You Get What You Get and You Don’t Get Upset! by Heath McKenzie

16 May 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, The Picture Book Corner Tags: , , ,

Published: 2nd January 2024
Publisher: Lake Press
Illustrator: Heath McKenzie
Pages: 32
Format: Picture Book
★   ★   ★   ★  – 4 Stars

Everybody at Molly’s kindergarten knows that you don’t always get what you want. Maybe you don’t get your favourite coloured pencil. You might not get the most comfortable cushion. Or maybe you miss out on getting your favourite cup at snack time. That’s just life; you get what you get and you don’t get upset!

Heath McKenzie coming in with another wonderful book. I like his illustrations but I also like when he pens his own books. This is a fun story about teaching readers that sometimes you get what you get and you don’t get upset. Sometimes your favourite chair is being used, sometimes the last chocolate milk is taken and you have to have strawberry. Sometimes someone else got to a toy before you. It’s ok.

I love that in this classroom there is a situation called the yellow cup situation. Specifically there is a fight for a single yellow cup which is a great example that even when you can be calm and diplomatic about some things, there is still a chance to go absolutely buck wild and fight for a single yellow cup because each kid believes it has special significance.

The illustrations are a fun design and are mainly bold black and white designs with smatterings of colour throughout. The kids have cheeky faces and unique expressions, McKenzie beautifully bringing the story to life with simple detail and a lot of fun.

I loved seeing this classroom rule being used in other aspects of these characters lives and how they have a united understanding that this is the way the world is sometimes. It’s a great representation of how people can be taught that sometimes life isn’t fair but not in a disheartening way, more in a way that lets them know that despite not getting exactly what they want, it doesn’t take away from the experience while also acknowledging it can still be a bit disappointing.

It’s a great story that shows how the kids in Molly’s class understand that sometimes you get what you want, sometimes you get something that is just as good even if it’s different, and sometimes you get something you didn’t want. A great lesson that everyone needs to take to heart. We can all learn from Molly’s kindergarten class.

You can purchase You Get What You Get and You Don’t Get Upset via the following

Blackwell’s | Wordery | Angus & Robertson

 Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust

When Things Aren’t Going Right, Go Left by Marc Colagiovanni

02 May 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, The Picture Book Corner Tags: , , , ,

Published: 7 March 2023Goodreads badge
Publisher: Orchard Books
Illustrator: Peter H. Reynolds
Pages: 32
Format: Picture Book
★   ★   ★   ★  – 4 Stars

One day for no particular reason, nothing was going right. Absolutely positively, nothing was going right. So, I decided to go left…

When things aren’t going right — sometimes we simply need to… go left! We all have worries, fears and frustrations. But we also all have a choice: to carry them with us — or to let them go. Told through creative language play, and with depth and whimsy, this picture book reminds readers of their own agency and the power they have to direct their own path.

I really like this idea as a concept. Sometimes things aren’t going right and there’s no real reason why, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do something about it. If things are scary or something isn’t going well Colagiovanni tells us you can change it.

I liked the play on words about going right and left. It’s so simple but one that is obvious and eye opening. It’s a fantastic course of action to implement and easy for kids to understand. The little personified voices of the fears and worries were also great, and super fun when you read them out loud.

There is a rhythm to the story without it needing to rhyme. The repetitive actions make it predictable towards the end which actually works well and makes interacting with the story fun since the book already addresses the rhythm a little bit in the layout style.

I loved the illustrations and the colour scheme. I loved the dark colours for the not going right parts, and the brighter colours as we start going left. The gradual shift from darker shades to light was a great visual change of how the light can be at the end of a tunnel and there is a way from the dark, even with little choices like this character makes.

It is a great book about choice and how sometimes you have some agency in how you feel. You can choose to not be scared and try something new, choose to ignore your fears and doubt and leave them behind. I loved there was no given reason for why things weren’t going right and it’s only small changes that start to improve things. Colagiovanni acknowledges that those frustrations and doubts may still be there, you might not get rid of them entirely, but they will be easier to carry, and you’ll have a plan in place if it happens again.

You can purchase When Things Aren’t Going Right, Go Left via the following

QBD |  Booktopia

Wordery |  Blackwell’s | Angus & Robertson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

 

Lovebird Lou by Tammi Sauer

18 Apr 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, The Picture Book Corner Tags: , , , ,

Published: 1 March 2022Goodreads badge
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Illustrator: Stephanie Laberis
Pages: 32
Format: Picture Book
★   ★   ★   ★  – 4 Stars

A sweet, love-infused celebration of individuality and acceptance!

Lovebird Lou adores life with his family and friends on the island they call home. But when he travels to the other side of the island and sees the amazing abilities on display by different birds, Lou feels unfulfilled with the laidback lovebird lifestyle. With his adoring parents cheering him on, Lou decides to spread his wings and see what else he can accomplish. This sweet, funny story celebrates individuality, self-discovery, and the joy of community.

Another picture book I picked up for the cover and it 100% delivers internally as well. This is a wonderful book. It is funny, cute, and the illustrations are half the fun. I liked how Lou isn’t unhappy with being a lovebird, but he still wants to be more interesting and these new birds he hasn’t seen before are what he wants to become.

