Picture Books - preschool up

Australian Writer and Illustrator

Alison Lester, illustrated by the writer

Noni the Pony Goes to the Beach

Allen & Unwin  2014  $29.99hb 32pp

ISBN 978 1 7433 1114 1

Themes: Life at the seaside/ Stories in rhyme

Everything about this seaside picture book is cheerful. The sun shines continually and the only tension is when Dave, the dog, intrigued by a spouting whale, swims out too far and has to be rescued:

So Noni the Pony, faithful and brave

Wades through the swells and rescues poor Dave.

Alison Lester Image: Allen & Unwin

The colours are subtle and the images are clear. It is, what you might term, a very safe book (and I love it for that!) 

Alison Lester spends part of every year travelling to schools in remote areas, using her books to help children and adults write and draw about their own lives. 

She was Australia's Inaugural Children's Laureate from 2011 to 2013.

Preschool up/ Age 4 up