Now I would ordinarily not even think about reviewing childrens books, since I am supposed to be the rough tough Aussie living in a gentle village in Northumberland, which puts me slightly out of place for kids books. However, nearly a year ago something magical happened which ended up presenting me with a baby son and a pressing need to introduce him to decent literature. Its my firmest belief that the literacy problem encountered these days caused by parents not finding books early on which tickle the childs imagination. There is a lot more than that to it of course, but thats not a bad start.

With that in mind, I'm reviewing a book which was given to me by a friend when she visited from Australia.

The story is about a young possum who is turned invisible by his grandmother for safety. When the young possum decides she wants to see herself again, grandma realises she has forgotten the spell and the two of them decide to travel around Australia looking for the spell to get the young possum visible again. 

This is an absolutely gorgeous book, in every sense of the word.

The story is engaging enough to keep the interest of a young child and there are some wonderful alliterative aspects which make the story fun to read and which help children experience the sheer joy of using the language. Try this out:

They ate Anzac biscuits in Adelaide, mornay and Minties in Melbourne, steak and salad in Sydney and pumpkin scones in Brisbane

 That last line is a bit of a adult joke aimed at Australians who remember a certain renowned politician and his wife.

 The illustrations by Julie Vivas are stunning. Thats the only real word I can use, because any other word doesn't take the quality of these illustrations to a high enough level. 

Some artists - Vivas included - have the ability to look at their subject and not just make an accurate depiction of it, but are also able to reach into the subject and draw out the essence of the subject. 

Vivas has managed to convey the mischievious nature of the baby possum, the laziness of an old man koala and the sheer slitheriness of a snake. Make no mistake about it, these illustrations are world class. Absolutely fabulous childrens book and something I am glad was given to me. Its certainly made me look at childrens books in a very different light.