Diana Weston (text), Kym Burrows (illustrations), Nadje Noordhuis (composer), Alicia Crossley (musical accompaniment), Angus Ryan (Lyrics), Danielle Grant (reader) Magpie Baby, Captain Honey, 29 October 2014, $25.00 (hbk) with audio CD, 24 pp., ISBN: 9780992474669
This charming book is the work of a collaboration of artists and beautifully put together by new, independent publisher, Captain Honey. It is described as a “musical storytelling with an illustrated and written component” and takes as its subject a baby as she grows from birth to “Running Rampant” and ends with a mother’s reminiscences.
The book acts as the CD cover, and is the same small, square size. It starts with a song list and then each beautifully balanced opening corresponds to one of the songs. The left page has a small amount of centred text in a nostalgic typewriter-style font and a sketch of a magpie or two. The right page has a sketch of the baby (Anna Dorothy) usually looking out to captivate the reader, engaged in the action described in the text. Soft pastel smudges on each page add warmth and depth.
The CD contains eight short, 2-3 mins of music corresponding to the actions of Anna Dorothy, and a reading of the text precedes each song so that children can listen to the CD without the book and get a sense of the inspiration for the composition. The Classical baroque music makes a refreshing change from contemporary children’s music and features intriguing instruments rarely heard by toddlers today, like the harpsichord. It provides a fabulous taste of this style of music (which has been said to benefit brain development) to capture the attention and imagination of children. A sample of the music is available on the Captain Honey website.
I would have liked to have had an introduction to the instruments, like in Peter and the Wolf, at the end of the CD, so that parents and children could also begin to recognise the sounds on repeat playing, but that doesn’t detract from this being a superb and creative production.
Magpie Baby would make a perfect gift for a newborn, and would be a great resource for imaginative play and dance in homes, child care centres and preschools.
I found reading interviews with author, Dianna Weston, very interesting – you can find them on Kids Book Review and The Book Chook.
reviewed by Debra Tidball
