Tag: Jan Ormerod

Shake a Leg, by Boori Monty Pryor & Jan Ormerod

All you fellas watching, come up, join in, warrima.
Clap your hands, little ones.
Stamp your feet, nannas.
Get down and dance, you smart young things, mummas and daddas.
A-huh A-huh Ahuh
We’ve got the whole town dancing.

In Northern Queensland three boys enter a pizza shop in search of food – but they get far more than they’re expecting. The pizza chef is a Murri man who speaks Italian, having learnt to cook in Italy. While the pizza cooks he tells the boys stories of his culture and, after the pizza is eaten, he calls his own children to come and share their dance with the boys.

Shake a Leg is a glorious celebration of food, dance and the sharing of cultures. Modern and traditional scenes blend across the pages, many of which use graphic novel panels and speech bubbles, so that the dialogue often stands without additional need for explanation. This format also makes the book likely to appeal to a broad age range of readers.

A collaboration between award winning author and storyteller Boori Monty Pryor and illustrator Jan Ormerod, this is an outstanding offering.

Shake a Leg

Shake a Leg, by Boori Monty Pryor & Jan Ormerod
Allen & Unwin, 2010
ISBN 9781741758900

This book can be purchased from good bookstores, or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Itsy-Bitsy Babies, by Margaret Wild & Jan Ormerod

This itsy-bitsy baby sucks her thumb.
That itsy-bitsy baby bangs on a drum.

Itsy Bitsy Babies is a delightful read aloud offering perfect for the very young. With a simple rhyme and repetitive, patterned text, this is a quick, gentle read ideal for cuddle time or bedtime reading.

The illustrations feature babies of different ages from new born to toddler, and from differing ethnic groups, romping, resting, eating, playing their way through the pages.

From the talented, award winning pairing of Margaret Wild and Jan Ormerod

Itsy Bitsy Babies

Itsy Bitsy Babies, by Margaret Wild & Jan Ormerod
Little Hare, 2010

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Lizzie Nonsense, by Jan Ormerod

When Papa takes the sandalwood he has cut into town, it is fifty miles along sand tracks, and he will be away a long time.
Then Lizzie and Mama and baby are all alone in the little house in the bush.

Alone in the bush with her mother and baby brother for months on end, Lizzie must entertain herself – and she does. With her imagination she creates weddings and parties, oceans and churches. Her mother fondly calls it ‘nonsense’ but Lizzie knows her mother likes nonsense too.

Lizzie Nonsense is a charming look at the experience of pioneering families in the Australian bush. Lizzie’s carefree nature makes light of the hardships that she and her mother face, with hard work, low rations, snakes and isolation all there for contemporary readers to see.

Jan Ormerod’s illustrations, using a combination of crayon, watercolour and gouache, complement the historical nature of the story and are simply delightful. The cover illustration, showing Lizzie sitting on the limb of a gum tree and looking into the distance, yet directly at the reader, provides a nice link between past and present, as if Lizzie is waiting to share her story with the reader.

Lizzie Nonsense is perfect for sharing at home, but would also make an excellent classroom tool, especially for themes relating to history.

Lizzie Nonsense

Lizzie Nonsense by Jan Ormerod
Little Hare, First Published 2004
Paperback edition with DVD Storytelling, 2008.

This book is available from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Lizzie Nonsense, by Jan Ormerod

When Papa takes the sandalwood he has cut into town, it is fifty miles along sand tracks, and he will be away a long time.
Then Lizzie and Mama and baby are all alone in the little house in the bush.

Alone in the bush with her mother and baby brother for months on end, Lizzie must entertain herself – and she does. With her imagination she creates weddings and parties, oceans and churches. Her mother fondly calls it ‘nonsense’ but Lizzie knows her mother likes nonsense too.

Lizzie Nonsense is a charming look at the experience of pioneering families in the Australian bush. Lizzie’s carefree nature makes light of the hardhips that she and her mother face, with hard work, low rations, snakes and isolation all there for contemporary readers to see.

Jan Ormerod’s illustrations, using a combination of crayon, watercolour and gouache, complement the historical nature of the story and are simply delightful. The cover illustration, showing Lizzie sitting on the limb of a gum tree and looking into the distance, yet directly at the reader, provides a nice link between past and present, as if Lizzie is waiting to share her story with the reader.

Lizzie Nonsense is perfect for sharing at home, but would also make an excellent classroom tool, especially for themes relating to history.

Lizzie Nonsense, by Jan Ormerod
Little Hare, 2004