Sunday, 5 October 2014

Non-Fiction All Ages


NZ Writer & Illustrator
Gavin Bishop     Teddy One-Eye
Random House 2014  $34.00hb 218pp
ISBN 978 1 7755 3727 4
Through the eyes (button and glass) of an aging Teddy Bear we see the childhood and later life of Gavin Bishop as he grows up and becomes a writer and artist. This was a book that, after Piano Rock simply had to happen and not one bit of it disappoints. It is just the right size and it looks and feels wonderful – a book to hold in your hands and enjoy before even opening it.  And, against the writer’s story we also see 60 years of life in New Zealand from the innocence of the time in Kingston 1950 to the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010-2011 – and Teddy One-Eye survived them, gently swinging in a black rubbish bag on the back of the basement door. There is pathos and a sense of loss in the telling as well as much humour and good cheer.

Year 4 up/ Age 8 up (and especially for adults who grew up in the 50s and 60s)

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