I was instantly entranced by the end-papers with their hand-drawn memorabilia, the silhouettes of friendly and enemy planes and many other interesting tid bits.
Then, I turned the page and was gobsmacked to learn that both author Angela Toniolo and illustrator Shannon Melvillle, are the direct descendants of women who performed as enemy plane spotters during the second world war.
I got goosebumps
on my goosebumps, and the story hadn’t even begun!
Mavis wants to help the war effort, but what can a ten-year-old girl do?
Does she
have what it takes to save the town?
Based on
the true story of an Australian family’s experience of living through the
challenges of World War two, Mavis The LIttle Plane Spotter is part
historical fiction and part family saga.
Mavis is desperate to volunteer when the soldiers come to school looking for children to help, but she’s too little. Her older sister Doreen offers to volunteer with her, and so every Saturday they head off to the town’s clock tower, armed with a comprehensive list of planes, pencils and note book to survey the skies.
Everything about this book smacks of authenticity and nostalgia. With Peters Ice Cream as a health food (Seriously. That’s how it was marketed) and trenches dug in backyards or within community grounds, there’s something amazingly interesting at every turn.
The pencil illustrations and limited palette are somehow intrinsically
connected to this time period – as all the children eighty years ago would have
used coloured pencils rather than today’s textas and sharpies (if they were
lucky).
It’s
apparent that every part of this story has been carefully and generously
crafted to allow the reader to translate what they see and hear on the page (a
lot of which will be baffling to young children today!) and immerse them in
Mavis’ world with ease and delight.
Such a
wonderfully entertaining read.
This book
should grace the shelves of all libraries, classrooms and bedrooms.
It’s an absolute ripper!
Title: Mavis The Little Plane Spotter
Author: Angela Toniolo
Illustrator: Shannon Melville
Publisher: Wombat $27.99
Publication Date: 5 March 2025
Format: Hardback
ISBN: 9781761111938
For Ages: 3+
Type: Picture Book
