Off to the Market (Alice Oehr, Scribble)
Off to the Market is a celebration of markets and healthy, whole foods. Graphic artist Alice Oehr showcases her skills in her debut narrative nonfiction picture book, for children aged two to seven. On the opening page, while the young unnamed child and their mother hold hands, the child explains that Sunday is market day, their favourite day of the week. They prepare for shopping with reusable bags, basket and trolley and anticipate finding surprises to supplement the items on their list. Most of the stall owners are introduced to personalise the inclusive multicultural community. The child helps select vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers, which are labelled. For the rest of the book, the reader views the child’s hand holding the shopping list with the purchases systematically crossed-off. The writing is simple and straightforward, with many helpful labels for young readers to learn. The illustrations are executed in pencil, pastel, cut paper and digital collage and the food images are bold, brightly coloured and textured. Off to the Market presents wholesome, natural produce in a positive light and will stimulate children’s play as well as encourage them to eat experimentally and well. It could be read alongside Let’s Eat Weeds! by Annie Raser-Rowland and Adam Grubb.
Joy Lawn has worked for independent bookshops and blogs at PaperbarkWords
