Picture Books - preschool up

TO BE PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 5th

Dutch Writer and Illustrator

Sieb Posthuma  (translated by Bill Nagelkerke)  Where is Rusty?

Gecko Press 2014  $19.99pb 32pp

ISBN 978 1 9272 7146 9

Themes: Department stores/ Families/ Keeping safe/ Lost animals/ Shopping

Four dogs (Rusty, Henrietta, Toby and their mother) are off on a shopping expedition to a really big department store in the city. Henrietta and Toby are well-behaved small animals and stick close to their mum but Rusty, a bit of a rebel, takes off and follows all the tempting and delicious smells his nose dictates.  Adventures follow, danger even, but (and we can tell from the jacket of the book this will all end happily) the family finally pins the missing Rusty in the Light Department where he is masquerading (and hiding from his pursuers) as a lamp – with furry feet. A gentle story, full of good humour and family togetherness although, of course we know from the final page that Rusty will take off again at the first opportunity. The character of Rusty is based on the writer’s own dog, Rintje, who looks, in his photo, a bit of a tearaway too.

Preschool up/ Age 3 up

(Sadly Sieb Posthuma died a few days ago. We will need to treasure this and his many other books)