Maxine Beneba Clarke, We know a place, Lothian Children’s Books, August 2023, 32 pp., RRP $24.95 (hbk), ISBN 9780734421579
The cover of We know a place is the sort of rich, textured, inviting riot of rainbow colour that just asks to be picked up, and the story and illustrations inside deliver on that promise. And a picture book about the wonderful things that can be found in a bookshop? I may be biased, but it’s not wrong!
Every week, after they’ve done their chores, the family in the story takes a trip down Ballarat Street to the bookshop there, to bring home adventures and mysteries and pirates and dragons. Sometimes, the things they bring home from the bookshop can be a bit too noisy and cheeky, but there’s always something wonderful and magical just waiting for the next time they visit their bold little bookshop on Ballarat Street.
The artwork catches my eye and piques my interest every time I glance at the book, and the text is a white, with the occasional emphasised word in another colour, that stands out against the richness of the pages.
Maxine Beneba Clarke has created a sense of joy and playful wonder in the illustrations, full of storybook creatures and characters that lurk in the books and follow them home, and the rhythm of the text falls into a sing-song pattern of words and playing with sounds.
This is one that would work beautifully for young readers aged 4 to 6, and for any family that has a favourite bookshop (who doesn’t??). Bookshops as magical, mysterious, wonderful places full of all sorts of fascinating things is an idea that will ring true to many readers.
Reviewed by Emily Clarke
