Juniper’s Painting

Juniper’s Painting

Catherine Bauer

Jennifer Horn

Wombat Books, 2025

32pp., hbk., RRP $A26.99

Juniper likes nothing better than playing on the beach, but today she is stuck inside in her house tucked into the sandhills, watching a storm whip the sand and the sea into a grubby grey frenzy.  Her mum told her she couldn’t go outside, but Juniper soon exhausted all the inside things that she liked, so, as a last resort, she decided to paint her beloved beach.  But not as it was but as she wanted it to be….

And suddenly, it was!

As storm season rolls in in full swing, there will be many who will relate to Juniper’s frustration at having to stay indoors and watch their sunny landscape turn to more than fifty shades of grey as Mother Nature exerts her authority. And Jennifer Horn’s clever use of colour that echo Juniper’s feelings with just a bright spot of colour and yearning in each illustration will echo their own vexation at having to stay indoors where it is safe. 

For as much as this is a story about a little girl watching a storm thwart her desires, it is also about how we can respond when we are presented with such challenges.  While we might not be able to control or change the weather – or whatever else is blocking us – we can control, choose and change the way we respond to such events. While others might have chosen to rant and rave and yell, “it’s not fair” at the wind and the rain, Juniper is more resigned, and chooses to wait it out, spending her time in other things that bring pleasure.  That doesn’t mean she’s not feeling the big emotions that can overwhelm little people, but she has learned that tantrums and anger don’t necessarily get us what we want. Sometimes, we have to be patient in a world of instant gratification and accept that often the wait is worth it.  And thee may even be some unexpected joys to be discovered while we are waiting. When was the last time you helped a little one build a blanket cubby? 

That bright spot of colour in each picture is a reminder that life will go on, the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel”  – a metaphorical reference that just as the storm passes and the sun shines again for Juniper, so it will for us too.  Perhaps we may even come to realise that there might even be a silver lining – even though the wind and waves may have changed the landscape, what treasures washed up on the sand will Juniper and her mum find as they head out with Juniper’s bucket and spade once the storm has passed? 

A peek inside…

Between author and illustrator, this is a masterpiece of words and pictures blending seamlessly and sensitively together to not only tell a story but also guide young readers on their way to managing their emotions, understanding that there are choices they can make and some are better than others,  and patience can pay off..