The Cleo Stories 1: The Necklace and the Present

The collaboration of author Libby Gleeson and illustrator Freya Blackwood has produced some extraordinarily beautiful works, including Amy & Louis and Look, a Book! Their newest project, The Cleo Stories, is about an imaginative young girl and her world. Cleo’s house, her neighbourhood and her family and friends are all lovingly rendered with Blackwood’s pencil drawings.

Cleo is a wonderful character, free-spirited and creative, possessed with all the open curiosity of childhood. Text and colour illustrations work in perfect harmony, such as when Cleo accidentally superglues her fingers to a bowl and a series of six images show the frustrating process of trying to get it unstuck. This is a gorgeous hardback that will resonate with readers aged 6 and up, or make a delightful present to be read and pored over repeatedly.

Angela Crocombe