Willa and Woof (Jacqueline Harvey, Puffin)
Jacqueline Harvey’s new series Willa and Woof follows a smart eight-year-old girl, Willa, and her ‘best four-legged friend’, Woof. In this first instalment, following in the tradition of other spirited young protagonists before her, Willa finds herself in quite the pickle as she takes it upon herself to fix a problem she herself has created. With ‘best same-age friend’ Tae Jin lending a hand, will Willa be able to find Mimi, the pigeon she inadvertently let out of its cage? Willa’s attempts to set things right is entertaining for folks young and old, as we meet the cast of memorable characters who inhabit her local area. Willa is a charismatic character, not least due to her frank and funny first-person narration. It’s refreshing to read a junior fiction book that reflects modern diversity and gender roles, including dads and older brothers cooking, and a cross-age, cross-gender friendship between young Willa and her ‘best old-age friend’, Frank. Dynamic pictures of key dramatic points will engage readers on the younger end of the spectrum who are making the jump from picture books to early readers, and add another layer of humour to an already charming story. Fans of Jacqueline Harvey’s successful Alice-Miranda books are bound to be delighted by this new series.
Lefa Singleton Norton is a writer and bookseller from Naarm/Melbourne.
