Australian Writer and Illustrator
Bill Condon, Illustrated by Beth Norling
The Simple Things
Allen & Unwin 2014 $15.99pb 160pp
ISBN 978 1 7433 1724 2
Themes: Family
Life/ Friendship/ Growing up/ Old Age/ Solo Mothers
Stephen really doesn’t want to go and stay for three
weeks of his precious holiday time with boring old Aunty Lola even if his mum
and dad will be there as well. For Heavens Sakes she’s nearly 80 and he’s never
met her before although she does send him money on his birthdays. Like the title
of the book, this is a simple story about
family values, loyalty and friendship and with a totally unexpected surprise
near the end! It would be a
pleasure to read aloud to the right group of say 9 and 10-year-olds and
probably (and I apologise if this sounds rather sexist) an all girl gathering.
In my opinion, the cover does not do justice to the story it
enfolds.
Year 5 up/ Age 9 up
Note: I have started using a colour code for the four categories of books I review:
Magenta: Picture Books
Blue: Fiction
Red: Young Adult
Green: Non-Fiction
