With Nan
CBCA Book of the Year Awards, Early Childhood Finalist
Age 4+
Picture Books
CBCA Honour Book
A leaf that flies...
A rock that hops...
These are some of the wonderful things that Simon sees on his walk with Nan.
Simon takes a walk through the bush with his Nan and along the way finds out that things are not always what they seem.
A simple story about camouflage is brought to life with the beautiful illustrations by Karen Blair
Creators
Tania Cox wrote her first children’s story when she was 11 years old, titled, A Day at the Circus and has been hooked on writing ever since. Many years later, her picture books include, Little Bat, Baby, Scary Bear, Snap! went Chester (shortlisted for CBCA Book Awards), Wolf’s Sunday Dinner and Alberta. Tania writes in between being a lost toy detective, bath-time patrol officer, bedtime-fun party-pooper etc, etc. The idea for With Nan came from her many childhood walks where she saw quite a lot of ground wriggling away... Tania lives in north Queensland with her young family.
Karen Blair grew up in Perth, Western Australia, enjoying a childhood of playing, imagining and drawing with her brother and sister. She made my first picture book when she was 9 for a year 5 project, and by the time she was in her 20s and living in the UK, she knew it was her dream. She now lives in Fremantle with her husband and two cats. Karen work part time as a primary art teacher in a boys’ school, and part time illustrating and writing from her studio at home.
Reviews
Tania Cox has told a simple tale that totally arrests the heart and makes you grin from ear-to-ear. There was even a long ‘awwww’ escaping my lips on the last page of the book, it’s just that lovely. Cox shows that simple, emotive storylines do NOT need to be eye-rollingly formulaic, predictable, schmaltzy or boring. They can be fresh, gorgeous and totally engaging. Blair’s illustrations are pure delight, and her drawings of Nan and Simon wordlessly acting out each critter they find, are just the ants pants.
Kids Book Review
A beautiful story of love, fun & the importance of inter-generational relationships.
Valerie Cook, goodreads
