News & Reviews

Gustav Glows with Gold

Kathy Creamer & Patricia Ward

Little Pink Dog Books, 2025.

ISBN: 9780645418477

Review by Genevieve Young-Evans

Gustav Glows with Gold is a creative non-fiction picture book that introduces young readers to the famous Austrian artist, Gustav Klimt. The lyrical wording imbues the discussion of Klimt’s methods, his materials, inspiration and subject matter with a little bit of magic! This is achieved by the focus on Klimt’s use of gold leaf and the imaginative consideration of what this material must have been like to work with.

A particular highlight of the story is Patricia Ward’s evocation of Klimt’s famous works and his studio which pulses with life and colourful clutter in Ward’s own artworks. Part of what makes the studio spreads so enticing, and the book itself, is the two cat characters. Klimt’s love of cats is hinted at in the text and brought to life in many spreads where a ginger and tuxedo cat exude playful, mischievous fun. Cat lovers, young and old, will love the cat waving to them on the front cover, the golden paw prints that walk across the front pages and the many scenes of Klimt cuddling his cats.

But the cats are only part of the fun! The many double spreads are filled with details to explore—pots, paints and paintbrushes, plants, books and other creatures. There are so many details for readers to pore over and the text works seamlessly with these details to gently direct the reader to consider aspects of the artist’s use of pattern, light and colour.

Gustav Glows with Gold is an enchanting introduction to an amazing artist. Reading it will be a great way to interest children in art and what they might want to think about when considering other artworks they encounter.  

Creature Corridors

Billie Rooney (author) Anke Noack (illusrator)

CSIRO publishing: 2025.

ISBN: 9781486318100

Reviewed by Genevieve Young-Evans

Creature Corridors is a fascinating non-fiction book for young people that provides a clear and concise definition of wildlife corridors as well as examples of specific animals and the types of crossings used to solve particular problems caused by human development and infrastructure.

Rooney balances the need for explicit, accessible prose and enticing, lyrical writing. She uses onomatopoeia and repetition to draw readers into each animal group’s experience and this allows the reader to empathise with the challenges faced by a diverse cast of animals.  My favourite spread focuses on Kangaroos:

           ” In a town bustling with cars and buses, kangaroos thump, thump, as if to say, ‘This road is too dangerous. How can we cross to the other side?’”

The information contained in the story is enlightening and many kids as well as adults will not know all the examples. There is further information in the end pages with which to engage young readers in a research topic at school or at home.

The artwork is detailed and represents an array of landscapes in vivid yet naturalistic colours. Noack’s animal characters are full of animated emotion and this enhances the text’s empathetic approach to the topic. A highlight of the artwork for me is the focus on the movement of the animals. Noack captures the “crawling, hopping, climbing … flying” with such dynamism that it almost feels as if some creatures leap or soar off the page. This focus on movement extends the text’s emphasis on the natural mobility of animals and therefore the need for corridors. The artworks are also detailed, so readers can grasp very easily what the corridors look like even if they can’t see them in person.

Creature Corridors is a wonderful book for home and school that should excite and interest young minds about an important and fascinating topic.