Narelda's clever use use of textiles from the time immerses us in the early 1900s. I can almost feel the bunny's felt jacket, the tiny ridges in mother and daughter's tweed coats.
Pieces of cloth twisted in the sleeping girl's hair opened up a world of questions about life at the time, too.
Over this background of authentic imagery, Kaye opens our hearts to feel a little girl's longing.
What was it like not knowing for months at a time if your father was dead or alive?
How did families cope when it took weeks to receive a sprinkling of news?
How did soldiers manage in those freezing wet tranches?
Who knew there was a strict pattern to follow when you knitted socks for soldiers?
Through the gentlest of lyrics, Kaye shares the wonder of a community supporting absent soldiers, the feelings of accomplishment that went with completing a pair of socks, and the tiniest whisper of hope that accompanied letters of love secreted inside these wooden gifts.
Title: Message In a Sock
Author: Kaye Baillie
Illustrator: Narelda Joy
Publisher: Midnight Sun Publishing, $27.99
Publication Date: 2 April 2018
Format: Hard Cover
ISBN: 9781925227383
For ages: 3 +
Type: Picture Book
