winning graphic novel, KidGlovz.

Hunt and Newman's book, KidGlovz
(Allen & Unwin, ISBN: 9781742378527, 2015), is an emotional story that connects to the Dahlian and ancient  folk tale style of story telling. Where terrible things happen, where people are captured and kept prisoner, adults are not to be trusted and children are the heroes and  magic and friendship are the stronger powers.

'There is a town in the mountains not far from here where people lock their pianos on the night of the full moon. It makes no difference – the keys move up and down and the air is filled with wild music.
Someone once thought they saw a white bird flying between the trees. But the truth of the matter is that it’s not a bird that flies on the night of the full moon but a pair of white gloves. I know this because they used to belong to me.'

It is the story of a child prodigy, Kidglovz, who can magically play beautiful, and is kept locked away in tortuous circumstances in order to make the biggest profit for his 'owner', Dr Eronious Spin. His piano teacher, Lovegrove, is heart broken about his circumstances and then, by chance, a young boy called Shoelace, a tightrope walker, enters Kidglovz life and soon, things begin to change for the better and for worse. Kidglovz is potentially rescued but is it into the hands of more evil, greedy adults? Friendships are betrayed, relationships are broken and Kidglovz has to learn to live a new life. And what of his magical gloves?

The emotive, soft, black and white sketched images tell the story in true graphic novel style. Newman's illustrations move through the potentially clinical story board style with warmth and gentleness. We are carried through and into the story with soft lines, dark shadows, wonderful contrast and well etched characters. With the protagonist being nine years old, the imagery sits well with the younger age group the readership starts at. With touches of humour to soften a sad story, Newman creates a wonderful visual narrative that supports Hunt's evocative story.

Whilst words and text are minimal in the graphic novel format, the process of creating a story in this style takes a long time with much planning and communication between both author and illustrator. Hunt's words, including the words that we do not read but were written as story to help direct the illustrator, have worked well with strengthened Newman's narrative, providing a strong, seamless foundation. Obviously, the seamless dance of narrative, words and pictures can only come from a strong and well balanced team of creators.

This is a story that is suitable for a wide age of readers and we own two copies at our house: one for me and my daughter has one in her personal collection for when she moves out. Whilst my daughter would not wish to suffer the consequences associated with the magic gloves, I know that she is able to insert herself into the story and ride the journey with Kidglovz. You don't have to be a musician to get it though. It is a universal story for everyone.

This multi award winning book is a must for your bookshelf and your collection of 'keepers.'  It is destined to become a classic.

For those who know me well, I am a bit obsessed with Tasmanian tigers, or Thylacines. They are my home state's emblem and also our equivalent of the Loch Ness Monster, except that these amazing creatures actually existed, or for many, still exist.

Aleesah Darlison and Shane McGrath's new book, Stripes In The Forest (Big Sky Publishing, HC ISBN: 9781925275704, 2016) is a strong story that travels with the mythical Tasmanian tiger, teaching us through story about the demise and threatened existence of these once feared creatures.

The beautiful illustrations depict the tigers in an accurate but simplistic way, capturing their movement and their stance in a very believable style. McGrath has certainly caught the essence of these creatures and the illustrations stand well with the text in bringing different aspects of the story to us.

Darlison uses powerful text that doesn't shy away from the truth. She uses it with creativity, presenting a sad story in a way that offers hope, telling the story from the perspective of the thylacine and her journey to escape danger and to survive humanity. Her research is demonstrated in her story telling as well as in the interesting facts that feature at the end of the story.

I love stories that end with hope and this book offers that. With an opportunity to review our past mistakes and to cause us to reconsider our present day decisions, books like this will empower younger readers to become adults with a caring and informed discernment of our environment.

With National Threatened Species day being held annually on September the 7th, which is the day we commemorate the death of the last known thylacine in captivity and possibly the wild, this book will not only be a wonderful educational tool, but a story that we can revisit to remind ourselves about this amazing creature and the story it carries with it.

I recommend it is one that lives on your bookshelf.

                      'I am the last of my kind. Or am I?'