This special book is about Australia’s industrious and busy bowerbird.
Our bowerbird is a collector of everything that is blue. He is ‘always looking, finding and keeping!’ He loves blue, even the smallest skerrick excites him. The bluer the better! But no matter how many blue things he seeks something is still missing. What could it be?
He scours the countryside, even visiting the city. He revels in the sky so blue, soaring to great heights, he flys over glistening sea that sparkles all shades of blue.
All the while his collection is growing and with it his Bower so blue. He prances and dances, carefully placing his bibs and bobs around as his bower grows. But, something is still missing. What could it be?
Then he hears a rustle and a crackling of leaves. This must be it. This is what he has been missing.
This is a book for the heart and a gift for your soul. Aura Parker has crafted all the elements of this picture book so beautifully. The story has such calmness to it that you are quietly swept along with our bowerbird enjoying his determination and glee at finding all things blue. It is about longing and the joy of finding what you are seeking, even though you know not what it is. What a joy it is to share in him finding that something.
Another keeper.
Reviewed by Merle Morcom
Age Guide 3+
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aura Parker’s bodies of work are constantly evolving. She often draws on themes of nature, humanity and childhood. Her work is insightful and imaginative with a playful sense of humour.
Aura is the author and illustrator of seven picture books which have received awards such as Children’s Book Council of Australia Notable and the Speech Pathology Book of the Year.
Meerkat Splash has also appeared on the ABC’s enduring Play School program, read by Lachy Wiggle. Aura’s picture book, Bowerbird Blues, published in 2023 was been chosen for National Simultaneous Storytime in 2024.
Aura works from her studio in Sydney and illustrates her picture books in watercolour, pen and coloured pencil, mostly by hand and she also works digitally depending on the project by drawing and painting with Wacom using Photoshop and illustration software.
Aura has a background in design, web design, motion graphics and brand creation and worked at the BBC in London as well as freelance projects and cover illustrations with educational publishers before moving on to children’s publishing. Her enduring interest in the expression of colour and fascination with repeat patterns led to the creation of bright contemporary fabric prints from 2010- 2018, which led to textile exhibitions and a collaboration with her talented sister-in-law, interior designer, Marena Von Behr in the form of boutique screen-printed textiles label, Studio Bonnie.
She is passionate about art, design, children’s literature and the environment. Aura lives in Sydney with her family and has three children, who she tries to read and draw with as much as she can. Over time she has kept an abundance of pets including a cheeky Border Collie called Mojo who keeps her company in the studio.
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