Emma Bowd (text), and Hilary Jean Tapper, (illustrator), The day you were born, Affirm Press, July 2023, 24 pp., RRP $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781922863706
A love letter to children everywhere, this book would make a divine baby or first birthday gift. Inspired by the classic nursery rhyme, Monday’s Child, Emma Bowd has given the poem a much-needed update. Monday’s child, for example, previously fair of face is now kind and caring. Wednesday’s child, previously full of woe is now curious and yearning. Bowd’s debut picture book Wonderful Shoes was a CBCA notable last year. She’s again utilised rhyming couplets in Monday’s Child to create a pleasing read-aloud.
Tapper’s illustrations take in a diverse cast of children and carers in soft water-colour. Most scenes depict children in green expanses of nature and the divine endpapers are covered in sunflowers.
The book will act as a useful tool for pre-schoolers learning the days of the week. Children enjoying the story will be bound to ask on what day of the week they were born. This, of course, is likely to elicit a fun and fond discussion between little people and their loved ones.
Reviewed by Heather Gallagher
