'The best books, reviewed with insight and charm, but without compromise.'
- author Jackie French

Thursday 21 December 2023

Review: Always Never Always

Always follow secret tracks –

The paths that wind and wend through cracks.

Never worry where they go,

When you get there, then you’ll know.

Always Never Always is an almost-meditation on the adventures and meander-ings of a little girl and her wind-up toy duck.

Following her heart’s lead, the little girl cycles into all sorts of landscapes and all manner of situations, with the gentle wisdom of this charming narrative at her back.

Always take time to breathe, to stop and look, to hug tightly and to follow a dream. Never worry too much because your heart and your head will guide you, and storms always pass.

The rhyming narrative lilts and dances on the page. And the gentle pencil illustrations with their pastel colour palette, provide a lovely anchor from which to leap into the ideas in the book.

From an award-winning author/illustrator duo, this book is sure to bring a sense of possibility into the minds of small readers.


Title: Always Never Always
Author: Meg McKinlay
Illustrator: Leila Rudge
Publisher: Walker Books, $25.99
Publication Date: 4 October 2023
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781760655204
For ages: 2+
Type: Picture Book