Hello, Emma Memma

Hello, Emma Memma

Hello, Emma Memma

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello, Emma Memma

Emma Memma

Kerrie Hess

Puffin, 2023

32pp., hbk., RRP $A19.99

9781761341045

On a gum tree, amidst a cloud of orange and pink blossoms and butterflies hangs an orange and pink cocoon which gradually grows and changes to reveal its secret – the emergence of Emma Memma, a new character in children’s books for our youngest readers in what is the first of “an expansive publishing program encompassing story, novelty and activity formats.”.

Welcome to a place
With a gum blossom tree
And pink painted leaves
What else can you see?

A friend, a buddy
A pal to play games
She is ready to join in
Emma Memma is her name.

But to many, she is not so new because before the curly red hair, pink shirt and orange dress, Emma Memma was dressed in a familiar yellow skivvy performing with The Wiggles from 2013 to 2018. And behind the entertainer’s face is Emma Watkins, a woman passionate about raising awareness  of Australia’s deaf community, who already has formal qualifications in Auslan and who is currently undertaking her PhD in “the affective, artistic integration of sign language, dance and film editing.”  So, through a range of projects, young readers can expect to be entertained through “movement, creativity, inclusiveness and friendship” that embrace those with special needs because as well as the storybooks, there will be simultaneous releases of an ebook, audiobook and an Auslan video translation, accessed through her website where there is already much to entertain.

This not the first picture book released by a media personality whose name is already familiar but it would among but a handful that reaches out beyond the pages of print so that a much broader audience can enjoy what their peers are reading. 

 

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