About the Author

Alison Lester first rode a horse as a baby in her father's arms. Her picture books mix imaginary worlds with everyday life, encouraging children to believe in themselves and celebrate the differences that make them special. Alison is involved in many community art projects and spends part of every year travelling to remote Indigenous communities, using her books to help children and adults write and draw about their own lives.

In 2012, Alison became Australia's first Children's Book Laureate, a position she shared with Boori Monty Pryor. In 2016, she was awarded the Dromkeen Medal for her outstanding achievement in the creation of Australian children's and young adult literature, and in 2018 she became the first children's book writer to win the Melbourne Prize for Literature, for her outstanding contribution to Australian literature and cultural and intellectual life.

Reviews

Gr 1-3-American readers will be introduced to a ``jinker,'' a ``bush run,'' and ``mobs of cattle'' in this gentle memoir. Spanning one year of her childhood on an Australian farm overlooking the sea, Lester's narrative begins and ends near Christmas time in the summer-perhaps a puzzling combination for northern hemisphere children. The scant story line-a child longs for a horse to replace deceased Inky-weaves in and out of the scenes of the everyday life of this family of four children. Such events as the Quietest Pony Contest, the dog high jump, a difficult calf birthing, and cattle drives are engagingly described. Illustrations are plentiful and intricate; varying sized panels (often three per page) create a design that adds great visual interest. The straightforward family portrait that stretches across the top of the first page is particularly charming, introducing each member astride a horse or motorbike. The author's writing and illustrating style is delicate. Her watercolors, neatly lined with ink; the highly stylized figures and faces; and the abundant detailing all contribute to this lovely picture book.-Lee Bock, Brown County Public Libraries, Green Bay, WI

Lester ( Imagine ; Isabella's Bed ) opens the barn door, as it were, upon her recollections of life on the Australian farm where she grew up. Family members are introduced up front; the reader then follows the various characters through the ups and downs of one year. As narrator, Lester also lets readers in on some more personal matters--such as her longing for a new pony or her attempts to become famous. Summer days, she reports, were filled with driving ``mobs'' of cattle, picking blackberries and, perhaps, taking a swim. Australian autumn brought new calves, rainstorms and mushrooms; after a winter spent doing chores, springtime marked the season for ``tadpoling and fishing expeditions'' as well as baling hay. Children will likely be fascinated by the different seasons Down Under. Lester's fond remembrances contain dollops of humor and tenderness, and a wealth of information about farm life can be inferred. Through it all, the author/artist's childlike sensibilities keep the pace lively. Her somewhat pale watercolor palette accommodates each of the seasons, offering a pleasant glimpse at a foreign landscape. And her friendly cast of kind-faced figures is truly likable. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)