Noah Dreary (Aaron Blabey, Viking)

Aaron Blabey has a knack for creating picture books with unusual themes, and has won several awards for his work. His first book Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley won the CBCA Book of the Year Award for Early Childhood, The Dreadful Fluff was named a CBCA Honour Book and The Ghost of Miss Annabel Spoon recently won the Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature at the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. Noah Dreary, the story of a boy who literally loses his head, is another quirky and amusing title. One day Noah complains so much that his head falls off. At first he experiences the typical emotions of anger and bewilderment felt by people who are confronted with great adversity. Finally, Noah accepts his fate and turns it to his advantage. He no longer complains about trifling things but campaigns for the planet. Even without his head Noah is able to live his life to the fullest, and he feels like the luckiest boy in the world. This is an amusing and touching story that is well worth sharing with children, especially those who might be struggling to accept a minor, or even major, upset in their lives.

Margaret Hamilton is a former children’s book publisher. She now runs Pinerolo, the Children’s Book Cottage in Blackheath

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

Category: Reviews