Danny Parker

Australian author/illustrator team Danny Parker and Freya Blackwood, who would go on to collaborate on Molly and Mae: A Friendship Journey, first worked together here, on this lovely picture-book. A gentle text in rhyme sets out the activities of the perfect day, whether it be raining or shining, while the accompanying artwork depicts three siblings and their cat companion engaged in said activities...

With a simple but expressive text in rhyme - "Some sunshine and something to nibble. / Some show more space with enough room to scribble. / An apron and big bowls for mixing. / Some glue, and some things that need fixing" - and gorgeous pencil and acrylic artwork, Perfect is... well, practically perfect. If it had tugged a little more on my heartstrings, it might have been one of my rare five star titles. As it is, it is a very high 4.5 stars. Parker and Blackwood capture the magic of playing outside on warm, sunny days, and the enchantment of playing indoors on rainy evenings. Blackwood also captures the perfect charm of a beautiful feline, in the form of the children's cat companion, who is a simply delightful participant in all the day's doings. Recommended to fellow fans of Freya Blackwood - I'm a huge admirer! - as well as to those looking for gentle, almost contemplative stories about long days of play and fun. show less

I received this book as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewer Program. Toby is nervous about a lot of things, especially great heights, so he (and his stuffed rabbit) wear parachutes everywhere. Ottley, the illustrator, draws the heights from Toby's perspective, making everything seem reeeally far down. One day he has to climb into a tree to save his cat, and has to give up his parachute to help the cat. The act of bravely climbing down the ladder on his own without the chute is the show more beginning of ceasing to be afraid of heights, and eventually he doesn't need the parachute anymore. I liked that there was no point where the boy was seen as silly, but more that he had a change in his life and grew up a bit. The illustrations have a loose sketchyness about them that I especially liked. I would recommend this book, particularly to parents with kids who are a bit sensitive. show less

Two young girls meet and befriend one another on a train journey in this lovely Australian picture-book, enjoying many fun games together before falling out. Is their friendship doomed to be short-lived? Or will Molly and Mae find a way to set things right...?

Danny Parker's simple text in Molly and Mae: A Friendship Journey, is expanded upon and beautifully complemented by illustrator Freya Blackwood's gorgeous watercolor artwork. It's no surprise that I was most struck by the illustrations show more here, as Blackwood is one of my favorite picture-book artists, but the story itself is also very appealing, capturing the ups and downs of girlhood social interaction quite nicely. I particularly appreciated the way in which the artwork, which goes from colorful to gray during those scenes in which Molly and Mae are quarreling, mirrored and accentuated the changing emotional register of the story. Such interaction between text and image is the hallmark of an excellent picture-book! Recommended to anyone looking for new picture-books about friendship, as well as to fellow Freya Blackwood devotees. show less

Parachute is a great story of a boy dealing with the common anxiety of fear of heights. This is something that affects young and old alike but the incredible illustrations of Matt Ottley make this story of growth by Danny Parker very touching. The text guides the story deftly and really allows the grand scope of fear and facing that fear to be illuminated by Ottley. Excellent.