Pea Pod Lullaby
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley October 22, 2017
Author Glenda Millard and Stephen Michael King
Distributor: Allen and Unwin
ISBN: 9781760290085
Publisher: Allen and Unwin Childrens
Release Date: September 2017
Website: https://www.allenandunwin.com
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Touching and beautiful this delicate piece of picture poetry will delight the hearts of all who read and enjoy this evocative story.
Created as a component of an art installation being painted for the Manning Regional Art Gallery, by Stephen Michael King during a residency, the words were added by the talented Glenda Millard, in a manner which reaches out from both a visual as well as lyrical perspective.
A Mother, her children and a small brown dog run for safety, they board a small boat heading out to sea; they come across a polar bear stranded on a melting ice flow, taking him on board. A whale and her calf travel under the boat to help guide them to safety, but who will take them in; who will care for them?
As the boat travels on across the ocean, the polar bear eventually arrives at a safe place on the ice, with the mother, her children and the little brown dog, finally finding safe harbour in a place that could very easily be interpreted as Australia, a green and welcoming place.
As the words unfold they sing to you in the timeless metre of the lullaby, ‘I am the falling star, you are the wishful hands, Catch me”, words which call out to the very soul.
It is a story of courage, of hope, love, kindness and endurance which is so very important to be recognised in today’s word where kindness, courage and care is so often overlooked.
Regardless of the age range of readers there is something to be found, discovered and enjoyed on every page. Each illustration contains many facets, the accompanying words equally so, making this a picture book and a beautiful, carefully created piece of poetry, overwhelmingly right for discussion and enjoyment.
The Pea Pod Lullaby is a book to be treasured and enjoyed for and over generations.