By now you should know that Grug books are one of my favourite series that are supposedly for children. It doesn’t matter what Grug gets up to; Mum and I always want to know about it. So, today Grug decided to go shopping and in his travels he came across a playground.
Being a curious animal that began his life as the top of a Burrawong tree, Grug is always keen to explore his surroundings. Naturally, upon discovering the playground Grug investigates. What follows is a cross between a comedy of errors and a whirlwind exploration of all the playground has on offer.
While I love all Grug books I did wish Grug’s best friend Cara was in this one. I adore Cara. I could imagine the expressions on her face as Grug flew through the air between each piece of equipment but wondered if she would have joined in or watched from the sidelines.
This is one of the earliest Grug books so the playground equipment actually looks like some of the slides and swings that made up a pretty significant chunk of my childhood. I got all nostalgic looking at the illustrations of Grug’s playground equipment so my review will now morph into me reminiscing about the good ol’ days.
My favourite thing to navigate at the park was this ugly but incredibly fun chunk of climbing heaven that consisted of four huge wooden frames that supported and held together four tyre bridges that were all connected by chains. There were no steps or easy access so you had to find a way to climb up this monstrosity that was probably built by an awesome bunch of local dads.
Some of the tyres weren’t quite as connected to the chains as they should have been. Half of the fun was knowing which tyres posed the biggest challenges and working out how to get past them without falling several metres to the very hard ground below. I’m fairly sure this type of fun would be banned by the safety police these days but it was brilliant!
Fun Fact: I was trying to think of the way to describe the metal climbing frame elephant that Grug encounters in this book so naturally I asked Google. When I came across a picture that was the closest to what I was looking for and that most resembled what I used to play on as a kid in the local park, the description accompanying the photograph included the word vintage. So apparently I’m now old enough for my childhood to be vintage. That’s fun! Sort of … 😜
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Playgrounds are full of fun and challenges for Grug! This classic Aussie hero is back from the bush to enchant a new generation of youngsters!
Wow! This is one of the best books I’ve never read! Both wordless and speaking volumes at the same time Rosie’s Glasses is allegedly a children’s book but I think it’s profound enough for all ages to get something from it. I’d actually dare say that the older you are the more you may need this book.
I love the idea of ‘reading’ this book with a child, taking turns telling the stories that are happening within the pages. It’s never too early to learn about perspective and never too late to be gently reminded of it. I adore the exploration of how our emotions can influence the way we see the world and interact with it.
I was talking to one of my doctors last week about how it’s easier to do the same thing over and over again. She is the undisputed Queen of Analogies and All Things Poetic and Deep in my life so naturally she likened thoughts and behaviours to grooves; water being more likely to want to travel the already well worn path. She talked about how it’s possible to carve a new groove in your life, that over time you can essentially train yourself to think and behave in physically and mentally healthier ways. We tend to get set in our grooves of how we see the world and those grooves deepen in time as we tread the same path, unless we make a conscious effort to change them. (P.S. Unlike most people I actually look forward to appointments with my doctors because I have the most profound, caring, extraordinary ones ever!)
This book reminded me of that conversation. The same thing that’s true of grooves can be said for perspective. We can inadvertently get stuck seeing the world one way when there are so many unexplored possibilities. It can take just the slightest shift in your perspective and your entire outlook can change, much like when Rosie puts on the glasses in this book and all of a sudden a world of colour and wonder opens up around her.
I love that reading the title Rosie’s Glasses made me think of rose-tinted glasses. The positivity associated with rose-tinted glasses seems to get a bad rap all around and even when I looked up ‘rose-tinted’ in the dictionary, Mr Collins told me that it’s “excessively optimistic”. I don’t know though. Is there such thing as too much optimism? I like to think that even when things in our life suck and there doesn’t seem to be any colour in sight that we can still choose to hope. Surely we can acknowledge the suckage of life (I’m not advocating denial) and still find the good as well.
I took some photos while I was sitting at the beach several years ago. Looking out across the ocean the water was sparkling, the sun was shining and the sky was blue. It was a gorgeous day. Then I looked behind me and there were angry storm clouds ready to release buckets and the sky was prematurely dark. If I showed you the photos you’d be forgiven for thinking they were different days, maybe even different seasons. Yet what the camera recorded was determined by what I was looking at at the time.
