Blue Moon

Tricia Oktober

Ford St, 2015

pbk., 32pp., RRP $A16.95

9781925000887

 

A blue moon is generally regarded as referring to a second full moon in a calendar month.  As well as being rare (the next not being until July 2015), it is also a special occasion for cats for it is the time when they all come together in a fabulous dream that lasts till dawn.  As moonrise draws near Cat climbs into her basket with its mattress of multiple thick cushions and kneads and treads them into an invisible and delicate dream mat.  Then she settles down, closes her eyes and drifts away into the magic of Tricia Oktober’s beautiful paintings, taking the reader on the most wonderful imaginative journey because anything is possible in the place of dreams, even frolicking with the seahorses at the bottom of the sea or becoming queen.  Until the long fingers of dawn begin to creep over the horizon.

 

I have to declare my bias – Tricia Oktober is one of my all-time favourite illustrators.  I adore her work so I was keen to review this new release.  I was surprised to find that it is a departure from those environment-related titles I’m familiar with like Bushfire, Rainforest and Oil Spill but it is still tied very closely to the marvels of nature with all sorts of cat references embedded in the illustrations for the astute reader to find. 

 

My experience is that one of the most common requests from little girls, especially, is for a book “about cats”.  It will be a delight to offer them this one.