One of the newest additions to our bookshelf is The Extraordinary Mr Qwerty by Karla Strambini. This book is a beautiful celebration of creativity and individuality. Mr Qwerty worries that other people will think his ideas are strange, so he keeps them under his hat, but ideas can’t stay hidden for long.
Strambini’s detailed black and white illustrations with a dash of colour are simply spectacular. I often find my 6 year old son, James, reading this book or browsing through the illustrations, so I asked him what he thought of it.
I think the Mr Qwerty book is really good because Mr Qwerty has lots of ideas.
Mr Qwerty is the main character and he likes to invent things. Mr Qwerty feels alone because he thinks people will think his ideas are strange. I don’t think his ideas are strange, they are really cool!
He hides his ideas under his hat, so the people can’t see them. Then his idea escapes and it helps to make everybody’s ideas come true.
The pictures are great. They are mostly black and white but some bits are colour. Everyone is wearing a hat and there are lots of birds too.
- This review by James, aged 6, the son of Melissa from Honey Bee Books.
Title: The Extraordinary Mr Qwerty
Author/Illustrator: Karla Strambini
Publisher: Walker Books, $29.99 RRP
Publication Date: 1 August 2013
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781921720703
For ages: 5+
Type: Picture Book
