The Incredible Freedom Machines - Picture Book Review

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?

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.

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

A young girl, who lives in a caravan park in what seems a desolate environment, surrounded only by desert and rocks, hears about the incredible freedom machines. She longs to have one, too, as she becomes aware of the boundaries and limitations around her. 

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 the

                                most 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.

Twig - Picture Book Review

Twig

(Scholastic, 2016)

written and illustrated by Aura Parker

Tags: Picture books, Reading, Insects, being invisible, friendship, 

This is one of the books I brought home from the Kids & YA Festival at Writing NSW 2018 that made me all excited to go home and read. Funny thing was, I saw the author, Aura Parker, at the first panel session I attended. She stood in the corner, drawing a picture on a paper that was propped up on an easel. I wasn't sure why she was doing that. The other four panelists, Paul Russell, Dub Leffler, Kirli Saunders and chairing Sarah Davies were having a good time talking about all sorts of themes picture books tackle these days, including dementia identity and freedom., while she was quietly drawing in the corner. I mustn't have paid attention, because after ten minutes or so, Dub Leffler swapped places with her. (I think people could win them in the raffle tickets at the end of the day. I bought some but didn't stay till the end and so I'll never know - I could have ended up winning one of them!). I realised later, Aura standing in the corner, isolated and seemingly not part of action like  the rest -- mirrored, uncannily, Heidi, the heroine of her delightful picture book.

The Plot

Heidi is a stick insect starting at a new school. Her problem is nobody notices her. Not even the teacher because Heidi just blends in too well with her surroundings, because that's what stick insects do -- brown, long and thin, they are masters in camouflage!

"Nobody saw her at lunchtime. Nobody saw here, here... there...or anywhere."

Heidi is not included in the learning, the playing or anything else around the school grounds, which makes her sad. She remains invisible until she gets mistaken for a twig to be used in a school project, she finally speaks up:

"I'm NOT a twig. I'm me! Heidi!" 

and ta-da! She speaks up and is no longer invisible. She makes sure that everyone will notice her from now on and the whole school is in on it and all the forest children weave a scarf as a welcome gift and as a way to de-camouflage Heidi! Now she can join in the playing and learning and discovers her hidden talents along the way.

Theme(s)

Being different and shy at the same time can be overwhelming -- especially on your first day at a new school. Yet, sometimes you gain more by stepping forward and make your voice heard!

Heidi doesn't get only overlooked because she looks like a twig and blends in in the woody environment too well. The reason why nobody notices her is because she doesn't make an effort to stand out. 

"Bug school is abuzz with hundreds of shiny, scurrying shapes.

 But not one bug noticed the new girl, Heidi, 

tall and long like the twig of a tree. "

Heidi's story shows that sometimes we need to step out of our comfort zone and speak up - even if we are shy, every now and then, we need to do things differently to what comes natural to us. And once people get to know us, being different can come in handy for all--and well, 'bridge'- building when we need one! 

The start of any friendship takes one step. Sometimes this step needs to be ours. And when we do, we get rewarded with new friends --and when we're super lucky with a new scarf!

Pictures

The world of Heidi's new school of bugs is softly painted in pastel tones. The school yard in the woods, is filled with life, fun and games and invites to look for where Heidi might be 'hiding'.

This is nicely contrasted with Heidi's inner feeling of loneliness, depicting her and her shadow surrounded by nothing but white space:

"One, tow, three. One tow three. Why won't someone play with me?"

Bug school looks like so much fun and there is so much detail that it's easy to get lost in the delightful images.

Words 

Hiding Heidi -- is there a better name? 

TWIG is a beautiful book - to read and to just look as the pictures on each page tell their own story. It is a book that I wish one could physically dive into and play with all those cute little bugs of all sizes, shapes and colours in this perfect little bug world. They look like they're having the best time of their lives!


Here are fun links to the fabulous book trailer and Aurora Parker drawing Heidi the stick insect 

Sad, The Dog

(Walker Books, 2015)

written by Sandy Fussell, illustrated by Tull Suwannakit

Tags: Picture books, Reading, Dogs
Here is the promised review on Sad, the Dog, (Walker Books, 2015) written by Sandy Fussell and illustrated by Tull Suwannakit. It is one of my favourite picture books that feature a dog. Read more or listen here.

This is my first picture book review, so I hope I don’t break any rules and conventions –and if I do –I hope you will read on anyway.

The Plot

The story is about a little dog that ends up as an unwanted Christmas present. While his owners look after his physical needs –they feed, bed and groom him– they don’t understand him, don’t love him and therefore don’t name him. So the dog calls himself Sad. When the owners move away, they leave him behind, hungry and confused. The next day, however, a family with a young boy moves in and the boy is delighted:

"Mum, you forgot to tell me our new home has a puppy. This is the best surprise ever."

