Togetherverse by Esther Samuels-Davis
This an interesting story of a curious little girl called Isabel, who looks at the world around her and questions her place in it.
The answer to this comes from the many creatures and plants that surround her, making sense of why things are as they are. The balance of life, the joy of being outdoors and how everything is connected is something to take comfort from.
Esther’s illustrative style is quite surreal giving the book an unusual abstract quality, but it’s all grounded by the traditional chalky textures, pastel colours and faces of the animals and plants that add character to the scenes. Indeed the whole landscape, sky and stars are full of characters that make up the titular Togetherverse.
All in all it’s a lovely and refreshingly different tale of discovery, that owes as much to the artistry along the way as it does to the enjoyable text.