By Trina Saffioti and Illustrated by Maggie Prewett
Magabala Books, ISBN: 978-1-921248-60-3
Hard cover $24.95
This is by far one of the loveliest stories I’ve read in a long time, starting with the brightly coloured and illustrated cover by Maggie Prewitt.
The story is of Young Faithy comes from a poor family and when time comes for the school’s fancy dress carnival they can’t afford a costume, so the family all chips in with creativity and resourcefulness and Faithy is dressed up as an Island Princess. An old sheet is used for a sarong, she gets makeup from a neighbour and they use beautiful flowers from an old tree in the backyard to create a fragrant crown of frangipanis for her head, and a beautiful lei around her neck.
Other kids show up on the day as superheroes and ballerinas, while Faithy’s cousin Noely-Boy comes in a lap-lap and ochre and is confident in his dress. But Faithy’s not. She doesn’t think she has a hope of winning the parade. But as Faithy’s Granny says: ‘No-one can resist a girl who wears frangipani flowers…’
The books will tease your senses with beautiful illustrations and the descriptions of scented frangipani flowers… if you have your own little princess in your life, then buy her this book.
1 comment:
Great review Anita. This book is a gem for educators who (like me) want to provide educational experiences that include Indigenous perspectives. I've used this text for a few years in my work as an arts teacher - having students explore the feelings, the visual representations and the message. It's a rich text perfect for the early years!
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