Aroha's Way by Craig Phillips

Aroha is a child of Aotearoa New Zealand: warm hearted, adventurous and full of life. The first few pages of this picture book are bright and blustery, their palette alive with orange leaves, yellow kowhai; the colours of the autumn outdoors. The pages burst with childish joy and adventure, picturing Aroha playing with friends and being a great Kiwi kid. Children will recognise themselves in the diversity of Aroha and her friends represented in the illustrations.

Children will also recognise that, although life can be joyful, now and then a cooler, or even downright icy mood can come upon us. The palette that identifies emotions of fear, sadness and anxiety are bleached of the previous warmth; the beach of the troubled Aroha is blustery and grey.

The great strength of this book is that it identifies normal human feelings and experiences. Aroha has a lovely bunch of friends but at times can feel lonely and unsure of herself. As the hero of the book she has strategies in place to identify and confront the negative emotions; she knows what to do when anxiety strikes and the illustration accompanying this thought is extremely powerful. No longer looking anxious and meek, Aroha is standing tall, clearly empowered by the knowledge that she can breathe, talk and share her way through her worries.

Not only is this a perfect book to share with children, who will enjoy the life and movement of the pictures as well as the acknowledgement of light and dark, it’s a tool for parents, caregivers and educators, and a reminder for grown-ups that more challenging feelings are usual and that there are ways to deal with them. The book ties up Aroha’s narrative beautifully with her safe in the knowledge that she is not alone and has extra tips at the back for breathing away fear, relieving nervousness, sharing thoughts and apprehensions. A timely, useful and beautiful book.

Reviewed by Louise Ward

Wardini Books

Craig Phillips will be discussing illustration in ‘Telling tales With Pictures’ at Harcourts Hawke’s Bay Arts Festival -  Readers and Writers on Sunday 20^th October at Hastings City Art Gallery. See hbaf.co.nz for further details.