The boy called Jack gains the puppy’s trust by being patient and caring. The dog feels understood and loved for the first time, and he appreciates the little and big things Jack does for him, like giving him a padded basket to sleep in, special treats for breakfast, and games they can play together. But best of all, he gives him a name and one that suits him much better than the old one: LUCKY.

Theme(s)

Sad, the Dog is a heart-warming story about loneliness and emotional neglect, about being unappreciated and misunderstood, and how this situation can turn around. It is about hope and the power of love.

The book tackles difficult topics, among them pet ownership. What happens to those unwanted Christmas or birthday gifts? (One in five Australians own a dog, so there are nearly 5 million dogs and, sadly, every year, tens of thousands of dogs get abandoned and worse).

The book’s strong story lines, themes and messages make it a great book to read with and for children ages 5-8 years.

Why I keep buying this book for my little and not so little friends? In Sad, the Dog the two elements of picture book storytelling come beautifully together. The two elements being a) the pictures and b) the words.

The Pictures

Sad, the Dog is a pretty book.

What I mean by that is that its cover has great appeal. As a visual person, I judge a book by its cover.
I know, I shouldn’t, but I do. Every. Single. Time.

When I go to a bookstore, I never go directly to any particular section (I like reading all sorts of books), even if I know what I want to get; instead I scan the place and let colours, fonts and imagery catch my eyes, before I even pick up a book and read the blurb.

I guess everyone has their own method in how they conquer the sheer volume of information and make a selection. If a cover doesn’t call out to me, I rarely get to hear what the inside of the book has to say. It’s a bit like buying new shoes or jeans –if you don’t like the look, why bother trying them on?

But back to Sad, the Dog and its pretty cover: On the front cover there is a tree, a dog, a huge grey sky and lots of fallen leaves. A single leaf is just about to land on the small dog’s head, who, sitting on a bed of fallen leaves, is looking out into a rain-heavy sky. He looks lonely. There is nothing on the horizon.

If you removed the title and names of the author and illustrator, the watercolour painting would carry the story of Sad, the Dog beautifully on its own. With a leaf-less, lifeless tree dominating more than half of the book, the dead leaves in colourful pastel tones don’t seem quite dead yet; so yes, it’s pretty, but it also is gloomy. Because the dog sits there all alone, you immediately wonder and want to find out why. All of this is captured in Suwannakit's cover.

On the back, the blurb reveals just enough to understand that the little dog is unloved, unwanted and – sad. This feeling is all consuming and he has become Sad, with a capital S, it’s no longer what he feels but who he is. There is an empty letterbox, a pigeon and a crow.
In some cultures, pigeons represent peace, faith and fidelity, while crows are often portrait as the bringer of bad news in a number of mythologies. Sad, looking on as they fly passed, doesn’t know what the future brings: good or bad news.

I also like the fact that Sad is neither pretty nor particularly cute. It helps staying focused on the message that he, like all dogs, needs to be loved and respected. The little short-legged, small eyed, overweight cross-bred of a dog is perfect.

Inside the book, Sandy Fussell weaves a clever pattern of contrasting ideas, which brings me to the second element of the picture book storytelling, which is done so well here:

The Words

The words tell the story by contrasting the viewpoints of owner/dog:

Sad the dog was very clever. He could sing wonderful songs.
“Stop that Yapping,” Mr Cripps boomed

and

He could read stories.
“Stop ripping up the newspaper,” Mr and Mrs Cripps yelled

Through juxtaposing views of the first owners vs the dog’s intentions, the text invites the reader to look at both sides of the coin, while the details such as the names carry further clues about their owners:

Sad, is the name of the neglected, unhappy dog, while Mr and Mrs Cripps, the unloving owners sound a little bit like ‘creeps’. And then there is Jack.

Jack, a common English name since the middle ages (so common in fact that it was often used in lieu of the terms ‘boy’ or ‘man’) means ‘God is gracious’. But a jack is also a tool that lifts heavy loads. The boy, Jack, lifts Sad’s heavy heart and the burden of being unhappy.

Ok. That last part may be me, getting carried away a bit. But I like the idea that names can add, ever so subtly, an extra layer of meaning.

Sad, the Dog is a beautifully told story, full of symbolism in pictures and words and I would recommend reading it aloud and in company. It inspires conversations about responsibilities to care for pets, about hope when all seems lost, and it is a book about friendship and finding a true home…

…I could go on, but maybe it’s for you to find all the little and big messages hidden in this book for yourself ?