The clever juxtaposition of placing contemporary young adults in a depiction of Australian troops landing at Gallipoli makes this moving book even more powerful. Sitting through a minute’s silence on Remembrance Day, a class imagines the horrors of war, picturing themselves in that experience. What makes this book exceptional is that the students contemplate both the Australian and Turkish perspective. Michael Camilleri’s extraordinary graphic portrayal adds gravitas to the ominous and heartbreaking futility of war, and you feel that David Metzenthen has poured his heart and soul into creating this profound work. This is a picture book for older readers, aged 10 and up.

Alexa Dretzke