Koko and the Coconut (Turia Pitt & Celestine Vaite, illus by Emilie Tavaearii, Puffin)
Koko and the Coconut is the first picture book by author and humanitarian Turia Pitt, written in collaboration with her mum Celestine Vaite. While the story is simple—a crab sheds its shell and cracks a coconut—each page is decorated with vibrant landscapes and depictions of independent problem-solving and agency by illustrator Emilie Tavaearii. The creators’ Polynesian Islander backgrounds inform the adorable artwork, brightening when Koko succeeds. The book is a great example of both positive self-talk and the encouragement of others, as readers hear Koko’s internal dialogue, and ‘Go, Koko!’ repeated throughout. With engaging repetition and opportunities for performance, such as through adopting various voices and involving listeners, Koko and the Coconut is suitable to read aloud to children up to the age of five. The story’s symbolic simplicity sets it up to be relatable, apart from the slightly jarring and unnecessary gendering of the crab—’I’m a big boy coconut crab now’. Otherwise, the positive self-talk messages in first person allow an absence of pronouns, and the illustrations of Koko are gender-neutral. An athlete, motivational speaker and mother, Pitt’s own story is the epitome of never giving up, and so it’s only natural that the resilience and determination she is known for are championed in Koko and the Coconut.
Baran Rostamian is an emerging writer living in Boorloo and has most recently been published in the anthology Under the Paving Stones, the Beach. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.
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