Kids’ book really takes flight
One Eagle Soaring
Roy Henry Vickers and Robert Budd | Harbour Publishing $9.95 The newest addition to the First West Coast Book series follows on the bestselling Hello Humpback, also by Roy Henry Vickers and Robert (Lucky) Budd. Similar to its predecessor, the children’s book is a simple, visually exciting and tough board book that will take years of handling you would expect babies and toddlers to put a book through.
Whether deconstructing the text as a possible teething aid or really indulging in the beautiful bright colours and the smiles they spark, One Eagle Soaring is a revealing look at Indigenous motifs, as well as an educational one-to-10 counting book. Many considering buying will appreciate that the book is pocket-sized and easy to carry around.
An unexpected office test spill of a lot of Bombay Frankie food-cart curry onto “6 — Six bears hunt for honey” pages proved no problem to wipe down to an as-new finish. So, yeah, you could probably eat off this book.
From the title bird that soars into the story to the “5 — Five sea lions who like it sunny,” the combination of Vickers and Budd’s considerable experience with children’s books shines through. The colour palette is all familiar to local eyes and a feast for sleep-deprived parents to enjoy as they read through. It’s a book you can tell will get lots of use.
Experience counts. These were the two artists behind the immensely popular Northwest Coast Legends series, all shortlisted for the Bill Duthie Booksellers Choice Award.
With any luck, by the time the target audience is old enough to recall the book with fondness, there may even still be the chance to experience “3 — Three Orcas swim the strait” or “4 — Four bees pollinate” in real life and not just via digital or print representations.