What’s That Splat? (Johanna Bell, illus Amelia Luscombe, Thames & Hudson)

What’s That Splat? is the picture-book equivalent of the famous Rorschach test – the psychological assessment that analyses a person’s response to a series of inkblots. Here, writer Johanna Bell and illustrator Amelia Luscombe – the duo behind What Is a Dot? – invite readers aged 2 and up to discover that hidden images and stories may lurk in what at first appear to be simple splashes of colour. As Bell writes, “Sometimes a splat is just a splat, but sometimes a splat is much more than that!” Luscombe works with a bold, limited colour palette of yellow, white, red, black, brown and blue. Broad, free-flowing splats are overlaid with finer lines that hint at emerging forms: perhaps creatures, perhaps food, perhaps something entirely unexpected. The open-ended visuals leave room for any interpretation. Bell’s rhymes are catchy and engaging, and the central idea is cleverly executed. What’s That Splat? will stimulate imaginations and can be used at home or in classrooms to prompt children to dream up countless possibilities from abstract shapes. The book may also inspire creativity beyond the page, encouraging young readers to create their own splats and, in the spirit of Mr Squiggle, invent stories from the splotches, shapes and lines they see.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Thuy On is an arts journalist, editor, critic and poet. She has published three collections of poetry. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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