This weekend I found myself at the National Young Writers Festival which was just an eclectic array of everything you could possibly hope to get from an event with the words festival, writers, national, young in it. As I paced the room labeled ‘pop-up book shop’ my eyes were drawn instantly to the only picture book in the room, which I of course had to buy. As you may have assumed, the book is called Surprise! and is a wonderful new work written by Karen Andrews and Illustrated by Kim Flemming.

The whole point of the book is that it is a Surprise, about a surprise called Surprise! Which I think (hope!) makes sense. It makes reading exciting and encourages not only reading, but borrowing a book from the library, which is a liberty we really do need to pass onto the younger generations. It’s also interactive and encourages creativity, which is always a favorite among children. Kim Fleming’s illustrations are beautiful and give the book its fun edge. It really is a well put together picture book.

Published with Miscellaneous Press, a relatively new Melbourne based publishing business, its a great example of what new Australian publishers and authors are doing.

Miscellaneous Press
RRP: $15.95 + FREE postage

– Leah