Oliver Jeffers

Mulit Storied – 2012 Children’s Book Council of Australia Conference

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On Wednesday I’m off to the 2012 Children’s Book Council of Australia Conference in Adelaide.  I’ve been to the last two conferences in Sydney and Melbourne and they’re incredibly interesting and so much fun.

This year the conference starts on Thursday 17th May with the welcome reception, including an introduction by Australian Children’s Laureate Alison Lester, a book launch, and an opportunity to view an exhibition of South Australian illustrators.  The main part of the conference starts on Friday morning and concludes on Saturday afternoon.

There are some really interesting authors and illustrators speaking, including international guests Oliver Jeffers and Eoin Colfer, as well as some great Australian authors such as Michael Gerard Bauer, Mem Fox and Isobelle Carmody.  I’ve got my copies of their books packed in my suitcase to get signed and I’ll hopefully get a couple signed to give away here on the blog.  I’m really looking forward to interviewing Michael Gerard Bauer, an author whose books I love.

My suitcase and backpack are sure to be loaded with books on the way home.

Picture Book Nook: Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

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I love Oliver Jeffers’ books because they’re always so quirky and different.  His illustration style is quite simple and sparse but he uses different textures and materials within them.  His latest picture book, Stuck, is classic Oliver Jeffers and is weird and wacky, with a surprise ending.

It all began when Floyd got his kite stuck in a tree.  As any kid would do, Floyd tries throwing other things up into the tree to knock the kite down, including a ladder, a bucket of paint, a cat, the kitchen sink, and a rhinoceros.  Each thing he throws up there just ends up getting caught with the kite.  It’s not long before things really start to get out of control and Floyd starts to run out of ideas.  Will he get his kite, and everything else, out of the tree?

Stuck will have kids (and grown-ups) laughing out loud at all the crazy things Floyd throws into the tree.  You’re never quite sure what you’re going to find he’s thrown in the tree each time you turn the page, so you can have a guessing game about what it might be.  I didn’t see the ending coming so it had me cracking up, and left me thinking what might happen next.  I love the simplicity of Oliver’s illustrations and the text, which seem quite child-like.  Oliver has really channeled his inner child in this book and kids will love the craziness of it.  Stuck will beg to be read again and again.