You Need To Chill

Juno Dawson

Laura Hughes

Farshore, 2023

32pp., pbk., RRP $A14.99

9780008488284

When Bill can’t be found at school one day, the imaginations of the other children run wild. Is he on holiday? Is he lost in the park? Has he been eaten by a shark?! It’s up to Bill’s sister to explain…

This is a fun-filled celebration of family diversity that is filled with love, acceptance and humour as the suggestions of Bill’s whereabouts are contemplated and the only response is, “Hun, you need to chill.” But finally the answer is disclosed and it’s not what a lot of readers will expect, but knowing little kids, one they will accept. It opens up the opportunity for discussions about not only Bill’s new circumstances but also family diversity in general and the children will soon realise that no two families are the same.  Such growth in tolerance in the years I’ve been teaching, led by books like this which expose our young readers to new situations so they are ready for them when they encounter them.