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A review by jessiquie
Little Puggle's Song by Vikki Conley
5.0
Little Puggle's Song is one of the beautiful and inspiring picture books I've read. There is just something about this adorable books that tugs at your heartstrings and makes you notice it.
Puggle might be small, and not able to sing, but she is mighty and resilient in the face of failure.
Each day Puggle watches her friends in the bush sing the most beautiful tunes; when Brown Feather (aka Kookaburra) starts up a choir Puggle strikes up the courage to ask to be part of it. Having no ability to sing, or even make a noise, Puggle is mocked and laughed away. Determined, she tries everything she can to make a noise and fulfill her dream to be able to sing, until one day fate comes knowing at her door and everything she has worked for is on the line.
Helene Magisson has created the most adorable character in Puggle. Seriously, despite knowing that she is an echidna with quills that will hurt, there is something about the way she is draw that just makes me want to reach through the pages and give her a cuddle. With such big eyes brimming with hope and adoration for those around her singing, Puggle is instantly a character I was drawn too. The attention to detail on her quills, with the way the light catches them and the colour variations throughout them is second to none and showcases Magisson's intense talent and creativity; the characters in this book are more than alive on the page, they transcend it with their pelts and coat, feathers and quills all looking so lifelike and touchable!
Magisson uses what looks to be perhaps water colours to create her beautiful blends and colourful illustrations that sweep the reader from their beds and straight into the bush-land that Puggle calls home. The colours have clearly been chosen to reflect the light and perfectly capture the bush atmosphere with a mix of eathly browns, greys, yellows and green employed across the pages. But it's perhaps the nighttime scenes, with the deep purple background that Magisson's colour choices are the most perfect. On that note, so are the end-papers ... I would seriously purchase and hang some of these images (the nighttime scenes and the end-papers) in my house.
Vikki Conley's narrative is a timeless tale about dreams, hopes, aspirations and the work it takes to make them come true. It's also about fitting in and finding your voice and place around others. Conley's text is as emotive as it is descriptive, taking the reader on a wild ride as we desperately wish for Puggle to find his voice.
While Magisson's images make the characters leap of the page, Conley's soft and gentle voice leads the reader through an emotional and heartfelt tale. I could hear the Australian animals singing, the grunting of the Little Grey's (aka Koala's) and the clicking of the Long Tail's (aka Kangaroos). I could hear the Kookaburra as though it was outside my window singing and laughing to its hearts content; I was swept away by the Little Blue's tweets, the fantials peeps, and I kind of cringed at the Cockatoo's "ah-rak, aah-rak" screech. I think parents and kids alike are going to have the best time trying to mimic these sounds.
All in all, Little Puggle's Song is a superb picture book that belongs in every Australian childhood home library. It's a story that offers its heart and soul on every page, making it not only a pleasure to read, but a beautiful and entertaining story to watch unfold before your very eyes.
Little Puggle's Song was selected as a Noteable for the 2020 CBCA Book of the Year: Early Childhood award.
This review was originally posted at The Never Ending Bookshelf on the 28th June 2020 and can be found here:https://wp.me/p3yY1u-2k2
Puggle might be small, and not able to sing, but she is mighty and resilient in the face of failure.
Each day Puggle watches her friends in the bush sing the most beautiful tunes; when Brown Feather (aka Kookaburra) starts up a choir Puggle strikes up the courage to ask to be part of it. Having no ability to sing, or even make a noise, Puggle is mocked and laughed away. Determined, she tries everything she can to make a noise and fulfill her dream to be able to sing, until one day fate comes knowing at her door and everything she has worked for is on the line.
Helene Magisson has created the most adorable character in Puggle. Seriously, despite knowing that she is an echidna with quills that will hurt, there is something about the way she is draw that just makes me want to reach through the pages and give her a cuddle. With such big eyes brimming with hope and adoration for those around her singing, Puggle is instantly a character I was drawn too. The attention to detail on her quills, with the way the light catches them and the colour variations throughout them is second to none and showcases Magisson's intense talent and creativity; the characters in this book are more than alive on the page, they transcend it with their pelts and coat, feathers and quills all looking so lifelike and touchable!
Magisson uses what looks to be perhaps water colours to create her beautiful blends and colourful illustrations that sweep the reader from their beds and straight into the bush-land that Puggle calls home. The colours have clearly been chosen to reflect the light and perfectly capture the bush atmosphere with a mix of eathly browns, greys, yellows and green employed across the pages. But it's perhaps the nighttime scenes, with the deep purple background that Magisson's colour choices are the most perfect. On that note, so are the end-papers ... I would seriously purchase and hang some of these images (the nighttime scenes and the end-papers) in my house.
Vikki Conley's narrative is a timeless tale about dreams, hopes, aspirations and the work it takes to make them come true. It's also about fitting in and finding your voice and place around others. Conley's text is as emotive as it is descriptive, taking the reader on a wild ride as we desperately wish for Puggle to find his voice.
While Magisson's images make the characters leap of the page, Conley's soft and gentle voice leads the reader through an emotional and heartfelt tale. I could hear the Australian animals singing, the grunting of the Little Grey's (aka Koala's) and the clicking of the Long Tail's (aka Kangaroos). I could hear the Kookaburra as though it was outside my window singing and laughing to its hearts content; I was swept away by the Little Blue's tweets, the fantials peeps, and I kind of cringed at the Cockatoo's "ah-rak, aah-rak" screech. I think parents and kids alike are going to have the best time trying to mimic these sounds.
All in all, Little Puggle's Song is a superb picture book that belongs in every Australian childhood home library. It's a story that offers its heart and soul on every page, making it not only a pleasure to read, but a beautiful and entertaining story to watch unfold before your very eyes.
Little Puggle's Song was selected as a Noteable for the 2020 CBCA Book of the Year: Early Childhood award.
This review was originally posted at The Never Ending Bookshelf on the 28th June 2020 and can be found here:https://wp.me/p3yY1u-2k2