Kim Rackham (text) and Heidi Cooper Smith (illustrator), Hannah Backwards, Riveted Press, August 2025, 96 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk). ISBN 9781764007139
Hannah loves life just the way it is… snuggling in bed with her parents on the weekends, walking to school with her best friend Izzy and spending time with her Nana and Pop. When her Nana gives her a rounded, smooth, Shiva shell, she tells her it will help keep her calm and may even allow her to make a wish.
When Hannah’s beloved teacher, Mr Spicer, announces he is leaving, Hannah and her class can’t imagine life without him, but when Izzy says she’s moving too, Hannah’s world is turned upside down. Nana suggests Hannah make two collages the two can hang on their walls to remind them of their friendship. This helps, but as the day of Izzy’s departure gets closer, Hannah finds it harder to deal with the swirl of emotions, which erupt in a way that surprises them all and she has to find a way to make everything right.
Peppered throughout with line drawings by Heidi Cooper Smith, this is a charming, verse novel for younger readers about navigating emotions, loss, friendship and change.
Reviewed by Deborah Abela