Until I opened this book, remembering the contrast between the sunny and stormy photos has been my go to in thinking about perspective. Now I think I’ll be imagining Rosie’s glasses whenever I catch myself needing an attitude realignment. If I’m seeing a monochromatic world I can remind myself that I don’t need glasses to change my perspective. I just need to allow myself to see the rest of the spectrum.
I’ve said in a number of reviews now that the illustrations bring the book alive or they are everything. In this book they really are everything. They’re deceptively simple, easy to ‘read’ but with depth that you appreciate more as you keep looking. Dave Whamond’s illustrations capture the mood and story so well that words really aren’t necessary.
So, as usual, here I am writing a review that’s longer than the actual book but at least this time I’ll have company. That is, unless someone is smart enough to post a review that simply shows two illustrations, one of Rosie’s world without glasses and one with them. Now, why didn’t I think of that?!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for the opportunity to discover this little gem. Kid’s book? Sure, I can see that. Yet it’s not only a kid’s book. I’m looking forward to the release of Rosie’s Glasses because in my world it’s going to be a coffee table book so kids and once upon a time kids can both appreciate its message.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
In this wordless picture book, Rosie wakes up in a monochrome world, with a dark cloud over her head. As she plods through her miserable, grey day, the cloud follows. Mishaps and mayhem thwart her every move, irritating noises assault her – and the pouring rain makes everything worse. But then, on her way home from school, Rosie finds a pair of strange glasses. When she puts them on, her world transforms into vivid, joyful color. All of a sudden, she can see the beauty and fun in everything around her – and her dark cloud has disappeared. Are the glasses magic? Or could it be that changing how we look at the world can change the way we experience it?
Award-winning author and illustrator Dave Whamond is known for his energetic, humorous and colorful art. Here he uses three different color palettes to powerfully tell a story of how moods can affect what we see. The wordless format encourages visual literacy and deeper readings of the story based on individual interpretation. It also invites nonreaders to develop vocabulary and narrative skill by reading the illustrations. This book offers a perfect lead-in to a discussion about good and bad moods. It also works for lessons on self-awareness and personal development, and as an excellent reminder to children (and adults!) that we can all exercise some control over how we see our world.
This is one of those books where adult me and child me would have been at opposite ends of the reviewing spectrum. Adult me thinks that this book is simply beautiful. As the main character ponders different colours and imagines herself as a tree weathering the seasons I felt this lovely sense of tranquility.
As she and her mother gaze out her bedroom window and wonder what the crows are thinking when they see them I paused and thought about all of the native birds I feed. I often wonder myself what they’re thinking and whether they’ve named me like I’ve named them. I wonder what my name is in bird world.
I loved Jillian Tamaki’s illustrations that capture the joy of playing in the ocean, the diversity of a school playground and the majesty of birds in flight. The exploration of colour in the illustrations complements the girl’s musings about various colours along the way.
Adult me has read this book three times already but still thinks there’s depth to the story I’m probably missing.
Child me (and I’m not ashamed to admit this) would have liked the pretty and colourful pictures but would have wondered where the story was and asked why the girl turned into a tree. Yes, I was a very literal child and I loved my Roald Dahl books so if a story didn’t come with a defined plot and interesting (hopefully interesting and quirky) characters, I’d be a bit “meh” about the book.
However, it’s adult me reviewing this book so I’m calling it gorgeous.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Caldecott and Printz Honor-winning illustrator Jillian Tamaki brings us a poetic exploration of colour and nature from a young child’s point of view. They Say Blue follows a young girl as she contemplates colours in the known and the unknown, in the immediate world and the world beyond what she can see. The sea looks blue, yet water cupped in her hands is as clear as glass. Is a blue whale blue? She doesn’t know – she hasn’t seen one.
Stunningly beautiful illustrations flow from one spread to the next, as time passes and the imagination takes hold. The world is full of colour, and mystery too, in this first picture book from a highly acclaimed artist.
Inky the octopus lived at the National Aquarium of New Zealand for two years before his great escape. Museum workers discovered mysterious prints on the floor one morning in 2016 and Inky was no longer hanging out with his tank mate Blotchy. Workers believe that after the lid on Inky’s tank wasn’t secured properly the night before Inky took the opportunity to escape through a drain pipe in the floor that led to the sea. Inky the Octopus is a sweet rhyming children’s book that tells this true story from Inky’s perspective.
