The Whale Child Elizabeth Pulford Jane Smith 

The Whale Child  Elizabeth Pulford         
 Illustrator: Jane Smith 
Bateman (2026) 
Picture book, 32 pages, Paperback 
ISBN 978 1 77689 166 5 

 “Great-grandma let out a long sigh and closed her eyes. 

‘Are you asleep?’ whispered Honey.” 

This beautiful picture book is in the tradition of Falter Tom and the Water Boy. Elizabeth Pulford has created a world of myth, where a great-grandmother is telling her great-granddaughter, Honey, a bedtime story of stormy seas and a shipwreck. Great-grandma’s tale describes the loss of a ship with almost all on board. 

 ‘Eventually the ship came to rest snug in the palm of the ocean floor, far below the violent storm … Its weary wooden bones became one with the gentle rocking water …’ 

 The only survivor is a tiny golden-haired baby, a newborn who swims to the surface, There she is found by a pod of whales and is saved by the youngest whale. ‘And so, scooping her up with his fin, he carried her tucked into his side until the whales reached a place of safety.’ Great-grandma tells Honey how the girl stays with the whales for four years. 

 ‘As she grew, the two of them would spout water, plunge deep through the skin of the sea, swim towards the high horizon and hunt for fish to eat.’ 

The happy times end when a whaling ship arrives. Tragedy follows, both for the whales and for the child. Great-grandma tells how the young girl was taken ashore by the whalers and ‘as time gradually passed, her old life was washed from her memory as if it had been a dream.’ 

Nelson artist Jane Smith’s atmospheric paintings are a crucial part of this story. Each illustration – usually double-page – is dramatic and richly coloured. The picture of the baby swimming upwards from the wreck sets her tiny pink body against the dark emerald of the sea with shafts of light illuminating her red hair. The other illustrations are equally powerful and dramatic. 

 A special feature is the way that subtle hints are included in the depiction of Great-grandma’s home. Everything from objects in the kitchen to clothes worn by the pair carries suggestions of the sea. (Hint: look carefully for Great-grandma’s shawl.) 

The pictures also create the book’s clever surprise ending, where the young reader will find that attention to detail brings its own rewards. The book’s design is by Megan van Staden. 

 Trevor Agnew 

 4 Feb 2026 [Review 3819]

Finding Monkey Moon Elizabeth Pulford, ill. Kate Wilkinson

Finding Monkey Moon

Elizabeth Pulford,
illustrated by Kate Wilkinson
Walker Books NZ$28

Finding Monkey Moon is writer Elizabeth Pulford’s 61^st children’s book and illustrator Kate Wilkinson’s first book. Between them, the two have created a masterpiece.
Elizabeth Pulford’s story tells of Michael’s favourite toy monkey found missing at bedtime and how he and his father search for it, even returning to the park.
“Don’t be scared, Monkey Moon,” Michael cries out. “I’m coming.”
Kate Wilkinson’s elegant and touching illustrations show the two searching by torchlight in the wintry darkness, “their breaths fluttering like moths in the cold air.”  
As they search among the dark trees, the beautiful pictures have emotional impact, capturing both the boy’s concern for his toy and the father’s caring love for his son.
The last picture shows the two, their search successful, returning home. We see that Michael is carrying Monkey Moon, just as his father carried him.
“There you go, young fella,” says Michael.

Trevor Agnew

This review originally appeared in Fairfax Newspapers in September 2015

 

Bridge Books: Books that bridge the gap between Picture books and Novels

Bridge Books:  Books that bridge the gap between Picture books and Novels:

 A Lion in the Meadow  Margaret Mahy, ill Jenny Williams, Orion, 49 pages, paperback, $14.99 

Wolf and Dog  Sylvia Vanden Heede, ill Marije Tolman, Gecko, 94 pages, pb, $24.99  

Lily Gets in a Pink Pickle  Elizabeth Pulford, ill Aki Fukuoka, Scholastic, 88pages, pb, $12 

Salto-scaredypus (Dinosaur Rescue 8)  Kyle Mewburn, ill Donovan Bixley, Scholastic, 96 pages, pb, $12 

Megasaurus Mash-Up 1 (Dinosaur Rescue 1-4)  Kyle Mewburn, ill Donovan Bixley, Scholastic, 374  pages, pb, $19 

Hercules, Champion of the World  Nigel Gray, ill Heath McKenzie, Walker Books, 109 pages, pb, $14.95 

The Day My Father Became a Bush, Joke van Leeuwen, Gecko, 104 pages, paperback, $19.

