‘Long ago when my mother was a child, there was an enormous frangipani tree that grew in the town of Flying Fish Point.’ Settle down for some traditional story-telling from Trina Saffioti accompanied by Maggie Prewett’s vibrant, lush illustrations. This is the story of eight-year-old Faithy and an old, gnarly frangipani tree. Faithy-girl goes to a fancy dress party dressed in a simple sarong made from her great aunt Trina’s bed sheets. She is adorned by her female relatives in a crown and lei of frangipani. When she wins the fancy dress prize granny says, ‘no-one can resist a girl who wears frangipani from that old tree.’ Many of Prewett’s pictures are dominated by the magnificent old tree with its twisted, almost tortured boughs and its verdant foliage and blossoms. Saffioti’s prose has a timelessness that blends seamlessly with Prewett’s illustrations to evoke the spirit of our tropical north. There is a gentle, reminiscing style to the story. Even if you have never experienced the sights and smells of a street filled with flowering frangipani, you will feel as if you are there. The magic of the pictures and traditional feel of the story ensure that this picture book will enhance storytime in many settings.

Jane Watson-Brown is a writer and reviewer

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