Pea Pod Lullaby

Description

WINNER: 2018 Prime Minister's Literary Award, Children's Fiction I am the small green pea, you are the tender pod, hold me Words sing over the pictures in this evocative story: a beautiful lullaby about what we can be for each other. A mother and baby, a boy and a dog run for their lives. A little boat carries them across the sea. A polar bear, too, has come adrift. When will they find land? Where will they find friends? Who will welcome them in? The Pea Pod Lullaby is an inspiring and timely story of courage, endurance, and hope... for a world in which we can reach out and embrace one another.

Glenda Millard is the author of many acclaimed novels and picture books, and Stephen Michael King has illustrated, written and designed many wonderful books for children. This book grew from a poem Glenda wrote when Stephen and Glenda were preparing their contribution to the Hush Treasure Book for the Hush Foundation. They developed the words and pictures for this story together when Stephen was doing a residency at Manning Regional Art Gallery. Their picture book The Duck and the Darklings was Winner of the 2016 WA Premier's Books Awards - Children's Book Category, shortlisted for the 2015 CBCA Picture Book of the Year Awards, the 2015 NSW Premier's Literary Awards, The Wilderness Society's Environmental Award for Children's Literature, and selected by the International Youth Library as a White Raven 2015 book.

"a profoundly moving love poem, not only for families but also for our planet and all its inhabitants, animal and human-a prayer for our survival. Reading the beautiful language and realising its meaning would be affecting enough, but combined with the superb illustrations, it becomes sublime. The illustrations contain pictorial references not only to caring for individual families, but also to the plight of refugees, endangered animals and the environment. The basic message is one of love and caring for each other; Pea Pod Lullaby says there is hope for us and the world. This is highly recommended for all ages." Margaret Hamilton ...'This book is intoxicating. I've turned so many times to its poetic words and lost myself in the beauty of the illustrations. It's for everyone: from the small child on your knee to the great-grandma sitting in the sun.'* Good Reading 'King's eloquent watercolour and ink tapestry-like strip sequences punctuated by large, full-page spreads chronicle a journey from danger to safety. In combination with Glenda Millard's prayerful poem (the two worked in close collaboration throughout on an art gallery wall project), the result is a powerfully affecting, deeply moving book that speaks to people of all ages. It's a poem for survival: survival of the homeless and displaced, for refugees especially (and sadly there are ever increasing numbers seeking safety in countries other than their own); for the survival of endangered animals too.This sublime picture book offers a heartfelt message of caring, connectedness, love and hope; it's one to treasure.' Red Reading Hub