Easy Peasy (Ky Garvey, illus by Amy Calautti, EK Books)

When Ruby is given a pair of fabulous sparkly red roller skates for her birthday, she expects to be able to skate, equally fabulously, immediately—easy peasy. Of course, it isn’t easy peasy, and she goes through bump after bump after bump, putting up with the crashes and crunches and steadfastly refusing her kindly, patient dad’s offers of help. Pretty soon, her frustration overtakes her determination, and she gives up. Not one to be discouraged for too long though, Ruby makes her own independent decision to ask her dad at last for help, and soon roller skating really is easy peasy. The central message of persistence and patience is clear, and comes with a friendly side-serve of positive father-daughter relationships and a nice reminder that asking for help is not only okay but sometimes a necessary part of learning. Easy Peasy is inspired by author Ky Garvey’s own relationships with her sons and her memories of skating with her dad, which brings warm affection and genuineness to the book, though also lends it the feeling of an anecdote or account of events rather than a more inventive journey. Amy Calautti’s jolly cartoon-style illustrations bring a cheerful silliness to Garvey’s straightforward text, the two coming together into a lighthearted adventure.

Anica Boulanger-Mashberg is a freelance editor, writer, and reviewer, and has worked as a bookseller at The Hobart Bookshop for over 10 years. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Category: Junior Reviews Think Australian top reviews