The Man from the Land of Fandango (Margaret Mahy, illus by Polly Dunbar, Frances Lincoln)

Margaret Mahy’s recent death is a great sadness for her many fans worldwide. Twice winner of the Carnegie Medal and recipient of the Hans Christian Andersen Award, her two previous picture books, Down the Back of the Chair and Bubble Trouble, both illustrated by Polly Dunbar, were hugely popular. It is a delight, therefore, to discover that the author and illustrator collaborated again on The Man from the Land of Fandango, another joyful, colourful celebration of words and imagery that is not only wonderful to read aloud, but also encourages active audience participation. Although this story is considerably shorter and simpler than Bubble Trouble, the language is similarly rich in alliteration and movement, with the words appearing to float and twirl across the page. Polly Dunbar’s illustrations match perfectly the exuberance of the text, as a colourful array of animal friends ‘tingle and tongle and tangle’ their way through this lively tale of the magical appearance of the beaming, bouncing, dancing Man from Fandango, who ‘only appears every five hundred years .. So you’d better be home when he calls’. This is recommended for pre-school- and kindergarten-age children.

Hilary Adams works in a Specialist Children’s bookshop in Sydney

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

Category: Reviews