Occasional Book Review

Hey Baby!   by Corinne Fenton

 Walker books

A great book has a great title- and what an eye-catcher this one is!

It serves as an invitation to join in the conversation, to observe, to revel in the remarkable photographs that accompany the text in this picture book.

Succinct words and fabulous animal photographs are the stars of this book.

This makes a delicious, caring read to share with a new baby or toddler.  What an affirming, positive, liberating experience.

Words are highlighted in colour.  For example splash is  printed in orange to ‘swim’ with the goldfish on the page and this  enriches the joy and reading journey of the book.

The intimate words and expression of love are underscored with the uniqueness, the preciousness of a baby.  And we see that baby right in the end pages of the book.

Never doubt for a second,  a splash, or a hold-your-breath moment…

I think my favourite page is the zebra- after seeing one of my grandchildren take her zebra softie to bed with her, I think a zebra shows us our own unique, genetic makeup.

Highly recommended.

Corinne Fenton writes wonderful picture books about childhood like Queenie the elephant and Dog on the tuckerbox.

History, craft and Writing

A new Year 2013!

And threads of history begin to weave their way through this new January.

I've begun workshops with the Post Office gallery, Bendigo in conjunction with the Art gallery as part of their holiday workshop programs.

We're working right beside the 'Growing up in Bendigo' exhibition.  What fun.  Looking at ordinary people's childhood treasures.

I was invited to submit also and eventually chose a beloved craft book given to me by my grandmother in the 1960's.  As I revisited it again I realise what a big part creativity has played in my life and continues to play.

The workshops involved making /writing memories and then crafting a memory box.  I thought that an hour and a half on a 41 C degree day would be too long, but it wasn't if anything we needed more time.

The age group is 8 - 12 years 

Here's a peek at some of the covered boxes.