 

Bridge Books:  Books that bridge the gap between Picture books and Novels

by Trevor Agnew

Call them bridge books. Call them chapter books, early readers or young novels. The name doesn’t matter; it is the function which is important.  These are the books where words carry young readers across the gaping chasm between picture books and novels.  These are the books that show children the power of words to entertain, enlighten and amuse. These are bridge books.

The pictures in Margaret Mahy’s A Lion in the Meadow are certainly beautiful but, right from its first publication in the School Journal in 1965, this story has demonstrated the combined power of words and imagination to create a gripping story.  A little boy is frightened to go into the meadow, because of “the big, roaring, whiskery, yellow lion” there. His mother conjures up a story of a dragon to scare the lion away. It works – because stories are powerful – but the lion then seeks refuge in the broom cupboard. All ends well, with the boy and lion friends, playing in a different, dragon-free meadow. This story may be nearly 50 years old, but its charm and wisdom make it fresh on every telling.

Sylvia Vanden Heede’s Wolf and Dog (translated from the Dutch by Bill Nagelkerke) is a witty tale of two cousins: Dog who lives in a basket and menacing Wolf who lives in a forest and is wild. Wolf mocks at Dog’s possessions (like his cap and Guard Dog sign) while secretly lusting for them. Dog is fascinated by Wolf’s rough ways and fleas. When Dog cooks him some bacon, Wolf eats it straight from the pan! This tale, full of word-play and puns, is ideal for young readers, especially those with rough friends.

Elizabeth Pulford’s Lily Gets in a Pink Pickle has a highly appropriate title because little girls adore pink, and this book has pink-edged pages and a twinkly pink cover. Lily is a trainee angel at Amelia’s Angel Academy who always has cute mishaps, which turn out well anyway. Will Frumplepuss cause trouble at the Cherub Cat Show? The tone may be twee but Pulford knows how to tell a story and Aki Fukuoka’s pictures are charming. There are five earlier volumes in the Littlest Angel series for those who get hooked.

Kyle Mewburn’s Dinosaur Rescue series has more boy readers than girl readers because of its cheerful concentration on farts, snot and dinosaur droppings.  Salto-scaredypus is the eighth in this gleefully anachronistic series, which now has 120,000 copies in print and fans from Canada to Slovenia. Arg is a bright Neanderthal lad with a Swiss army rock and a low-brow family, who hinder his high-minded efforts to save the dinosaurs from extinction. It’s all messy, slap-stick fun, and Donovan Bixley’s brilliant illustrations add a whole new dimension to the silliness with features like ‘The Dos and Don’ts of Mammoth Hunting.’ For newbies, Volumes 1 to 4 have been bundled into Megasurus Mash-up 1. These are books that make kids want to read.

 Nigel Gray tells the story of Hercules, Champion of the World in a cheerfully flip way that lures young readers deep into Greek mythology. “Hercules was one of those kids who is best at everything. (Don’t you hate them?)” is a typical comment. When Hercules lies on his funeral pyre, a friend asks if it’s a good idea to start smoking at his age. The bits in between are just as amusing but also re-spin a good yarn.

 The best writers are those who can make an unpleasant subject readable. Joke van Leeuwen’s The Day My Father Became a Bush (another Bill Nagelkerke translation) faces up to the baffling world of war. “Before my father turned into a bush, he was a pastry chef,” says Toda, who learns about military camouflage when war overtakes her country. She becomes a refugee and has to avoid irritating those who care for her. Her list of things to avoid includes “not saying ‘thank you’ enough,” and “singing songs they didn’t like.” Her identity reduced to a number, forced to learn a new language (which the reader too has to pick up), Toda reflects the experiences of the world’s refugees. Her simple childish viewpoint makes sense to the reader, as Toda describes the turmoil of war as seen by one of its victims. The down-to-earth common sense which enables Toda to be reunited with her family also makes this a warm and touching story, which emphasises the power of words. It is a perfect example of a story that builds bridges.

 Trevor Agnew

Note: This review was first published in Your Weekend Magazine, The Press, Christchurch on 15 June 2013.

 

FULL  PUBLISHING  DETAILS:

A Lion in the Meadow  Margaret Mahy, ill Jenny Williams, Orion Early Reader/ Hachette NZ, 49 pages, paperback, NZ$14.99  ISBN978-1-4440-0926-2

Wolf and Dog  Sylvia Vanden Heede, Gecko, ill Marije Tolman, 94 pages, pb, NZ$24.99   ISBN 978-1-877579-38-7 

Lily Gets in a Pink Pickle  Elizabeth Pulford, ill Aki Fukuoka, Scholastic NZ, 88 pages, pb, NZ$12  ISBN 978-1-77543-099-5

Salto-scaredypus (Dinosaur Rescue 8)  Kyle Mewburn, ill Donovan Bixley, Scholastic NZ, 96 pages, pb, NZ$12  ISBN 978-1-77543-121-3

Megasaurus Mash-Up 1 (Dinosaur Rescue 1-4)  Kyle Mewburn, ill Donovan Bixley, Scholastic NZ, 374  pages, pb, NZ$19  ISBN 978-1-77543-121-3

Hercules, Champion of the World  Nigel Gray, ill Heath McKenzie, Walker Books, 109 pages, pb, NZ$14.95  ISBN 978-1-921529-89-4

 The Day My Father Became a Bush, Joke van Leeuwen, Gecko, 104 pages, paperback, NZ$19.99  ISBN 978-1-877579-16-5  

 

 

 

Gripping Trio of Tales for Teens

Shadow of the Whale Celia Davies, Reed, 111 pages, paperback, NZ$16.99
ISBN 1-86978-007-4
Sea Dreamer Elizabeth Pulford, Random House, 160 pages, paperback, NZ$19.99
ISBN 1-86941-887-8
Losing It Sandy McKay, Longacre, 218 pages, paperback, NZ$18.99
ISBN 1-877361-74-6

“Davey picked up a blubber spade and climbed up onto the whale’s back. Legs apart, he balanced carefully then began cutting and slicing with strong, sure strokes.”
How would a modern teenager cope with life on a shore whaling station? When David Fraser wakes up after a traffic accident, he finds that he is now living in the 1830s. As a convalescent his workload is light: he collects firewood and water, milks the cow, and helps with washing the clothes and digging the garden. When he recovers, however, Davey has to resume his dangerous work with the other whalers.
While his body seems used to the flensing and boatwork, Davey’s brain seethes with memories of the 21st century. Even as he steers a whaleboat heading out to harpoon a whale, Davey finds himself feeling sorry for the whale. “It was a shame to kill such a magnificent animal.” Can he ever return to his own time? Or will he die in another whaling accident? Shadow of the Whale is a well-researched and readable adventure with a time-twist in its tail.

“How can I live without Rana? Her funny ways. Her daring. Her madness. Even her hateful moods of late.” Sea Dreamer is a sensitive novel about fourteen year old Cassie’s struggle to cope with the gradual break-up of her lifelong friendship with Rana. As the two girls grow apart, Cassie finds herself increasingly interested in the life of an ancestor, Sarah Cassandra Addison, who may have been involved with pirates.
Gradually Cassie finds herself reflecting more on her relationships with others, and gaining an understanding of her old teacher and her Grandmother Sarah. She also develops her first hesitant interest in boys. The sea plays a strong part in Cassie’s life, living as she does in Rewa Bay (which resembles Purakanui in Otago). Cassie becomes increasingly fixated on poems about the sea, and a tumultuous storm forms a fitting climax to the novel. As Cassie narrates her story, the reader gains an insight into the powerful emotions of adolescence.

“Apparently I’ve been diagnosed with both anorexia and bulimia. Lucky me! I didn’t know you could have both at the same time.” Sandy McKay has written many excellent witty novels for younger readers, so it is no surprise that, although her first novel for older teens is about a serious subject, it is also gripping and often funny. In Losing It Jo writes letters from the hospital where they are trying to treat her eating disorders.
“Even murderers can choose if they want dinner or not… Not me,” complains Jo. Her main correspondent, her friend Issy, has a flair for saying (or writing) the wrong thing, even trying to encourage Jo with a quote from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and then, realising this might be a bad choice, ends: "The point is, this guy escaped in the end. (Well, someone did.) Hang on to that thought, Jo. Think positive."
Sandy McKay’s account of Jo’s ordeal is indeed positive, with interesting characters and a skilful storytelling technique. The book’s presentation is of an equally high quality, with cards, notes, newspaper clippings and photos interspersed among the letters. (There are even crumpled drafts of the letter she keeps trying to write to her estranged mother.)
Losing It is a well-crafted novel which rewards careful reading; it provides a touching picture of the importance of caring and friendship in healing the body and mind.


This review by Trevor Agnew first appeared in The Press, Christchurch, New Zealand on
21st July 2007.