When I first saw this book I was cautiously optimistic. I had previously read Rosie the Tarantula: A True Adventure in Chicago’s Field Museum and found it disappointing so I wasn’t sure what to expect from Inky’s story. While I thought that Rosie’s story wouldn’t really be of much interest to anyone that hadn’t bought the book at the museum’s gift shop (sorry, Rosie!), I was delighted to discover that Inky’s story would have a much wider appeal.
Erin Guendelsberger’s rhyming is lovely. It flows well and is fun whether you read it aloud or to yourself. I expect children will enjoy seeing Inky embarking on his adventure and if other adults are like me they’ll enjoy making up new imagined adventures and friends for Inky.
I plunge. I swim. I breathe. I whirl.
I float. I spin. I glide!
I’ll follow my heart wherever it leads.
I’ll travel far and wide!
Whether Inky is peering through a spyglass he’s holding with one of his tentacles, pleading with Blotchy to join him on his great escape or whirling with a blissful look on his face once he’s in the open sea, all of David Leonard’s illustrations bring Inky’s character to life. The expressions of joy, astonishment and horror of the various residents of the Aquarium as Inky sneaks past on his way to freedom are fantastic as well. I adore the great use of colour throughout the book.
There are even some wonderful bits and pieces to enjoy once you’ve finished reading the story. Immediately following Inky’s imagined story you’ll find information about Inky’s life, including a classic quote from the Aquarium’s manager who laments that Inky “didn’t even leave us a message” and a photo of Inky. You’ll also read about some Other Odd Octopuses and learn some very cool facts on the Are You Squidding Me?! pages. You can find out more about Inky’s story here.
Long story short, this is an interesting, informative and fun picture book that I expect you’ll want to read more than once.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Out of this tank, I must be free. I must explore the open sea!
Inky the octopus is bored with aquarium life and wants to escape to the ocean! But just how can an octopus in a tank get to the open seas? Find out in Inky the Octopus, the only tale of the mischievous octopus to be officially endorsed by the National Aquarium of New Zealand.
So, I decided to read a love story to coincide with the royal wedding and naturally chose a picture book. The Fright Club members are all practising their scares, from the ghost’s Boo! to the butterfly’s Blah!, but Fran K. Stein is doing something weird with pink paper, scissors and glue.
Several of the Club members try to guess what Fran is making (the ghost’s paper butt guess is the best one) before Bunny explains what Fran is really up to. It turns out that it’s Valentine’s Day and Fran has made a pink paper heart, which leads Sandy the witch to wonder the scariest thing of all…
“Do you think Fran … gulp … is in LOVE?”
Bunny then tells the bewildered Fright Club members what love is, terrifying them more and more with each new piece of information. Fran is reminded what love really is when his Valentine appears. Aww! 💕
The illustrations in this book are adorable! With muted colours and expressive characters I loved every picture. My favourites are those that show the horror of the Fright Club members when Bunny is explaining what love is.
This culminates in a two page illustration with the characters’ “EEEEWWW!” expressions. Sandy the witch looks decidedly nauseous and may vomit at any moment. The ghost has its eyes screwed up tightly and its tongue has escaped its mouth, looking to be mid “Blech!” The spider’s eyes are goggled. Vladimir, the werewolf, mummy and butterfly also have priceless expressions.
I’ve read this book three times over the last couple of weeks and I love it each time. In fact, if any of you are desperately searching for a Valentine’s Day present for me 😜 I’d love my own copy of this book. I definitely have to read Ethan Long’s other books, especially this book’s companion, Fright Club.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Something strange is in the air on this dark, cold night.
The members of Fright Club are always ready to scare, but tonight Fran K. Stein has something else on his mind. He’s busy making something, and the other monsters want to know what it is.
Could it be a mask with fangs? A big pink nose? Or maybe a paper butt? No … it’s a Valentine!
That means one thing … EEEEK!!Is Fran in love? What could be scarier than falling in love?!?
… and you’re suddenly in a place that only you can imagine.
A book called Book about books! Of course I was going to love this one! Whether you’re introducing a child to the magical portal books open to anywhere you can imagine, you’re suffering from a case of the dreaded reading slump or you just want to feel the spark that ignites when kindred spirits find one another, Book is the book for you.
