Pioneers in the Australian bush, like those on America’s western frontier, had isolated, difficult lives. In this story, based on the author’s own family history, Papa goes away to work, leaving Lizzie and Mama and baby alone in their little house. Lizzie’s playful pretending turns routine chores into games and adventures. Mama calls it “Lizzie nonsense,” but Mama herself has an imaginative, lighthearted side.
Stunning landscapes and graceful, affectionately drawn characters make Jan Ormerod’s remarkable paintings an evocative counterpart to this touching portrayal of family ties in pioneer days.
Her mother calls it nonsense when Lizzie pretends that their house is pretty or that a bath is the sea, but it turns out that imagination runs in the family.Jan Ormerod is the acclaimed illustrator of more than 50 books for children. She lives in England.
K-Gr 2 -Lizzie lives with her mother, father, and baby brother in a small, isolated house in the Australian bush. Her father has taken his sandalwood into town to sell and will be gone for weeks. Lizzie passes the lonely days by indulging in flights of fancy, turning a fallen tree trunk into a mighty steed, baby's bath into the wide blue sea, and her clutch of wildflowers into a bridal bouquet. Her mother dismisses her dreaming as nonsense, but her own need to imagine surfaces on Sundays, when they dress in their best and walk back and forth on the track, pretending they have been to church. Ormerod has based this story on the experiences of her grandmother and mother, and the warmth of the reminiscences has an authentic ring. The text is simple yet evocative, emphasizing the parent-child relationship, while the skillfully rendered watercolors bring the unique setting to life as kangaroos and dingoes wander through the landscape. The book works nicely as a satisfying story of the value of imagination, familial affection, and an introduction to pioneer life.-Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ
[Page 183]. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Shopping Cart