I loved how unequivocally supportive Lou’s parents are. He wants to be a flamingo, they are right behind him, he wants to be a pelican, they tell him he’s an amazing pelican. There are brilliant lines as Lou admits defeat in his quest to be a [different] bird, “Being a bird is for the birds” he admits and becomes a rock. This was the highlight of this book for me. There is nothing more adorable than a flock of supportive lovebirds helping this little bird start his journey to be a rock. There is nothing more fantastic than the greatest image ever of a bird sitting in a field with a sign beside him that reads #1 Rock. Laberis has added so much to this story with the illustrations and as much as I love Sauer’s story, the illustrations are divine.

You can purchase Lovebird Lou via the following

QBD | Blackwell’s

Dymocks | Wordery | Angus & Robertson

 Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust

Wombat, the Reluctant Hero by Christian Trimmer

04 Apr 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in 3 Stars, The Picture Book Corner Tags: , , , ,

Published: 21st March 2023Goodreads badge
Publisher: Macmillan
Illustrator: Rachel Gyan
Pages: 32
Format: Picture Book
★   ★   ★  – 3 Stars

Wombat liked her things just so. Everything had its place, and nothing was out of order.

She couldn’t say the same about her neighbours. But that was their business, and Wombat didn’t concern herself with others’ business.

When a very hot, dry summer causes dangerous fires in their neighbourhood, a group of animals are desperate to find water and shelter. It will take the quiet heroism of a neighbour to provide resources and a cosy, cool, and safe burrow—a reluctant wombat who demonstrates the inspiring power of community.

According to the author note this story is based on true events witnessed during the 2019/20 bushfires also known as Black Summer. As someone who lived through that time it was a real reminder of how bleak and dangerous that time was, and how no one really had a chance to process it before we were then thrown into a world wide pandemic. Reading this book made me a bit emotional towards to end, mainly because I am known to be a sucker for sweet stories, but also because I was reminded of my own experiences during that time which foolishly wasn’t something I thought would happen.

I was perplexed by wombat’s grumpy face on the cover, but having finished the book I am putting that look down to her determination. It isn’t that she is grumpy, she is tired sure, but she is determined. And that is the face of a determined wombat. There is no malice like I thought there’d be – no wombat getting tired of helping all the time and dismissing her neighbours, she stays helpful even though it’s hard work, and when they really need her she is once again ready to help no questions asked.

Gyan does do a great job on the illustrations. The animals are lifelike but personified, and wombat looks adorable in her clothes and pottering around her little house. The images of the bush and the animals are gorgeous – natural while still having some picture book-eque behaviour. The colours are stunning and I love the natural look, even within wombat’s burrow which looks very Hundred Acre Wood in terms of homeliness.

It was a surprising read, and one that unexpectedly brought back some bad memories from those fires that summer. But as weird as it was that it’s not written by an Australian, I’m glad an American author was touched by our plight to write this book and give the animal’s story a voice – even if it is fictionalised. Having said that, I would have liked some more Australianness to the story, even the token stereotypical stuff would have sufficed. Having Wombat drink a flavoured seltzer? Which is not a common drink here, one I didn’t even think we had till I checked, and one I’ve only ever heard about from Americans. I dunno, it felt off that so much effort was made to tell our story and there was so much of another culture through it. Even a fictionalised gumnut tea would have been better.

You can purchase Wombat, the Reluctant Hero via the following

Blackwell’s | Dymocks | Wordery | Angus & Robertson

 Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust

 

How to Be a Giraffe by Thea Baker

21 Mar 2025 Leave a comment

by Amy in 3 Stars, The Picture Book Corner Tags: , , ,

Published: 7th September 2021Goodreads badge
Publisher: Little Genius Books
Illustrator: Thea Baker
Pages: 32
Format: Picture Book
★   ★   ★  – 3 Stars

Joffrey might have horns, a tail and a long neck, but his stripy fur is causing quite the stir. Everyone knows that giraffes have spots! But if Joffrey isn’t a giraffe, what could he be?

First things first, I’m ashamed to say it took me a while to realise what the problem with the giraffe on the cover was until the story pointed it out, it didn’t click that giraffe don’t have brown stripes but honestly it’s a cute look.

Basic giraffe anatomy aside, this is a fun book. Joffrey is born different and while he isn’t exactly cast out from his herd, he is made to feel weird and Not Like The Rest enough that he chooses to leave. Clearly Joffrey doesn’t have a Mrs Jumbo in his life that defends their kid the second their born from the rest of the mean herd.

The story follows Joffrey as he tries to find who he is, if he isn’t a giraffe then what could he possibly be? I love his attempts at being different animals – from bees, to crocodiles, to elephants. All of them not the right fit.

The narrative rhyme is simple and flows well as you read either aloud or to yourself. The illustrations and the text work well together as readers build anticipation with page turns and fun expressions.

The illustrations are sweet, the designs are simple and the colours are gorgeous in full and partial pages. The creative geometric designs used in the background design as well as some of the other animals is clever and add great texture to the page. I also loved the small details like a spotted zebra which goes to show that others might not match their community either but it doesn’t need to mean anything.

I like that when Joffrey goes home, the other giraffe realise they were wrong. His leaving made them understand they’d made a mistake which is a great apology to show. Joffrey didn’t have to be the one to be proud of who he is without the community knowing they’d been wrong as well. There’s no point being proud of who you are while everyone else thinks you’re weird and shouldn’t be there. That’s not fair to Joffrey and he’d be better off staying away.

It is a good message wrapped around a cute and humorous story and one I think a lot of people could learn from.

You can purchase How to be a Giraffe via the following

QBD | Blackwell’s

 Wordery | Angus & Robertson

 Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust

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