Book brings to mind the marvellous adventures you’ve taken between pages, the places you’ve travelled in your imagination and the lifelong friends you’ve met there. Focusing on beautiful books that you can hold in your hand, you’re taken on a journey …
Where imagination scrapes the skies of opportunity, the forests of what-could-be stretch beyond the horizon
It felt like I was in an enchanted land while reading this book, mesmerised by the awesomeness that is the written word swirling around in my imagination. Natalie Hoopes’ illustrations were the perfect accompaniment to David Miles’ celebration of books.
The cranky little critters with the sharp fangs that represented the viruses books are immune to, the shelter made of books under which the boy (our protagonist) is reading and the lightbulbs with wings were some of my favourite elements. My absolute favourite illustration shows some of the adventures that await you when you look closer at a book. Showing different scenes unfolding within zoomed in letters was such a gorgeous way of getting the point across.
I want my own copy of this book so I can revisit it whenever I want to be reminded of why I’m so passionate about books. I’m so glad I accidentally found this alleged children’s book. While I’m sure kids will enjoy it I think it’s adults who will truly appreciate it.
You can say goodbye without feeling sad, because you know you can come back as often as you wish.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
In a world dazzled by the latest gadgets and mesmerised by Internet videos, the humble book seems like the most ordinary thing that could be. And perhaps it is until you learn to look closer … and closer … and closer … and you’re suddenly in a world that only you can imagine.
With soft, warm storytelling and stunning, whimsical illustrations, Book embarks the reader on an imaginative journey through the literary lands of fact and fiction, a world where passwords, viruses, and broken screens can’t stop a young boy’s earnest quest for truth. Join in this celebration of literature, scrape the skies of opportunity, traverse the forests of what-could-be, free the powers of knowledge, and discover once again why the humble book is anything but ordinary.
Yes, another unicorn book! Whenever I discover another unicorn book be assured you will hear about it. 😃
Unicorn and horse may share a pen but they do not share a personality. Unicorn is a dancing, prancing, cheery unicorn who eats pink cupcakes for every meal. Horse is not. Horse has the funniest surly, snarky attitude and is secretly jealous of unicorn, with all of his friends and rainbow farts. Yes, this unicorn farts rainbows!!! 💨 🌈
All is normal, with unicorn happy and horse not. Then unicorn is kidnapped by a couple of thieves wearing convict stripes and Zorro masks. Uh oh! Will horse save the day or will he enjoy having the pen to himself?
The illustrations are sweet, colourful and quirky. There aren’t a great deal of words in this book but the illustrations more than make up for it, bringing all of the emotions of the characters to life. Besides our chipper unicorn and cranky horse, we also meet some mice, squirrels, a bird, a fox and a turtle, who are all just gorgeous.
I’m not going to tell you that my favourite illustration is of the unicorn farting rainbows because that would be too obvious. Instead I’ll tell you my favourites of the two main characters. I love horse standing under the dark cloud with rain dripping off him and a soaked flower crown hanging around his neck.
I adore the pink cupcake picnic with unicorn, fox, two squirrels and two mice together on a pink picnic rug, unicorn regally offering a cupcake to horse in one of his hooves. The fox is sitting behind unicorn with a cupcake in paw and its tongue is sticking out. 😍
I probably found this story funnier than I should have but between the rainbow farts and horse’s expressions, this was right up my alley! Ultimately it’s a lovely story about friendship and how isolated envy can make you. At the end of the day there’s always going to be enough rainbow farts and pink cupcakes to go around.
I need to read this book about another hundred times before I return it to my library, at which time I expect I’ll need to buy my own copy.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Unicorn is a unicorn. And Horse is, well … not.
Horse is brown. Horse is plain. And Horse can’t stand the unicorn he shares a pen with. Unicorn dances. Tra la la! Horse does not. Blah blah blah. But when robbers kidnap Unicorn for a local circus, what will Horse decide to do?
Packed with forty-eight pages of hilarious illustrations and deadpan wit, Unicorn (and Horse) is a funny yet endearing lesson on envy with one important truth: We are sometimes unicorns. We are sometimes horses. And happiness doesn’t always come from pink cupcakes for breakfast.
