Columbia Sneezes (Janeen Brian, illus. by Gabe Cunnett, Omnibus, $16.99 hb, ISBN 9781862916969, March) ****

Janeen Brian is an expert at rhyming text, which never sounds forced and is always fresh, lively and full of rhythm. She is also an expert on camels, having written the award-winning book Hoosh! Camels in Australia. So it is no surprise that she has turned her interest in these lofty beasts into a story in rhyme which is perfect read-aloud fun for young children. Sand up the nostrils must be especially difficult for a camel who lives in the desert. But camels are remarkably adapted to their habitat and this story
reveals how they deal with this problem. Columbia camel visits city doctors for a remedy to his sneezing, but they all give rather eccentric and useless advice which doesn’t help. It is not until a traveller appears (rather incongruously on stilts, which must surely sink into the sand), that Columbia receives sensible advice and a sure-fire solution to his sneezing problem. Gabe Cunnett is a new illustrator recently graduated from the University of South Australia. Here he uses acrylic paint on paper, Adobe Photoshop and a Wacon Tablet to create illustrations which are nicely exaggerated, light-hearted and colourful.

Margaret Hamilton is a former children’s publisher. She now provides freelance publishing services and reviews

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker