A gorgeous, sometimes whimsical offering that provides
the seeds of good advice and encourages small people to stand in their power,
it shares ideas and thoughts on useful and fun stuff to know as you’re growing
up!
With its appealing pastel colour palette and engaging, friendly hand-drawn characters throughout, this book is one that gently and clearly talks to the reader, setting out the lay of the land.
The inviting layout contains plenty of movement, along
with moments of white space and stillness. With its unusual size and textured
cover, it’s a most pleasing, satisfying picture book to look through and hold.
How to find a friend, how to be a good friend, ways to have fun together, how to cope when others are hogging the see-saw, a reminder to look up - all manner of important and helpful ideas are addressed with tender illustrations, sensitivity, skill and humour.
The cast of characters are beautifully and cleverly rendered in magical pencil drawings – diverse, but not overly so. There’s an acknowledgement of difference in people’s temperaments and desires, and in their ways of playing and of learning.
There’s also the added joy of looking back over each
double spread once you’ve finished the book, to figure out where the ‘half’ of
the title’s 31 and a half, comes into the story. (I think I’ve
got it!)
This book is sure to captivate and surprise all who
wander through its pages.
A delightful, heartwarming guide to growing up.
Title: 31 And A Half Things To Know As You Grow
Author: Meg McKinlay
Illustrator: Nicky Johnston
Publisher: Walker, $22.99
Publication Date: 1 November 2024
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781760658052
For Ages: 3 - 8
Type: Picture Book