Wednesday 8 April 2015

Picture Books (New Zealand Birds) Preschool up


Australia Writer and NZ Illustrator  Alicia Munday, illustrated by Carl Van Wijk

Squishy Squashy Birds  Potton and Burton 2015   $19.99pb 40pp ISBN 978 1 9272 1342 1

Themes: Endangered NZ birds/ Show and tell/ Stories in rhyme

Sammy’s favourite book is Endangered Birds of New Zealand and he keeps the book safely in his backpack. While all seems calm on the outside, inside the book is a different story with the colourful, noisy birds all squashed up uncomfortably together and mainly protesting
loudly (except for the Hoiho who likes it quiet) that they really want to be in their natural places in the mountains, the bush and sea.  Then one day, Sammy opens the book at school during Show and Tell and into the classroom fly the birds. ‘The birds burst from the pages like a rainbow feathered sea’ and they certainly do look like this as generously large images cover every page. This is a book that is a pleasure to look at, to read and to handle. 

Preschool up/ Age 4 up
Note to Alicia (if you should be reading this!)

Alicia do you remember about five or six years ago you sent me the text of this book for an assessment? Sadly I have now lost your email address so I can’t make this more personal but I did want you to know how truly delighted I was when the book arrived in all its magnificence in my post box just before Easter. It’s taken a while but here it is and you and Carl must be so proud of the way it looks. Congratulations to you both.  Barbara Murison

2 comments:

  1. Hello Barbara! Yes, I remember it well. Thank you for all your advice. It was invaluable. I am so glad you like the book. I hope you are well. Thanks Alicia

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  2. Thanks for this Alicia. The ways of computers are strange indeed because this comment (or one very like it) came through in April 2015 when the post first went up. But, It was good to gt them both. And I hope you are well and doing a lot of new writing! Barbara M.

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