The Island

"Three best friends, Moon Lady, Trunky (a little elephant) and Little Lion, live together in a land where they aren’t very happy. The land has no real colour, only greys and browns, and everyone wears dark clothes. As the three friends are colourful, the natives find them strange and rather shy, and they don’t tend to go out except at night. One day they decide to leave, so they take a boat to find a new home. The island they discover looks friendly when they see it from their boat, but in fact all the people there are made to dress in emerald green, and they aren’t friendly at all. One little man is terribly rude and puts them in a zoo, where they find lots of unhappy animals, painted green too. This is definitely not home. Their escape and their final finding of a home make up the remainder of this unusual picture book about the difficulties of being different. The illustrations in soft colours, made up of collage pictures of Victorian-looking photographs, as well as very large-eyed, appealing animals will need careful attention to the detail to get the most from them. The moral is an excellent one and timely in its emphasis on the differences in each of us that make life interesting and must be accepted happily."

-- Elizabeth Schlenther * Books For Keeps *

"I’ve read through The Island three times. Each time I find something new. Today, it made me think about something I’d heard on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour yesterday, about cosmetic surgery gone wrong. The idea of ‘sameness’… Then again, every creature’s need for ‘a place to call home’ which has become more uncertain in recent times. I love Moon Lady’s optimism- ‘you always say that’. This is a picture book that needs rereading. I love the construction, the collage, colours, direction, sizing. There is so much to wonder over. The angry little man? My ex- teacher head sees this being read with older children, included within philosophy discussions. Initially it reminded me of Gecko Press’ ‘Migrants’, but this is deeper than that book. Who are these creatures? How did they come together originally? It has a need to be read. What a thoughtful book"

-- Bronnie Mayo * The BookWagon *

"Three quirky friends searching for a place to call home are the imaginative stars of an eye-catching picture book from visual communication author and illustrator Judith Wisdom. Quirky, collage-inspired illustration and emotive storytelling blend perfectly in this warm and charming tale championing friendship, hope, kindness, and highlighting the importance of not judging people who appear to be ‘different.’ Unhappy and thought of as strange and too shy, Moon Lady, Trunky and Little Lion decide one day to set sail in search of a better life. After a few days they find a beautiful island and land with great optimism for the future.
But the islanders aren’t very friendly and one angry man declares that they should be locked up in a zoo and painted green to fit in. Stared at, isolated, surrounded by sad zoo animals, they decide to break out and sail away. As they leave, a great storm brews up and they see that the islanders are in peril. They return to help save the people. Everyone clambers on board the ship and they set sail again for a better life. As they sail, the colours they were forced to wear disappear, and they discover each other’s wonderful colours and realise that being different is fun. This busy, beautifully illustrated story – with its enchanting palette of muted colours and innovative design – is guaranteed to encourage important discussions with little ones about acceptance, the comforts of friendship and belonging, and the rewards of kindness."

-- Pam Norfolk * Lancashire Evening Po