Dirt By Sea

Author:

Michael Wagner

Illustrator:

N/A

Published by:

Puffin

First Published:

20 Nov 2022

Ideal for readers aged

6-9y

My Review

Shortlisted for the CBCA Honour award in Australia, this book is a great way of vicariously travelling the roads of Australia! Take a trip with Daisy and her Dad around the coast, taking in famous landmarks and sights along the way. I particularly like the 'before and after' endpapers in this book which feature, at the beginning, a blank map outline drawn by Daisy, and, at the end, the same map coloured in embellished with the places they have visited together. I like, too, the celebration of the relationship between a father and daughter who, distant at first, connect through their trip and time together. Like all graphic novels, this is a great book for reluctant readers, and a fun read for all!

Heads Up!

Daisy's mum has died and the road trip is partly in her memory - worth being aware of for children affected by bereavement.

Publisher Review

A love-song to Australia in picture book form, featuring 40 pages of extraordinary comic-style illustrations. Explore our wonderful coastline and the joy of a family road-trip with Dad and Daisy. The hugely popular creators of Why I Love Footy and Why I Love Summer are back together with this celebration of what we love most about Australia, family holiday and classic Kombi vans! Dirt by Sea will have you dreaming of a holiday around Australia or maybe even planning one with the help of the journey map in the endpapers . . . Daisy lives in inland Australia with her dad and her grandparents. It's home, and she loves the red dirt land around her. But when her dad realizes that she's never seen the beach and thinks the Australian anthem is about a country 'dirt by sea', he sets off to show her the ocean in a once-in-a-lifetime father-daughter trip along the Australian coast, inspired by the first holiday he took with Daisy's mum.