I discovered Knock Knock Pirate after devouring Caryl Hart’s The Invincibles series. My local library had this one as well and of course I was going to request a copy because, well, pirates!
What an imaginative counting book! With great rhymes and plenty of pirates to count, our young main character (whose name is not Jim) is Home Alone when a posse of pirates take control of her house and sail it down the street and across the seven seas in search of treasure. I’m extremely impressed by the buoyancy of this home! Along the way the house-ship and its quirky sailors encounter some awesome marine life including a giant whale, giant squid and a group of sharks that look mighty hungry!
Nick East’s illustrations are funny and detailed. They compliment the rhymes so well and there’s just so much to see. I really liked the three granny pirates who arrive in style – wearing shawls while perched on top of cannonballs that crash through the roof.
From the other items visible in her treasure chest of costumes it’s clear this isn’t the first adventure this young girl has taken!
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
A visit from a pirate might sound like fun … but when the Captain’s whole crew turn up too – causing mayhem and chaos – it’s time for this little girl to panic. What is Dad going to say when he gets home?!
Trampoline Boy is a lovely picture book about friendship, acceptance and perspective. Trampoline Boy spends all of his time jumping up and down on his trampoline. The other children think he’s weird. Peaches stops one day and watches Trampoline Boy bouncing up and down. Each day she watches Trampoline Boy until one day when she whispers,
“Trampoline Boy, I wish I could see what you see up there in that blue, blue sky.”
Trampoline Boy stops bouncing for the first time. Taking Peaches by the hand, Trampoline Boy allows her to join him and together they bounce. Peaches finds out what the world looks like from up high and together they see what all of the people on the ground are missing out on.
The illustrations are colourful and interesting. I loved that Trampoline Boy doesn’t allow the kids who think he’s weird stop him from being himself and doing what he enjoys.
I loves Peaches’ interest in what Trampoline Boy is doing and how she quietly observes him before asking to see what he sees.
This book works as both a story about a boy who loves bouncing on his trampoline and as a deeper story about the value of friendship, accepting and seeking to understand other peoples differences, and how seeing things from a different perspective can show you points of view that you’ve never imagined seeing.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tundra Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada for the opportunity to read this book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
A lyrical picture book about the joy of jumping – and a springboard for discussion about unique perspectives.
Through the eyes of a character we only know as Trampoline Boy, we are invited to understand how he sees the world. His favourite thing to do is jump up and down, up and down on his trampoline. Kids walk by and tease him, but he remains steadfast and calm. One day, a quietly exuberant girl, Peaches, is fascinated by his jumping. Trampoline Boy wordlessly invites her to jump with him, and by spending this time with him, Peaches and readers get to see how important and valuable different perspectives are.
To get into the spirit I went through my stack of Grug and Clifford books to see which one would be most suitable for Mum today. I came across Grug Learns to Cook and thought there was a chance Grug would learn to cook pie 🥧 so went with that one.
Grug tries three recipes from his Bush Food Cookbook: tea-tree soup, gum-leaf rolls and carrot cake. So no pie, but it’s the thought that counts, right?
It turns out Grug is as good at cooking as I am and he likes to sample cake batter too. Grug gets an ‘A’ for effort. The results? 🤔
Well, besides the batter splatter which results in my favourite illustration, Grug does wind up with some edible ingredients, if not edible cake. Which brings me to my favourite part:
”Grug baked the rest of the mixture, but it came out burnt and black. He put carrots on the top to make a carrot cake.”
In context and with the accompanying illustration this bit earned a giggle from me. I’m fairly confident that my culinary masterpieces were the inspiration behind Grug’s marvellous food creations in this book. At least Cara hadn’t been invited over for dinner. I’m not sure there would have been enough left at the end of the lesson to feed two.
You’ve got to give Grug credit. He’s always willing to try new things, he tries his best at everything and when things inevitably don’t go quite to plan he doesn’t get upset. He makes the best out of the situation, salvages what he can and goes to bed so he can be ready for his next adventure. I can’t wait to find another excuse to give Mum another Grug book soon! 😃
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Once Upon a Blurb
Try some scrumptious gum-leaf rolls prepared by Grug!
This classic Aussie hero is back from the bush to enchant a new generation of youngsters!
Schizanthus Nerd 