Granny Grommet has surfed her way into this year's CBCA shortlist for best picture book.We follow Granny and her friends as they don their wetsuits, slip, slop & slap and hit the waves with their surfboards.
Meanwhile, Garnny's young granddaughter sits on the beach, scared of the waves and the deep. She tries skim boarding until a big wave frightens. She sits in a rock pool with Granny and her friends admiring the creatures until they ask her to snorkel with them.
Unsure she floats out on a board with all the grommets...finally she puts her head into the water and sees all the glorious colour and movement in the shallow reef.
The illustrations are lovely - sea greens and blues dominate each page, with sweet, friendly faces.
The final page is an information page with advice on swimming & snorkelling safely in Australian waters...including always swim with an adult, slip, slop & slap and how to breath through a snorkel.
P.S. Grommet is surfer slang for a young, inexperienced surfer.
I'm going to head over to see if this book and the others from the shortlist are available here in the US. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI'm delighted that out Aussie shortlist is travelling the world :-)
DeleteGood luck with hunting them down.