english
4-8 years
english
Jane Godwin & Felicita Sala
summary
When my Aussie friend Lucy (on Instagram @LoveFourLearning ) suggested I make Lamingtons, I knew the perfect book to make them for! Arno is a young boy who can’t remember where he left his little wooden horse.
At first, the reader doesn’t know why Arno is so concerned with where he left it, but friends rally and help him search the bush. After a long and unsuccessful search retracing steps, Arno thinks about his grandfather and dreams about him before he became sick and frail. The story morphs into an understanding that the horse is a memento from a family member who has passed on. It might not be the physical horse that Arno yearns to be returned, but the memories and the careful craftsmanship that went into making the horse for Arno.
This gentle story is beautifully illustrated, and the landscapes that illustrator Felicita Sala has created are beyond dreamy. It’s a great tale for explaining grief and remembering family members, and I really enjoyed the storytelling style that was distinctly not American. This book was kindly sent by Cursor Marketing and published by Scribble Kids but all opinions are my own.
For the Lamingtons recipe, I followed this recipe from the blog eat, little bird. Since this was a totally new recipe to me, I followed it as written. Definitely recommend!
Jane Godwin
Jane Godwin is a highly acclaimed author of over thirty books for children, across all styles and ages. Her work is published internationally and she has received many commendations, including the Queensland Premier’s Award (Children’s Books), the Aurealis Award and the Animal Welfare Award, and shortlistings in the CBC Book of the Year Awards, the Prime Minister’s Literary Award, the New South Wales State Literary Award (Patricia Wrightson Prize) the YABBA Awards, the Speech Pathology Awards, The Family Award for Children’s Books, and the Australian Book Industry Awards.
For many years, Jane worked as the Children’s Publisher at Penguin Books Australia.
Jane’s most recent novel is When Rain Turns to Snow, published by Hachette in July 2020, and her most recent picture books are Sing me the Summer, illustrated by Alison Lester and published by Affirm Press, and Don’t Forget, illustrated by Anna Walker and published by Penguin Australia.
Felicita Sala
Felicita is a self taught illustrator. She graduated in Philosophy from the University of Western Australia. She has worked on several animation projects along with husband Gianluca, but her passion is making picture books. She lives in Rome with Gianluca and their daughter Nina.