The Most Amazing Thing by Ian Hayward Robinson

Reviewed by Gail McDonald

Ian Hayward Robinson is a former teacher who worked for many years in curriculum development and teacher development for the Victorian Education Department. He has run courses on Story Structure and workshops at many writing conferences across Australia. The Most Amazing Thing is his first picture book.

Matt Shanks is an internationally published and critically acclaimed author/illustrator of over twenty picture books, several of which have received awards. Matt works mainly in watercolour and has collaborated with some well-known writers including Jackie French, Peter Hellier and Jimmy Barnes

This is the story of Henry who, when stuck in the house with nothing to do because everybody else was busy, was tasked by his mother to ‘draw the most amazing thing’.

Henry searched for inspiration by asking his sister, who suggested that the most amazing thing was life. But even after looking through her microscope he didn’t see anything amazing. He continued searching – asking his brother, who thought the most amazing thing was the mind and his father who thought the most amazing thing was the universe. And even after looking through his dad’s telescope and saw how huge the universe must be, he was not sure what the most amazing thing could be.

Eventually after discussing it with his mother she talked to Henry about himself and how unique and amazing he is – one of a kind. There is no one else in the world just like him.

This is a fabulous story for any of those children who just don’t recognize their true uniqueness and how special each and everyone is and about all the different ways to find wonder in the world.

The illustrations are colourful and offer many opportunities for discussion with the child.

The Most Amazing Thing

[2024]

by Ian Hayward Robinson; Illustrated by Matt Shanks

Allen and Unwin

ISBN 978 176118 011 8

$19.99; 32pp

 

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