A sneak peek
Reviewed by Heather Zubek and published in Book Buzz February 2010
”… The illustrator is Moira Court who was the illustrator of choice for the first book. Court’s illustrations are vibrant, quirky and wonderfully Australian with a touch of classic Britain. Children love to recognise Court’s nod to Australiana throughout the book – the carpet of everlastings, the gecko on the wall and the Australia Post box. But it is a worry what is actually being minced on one page!
A fun and colourful picture book which will make story-time before bed even more enjoyable.”
http://kids-book-review.blogspot.com/2010/03/review-miss-llewellyn-jones-goes-to.html
Meg Sorenson for Sydney Morning Herald 17/04/2010
“Miss Llewellyn-Jones Goes to Town….is a sequel to Miss Llewellyn-Jones and this time the resolutely quirky protagonist takes off on a Vespa with teddy in the front basket. She shops successfully at the butcher, the baker and the cupcake maker, until teddy gets bored and slips away in the fruit shop.
The rest of the book is a search for the missing teddy, with some moments of anguish (one involving a mincer) until he arrives back at his mistress’s feet on a toy horse, acquired in a nasty accident involving sausages and a little girl.
For the most part, this book offers an easy-to-follow and enjoyable ride, but it does have moments where the gaps in the text demand children make visual connections between events for themselves.
The success of the book is that kids will probably will be so involved in the story they will be keen to make the effort and feel a sense of accomplishment when they do make the conceptual leap, spurred on by the repetition of key words and the strong rhythm, of the simple text.
In her striped stockings, spotted undies and goggles, Miss Llewellyn-Jones is so focused on expressing her sweet brand of ordinary madness, she has no energy left for an ironic, genre aware wink to the reader. If self parody is the opera of picture books, this is a musical theatre, carried off with entertaining lightness of touch.”
Named as a Notable Book by the Children’s Book Council of Australia in the Picture Book catagory 2011 Children’s Book Awards.
