The Incredible Freedom Machines
(Scholastic, 2018)
written by Kirli Saunders and illustrated by Matt Ottley
Tags: Picture books, reading, imagination, self-empowerment, perseverance, overcoming limitations, borders and boundaries
When I first brought this book home from the Wollongong Writers Festival, I left it on the coffee table and my husband Steve commented how much he loved the art work in it and read it straight away.
This is something worth mentioning as he usually ignores the weekly piles of fiction books, including picture books, that invade our living space. (He only reads non-fiction). So I was very impressed, but not all surprised that he did notice it: its pastel colour cover is evocative and opens up questions. What's the girl looking at through that telescope? Where is she and why is she there? What is the piglet looking at in the opposite direction?
This is something worth mentioning as he usually ignores the weekly piles of fiction books, including picture books, that invade our living space. (He only reads non-fiction). So I was very impressed, but not all surprised that he did notice it: its pastel colour cover is evocative and opens up questions. What's the girl looking at through that telescope? Where is she and why is she there? What is the piglet looking at in the opposite direction?
After I heard Kirli Saunders and Matt Ottley talk about it in one of the WWF 2018 sessions, I had to have it.
It's a beautifully collaborative narrative, where visuals and text not only come together but narrate different layers. It's the kind of book one revisits and see's different meanings in image and text.
It's a beautifully collaborative narrative, where visuals and text not only come together but narrate different layers. It's the kind of book one revisits and see's different meanings in image and text.
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| Kirli Saunders reading at the WWF 2019 |
The story is about pursuing an idea of self-empowerment; at the same time, the images show exactly what this could look like with a nice twist in the end that opens up the floor of possibilities to the reader.
The Plot
Through her telescope she looks out for one her size. Because there is none, she 'grows' one herself with a lot of hard work, patience and perseverance. On good days she flies and discovers the abundant world of nature on land and under the sea.
"As she grew in a world sewn together by boundaries,
she saw the need and hunted for one."
Once she's got her incredible freedom machine, she travels beyond her boundaries and limited world and discovers a colourful world full of wonders and creatures.
"Her incredible machine would take her to themost abundant untouched places.
And she would learn from these new places and creatures...
"She would soak up their secrets and return a little more entire."...and transform:
"With her freedom machine, she was everything she had ever dreamed of being"
The pictures include some subtle details, such as the girl's pig companion which is a piglet that always looks in the opposite direction of the girl. There are also names on some of the dream machine such as 'Foreword' and 'Chapters' which drop a clue to the reader that the dream machines are all different, but for some it's a motorbike, for others it's a book.
Themes
Sometimes our surroundings can be limiting and full of boundaries. The only way to escape them is by being creative, patient and persevering in our pursuit of adventure, knowledge and contentment. Motto: Let's use our imagination.
Words
Kirli Sanders explained that she, as a poet, found the process of crossing arts and doing a picture book kind of natural, which is the more reason why I recommend reading picture books like this one to YA and grown ups. They hold so much poetic and philosophical beauty in word and picture that everyone can enjoy, no matter the age, gender or cultural background.
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