Something Wonderful (Raewyn Caisley & Karen Blair, Viking)

4 February 2016 Unlocked content from the archive. Books+Publishing

Raewyn Caisley’s first book with illustrator Karen Blair, Hello from Nowhere, took readers to the Australian Nullarbor to reveal the benefits of living in the middle of a desert. In Something Wonderful, the duo returns to show how growing up on a farm can offer kids something that the big, bustling city might not—time and space to learn about the world free from the constant lure of technology. Young Sam is distracted from his chores by the endless possibilities of the farm. Instead, he uses the things he learns from playing outdoors—chasing feathers in the wind, climbing trees, pondering raindrops—to invent something useful and, as it happens, wonderful! In her dedication, Caisley reveals Sam is based on an acquaintance who grew up in a small country town in WA and became a physicist. Blair’s gentle pencil-and-watercolour illustrations charmingly evoke Australian country life, complementing Caisley’s story that harks back to a time when children were able to play without high-tech diversions and hovering parents. Ideal for children aged three to six years, Something Wonderful is a good tool for parents and teachers to encourage kids to turn off the TV, shut down the computer and think creatively.

Suzanne Garcia is a bookseller and buyer at Mary Martin Bookshop Melbourne

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