This Way Up

This Way Up by Kylie Dunstan (Windy Hollow Books)
HC RRP $25.95
ISBN9781922081223
Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

Grace and her family are moving again. But home now is a strange shadowy place full of echoes and cardboard boxes. What will it take to make it a real home?

This delightful and delicate book with the dominant theme of moving away from familiar things and people, also addresses the mixed emotions experienced by a child in a new environment. The design of the text on the pages is a brilliant choice. Its purposeful placement on the page identifies with the boxes and chaotic coming and going within the house.

The illustrations are stunning; so creative and beautiful. With great insight, coloured pages have been used as background throughout. This adds additional uniqueness to the already outstanding preparation and design of the whole book. Kylie Dunstan just keeps getting better. This is her fifth picture book. Look out for this creator’s work. She is destined to leave a bold mark on the history of Australian children’s books.