New Zealand Post Book Awards - more Picture Book Category finalists

Duck’s Stuck by Kyle Mewburn with illustrations by Ali Teo and John O’Reilly

Kyle Mewburn’s Kiss Kiss Yuck Yuck was the winner that really mattered in the 2007 NZ Post Awards, taking out both the Picture Book and the Children’s Choice titles. It must be very satisfying for the judges when their opinion coincides with that of the country’s young readers, and it doesn’t happen as often as it perhaps should.

Mewburn’s 2009 finalist, Duck’s Stuck, could well be another winner for this Central Otago writer. It is funny, bright and attractively illustrated. The rhyme flows well, it would make a great read-aloud, and it is a clever fractured fairytale combination of The enormous turnip and greedy Winnie-the-Pooh’s close encounter with a rabbit hole. It even provides a junior level introduction to a few basic principles of physics.

However, unlike the very well-presented Kiss Kiss Yuck Yuck, this book has come out only in paperback format. Presumably cost is a feature here, and it would certainly be a shame if production costs were to restrict the amount of quality New Zealand material available at this level. But a good book deserves to look good, and the proliferation of thin, paperback New Zealand titles around makes it difficult for libraries to display them as well as they deserve. Three of the five finalists for this year’s awards are in this format only, and I think it is a pity.

The Were-Nana : NOT a bedtime story by Melinda Szymanik with illustrations by Sarah Nelisiwe Anderson.

While this also has fractured fairytale elements, they are those of a much more sinister tale. Anderson’s lovely-but-scary illustrations capture perfectly the shadowy elements in this (not entirely reassuring) story of how a bullying brother is taught a lesson by the mysterious Nana Lupin. This might be a little too dark for younger children--although it is the kind of darkness that has always been a large part of traditional folklore.

Piggity-wiggity Jiggity Jig by Diana Neild with illustrations by Philip Webb.

This is a sunnier tale altogether. It has, in fact, already had its moment in the sun as last year’s chosen read-aloud for Children’s Book Week, and it proved to be an excellent choice. A sequel to the story about a young pig embarrassed by his name is already in the bookshops, and has the same qualities. Piggity-Wiggity is a great read-aloud, full of rhyme, rhythm, repetition, and rollicking family love, suitable for a wide age range.

Reviewed by Cecily

Published by Scholastic