The Trickster Plum

Is this a Plum? No, it’s… a children’s book with all the hallmarks of a classic-in-waiting, written & illustrated by father & son duo…. Dan and Finn Ojari.

It will bring to mind: hungry caterpillars, letters to the zoo, teatime tigers and bear-hunts… it captures the spirit of many of our favourites and with a structure reminiscent of the magnificent Peepo! But in this new outing, what do we see?

The thing we most anticipate through the hole as we turn the page is gloriously subverted by the rhyme we are fed. We are cheated and rewarded at the same time. My favourite is the bear. Or is it?

This is a book to read together, to read alone, to rush through in a dash, and to ponder, to relish each page, to observe the many details there for us to enjoy.

Indeed, the final picture brings all the beautifully illustrated creatures and objects back together again, reuniting them in an ensemble montage that evokes Sendak and his Wild Things. This trickster Plum is a treat of cheeky inventive wordplay, tiggling our ribs with each page turn.

Above all, it is a joyous, irreverent celebration of what it is to be on the first step of reading. A place this book will encourage those higher up the staircase to revisit. And to cherish.

Craig