Hello Twigs, How Are You Feeling? (Andrew McDonald, illus Ben Wood, HGCP)

Author Andrew McDonald and illustrator Ben Wood, who together have earned fame with the Real Pigeons series, have branched out with a new early reader graphic novel series. In Hello Twigs, How Are You Feeling? three twigs named Red, Noodle and Ziggy and their friend Stump are living their best lives until Stump decides to launch himself against a tree. Stump has felt great sadness since a lightning strike separated him from the Big Tree, which has caused him to miss out on his favourite pastime, feeling the breeze. He attempts to reattach himself to the tree numerous times to no avail. However, the hardy twigs hatch a plan to bring joy—and breeze—back to Stump’s life, and it works! This is a sweet story about celebrating teamwork and acknowledging the feelings of others. Wood’s illustrations keep the story light and funny, and the beauty of the format is that children can read aloud or alone, as the books are sparse in text, with uncluttered pages. This is the first in the new series and will appeal to fans of similar series, such as Pizza and Taco and Narwhal and Jelly. Look out for the other three Twig adventures to ‘leaf’ through, coming soon.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Katie Haydon is a library officer in Geelong, graphic novel enthusiast and a former assistant editor of Books+Publishing. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

Category: Reviews