author/illustrator: Davina Bell, Allison Colpoys
ages: 3+
32 pages
26,3cm x 21,5 cm
hardback
4 pantones, cover printed on uncoated stock with silver foil
English
Scribble (Australia)
Rights sold: Bulgarian (reverted), French (world, reverted), German, Italian, Korean (renewed), Simp. Chinese (renewed), Spanish (Europe), Turkish (reverted), English (USA, Canada, Mexico, reverted)
The Underwater Fancy-Dress Parade
The day before the underwater fancy-dress parade, Alfie got that feeling.
Sometimes it’s hard to be brave. Sometimes you get that feeling. Sometimes you’re just not ready … until, one day, you are.
From a dynamic new picture-book partnership comes the story of Alfie and a big octopus wearing a tiny hat and the things you can only whisper to the cowboys on your wallpaper.
- Winner of the CBCA Award for Best New Illustrator
- Winner of the Australian Book Industry Award for Best Small Publisher’s Children’s Book (2016)
- Winner of the Australian Book Design Awards's Best Designed Children's Illustrated Book (2016)
IN THE MEDIA
"A distinctive and beautifully nuanced book about overcoming shyness and trying to be brave. Highly recommended." —The Bookseller
"Beautifully-written and sensitive, there’s not a scrap of schmaltz in this book about the anxiety that plagues some children … The tenderness in this story is divinely balanced with gentle pops of fluorescent colour on soft grey pages … A considered, charming and important book for anyone struggling with throwing themselves into the vast ocean of modern day society." — Kids’ Book Review
"A stunning, nature-inspired picture book on the dilemma of shyness."—Smallish Magazine
"For anyone who has ever suffered from anxiety, you will feel an instant bond to this story. Bell’s portrayal of anxiety is so honest and accurate yet refreshingly and tenderly dealt with … There is obvious quality in the images, which are simple yet compelling. It is easy to love Colpoys palette of luminous fawn, blues and teals. And it is through these illustrations that we truly understand how Alfie feels."
—The School Librarian
THE AUTHOR
Davina Bell is an award-winning author of books for young readers of many ages. She writes picture books (including Under the Love Umbrella and All the Ways to be Smart), as well as junior fiction, middle-grade fiction, and YA. Davina lives in Naarm/Melbourne, where she works as a children's book publisher.
THE ILLUSTRATOR
Allison Colpoys is an award-winning designer and illustrator based in Naarm/Melbourne, Australia. Allison is represented by the Jacky Winter Group for illustration.
Her books published by Scribble: