Girl On Wire by Lucy Estela and Elise Hurst

You are brave.

You are strong.

You can do anything

You can be anything,

but it’s all up to you.

This beautiful book is written/illustrated by Aussies and was shortlisted for The Childrens Book of the year Awards – and I completely get why. It is a stunning book that is quite unlike anything I have ever read.

I felt a little on edge while reading this. It follows the simple story of a girl walking on a wire above a town and being afraid to move on and get to the other side. It shows that you can overcome anxiety and grow your confidence, even in this tight wire of a world. And you can follow your path through the world, and if you are afraid – there are people who will catch you if you fall.

I love the way the image and text work together EXTREMELY well. The illustrations are just downright incredible – the oil painting style suits the theme of the book so well and contributes to its unique vibe.. The town below is beautiful, but the girls face is what really grabs your attention. Her anxiety and worry pours through the page and pulled empathy from me as a reader.

There is also the recurrent theme of birds and flight the whole way through the story. It is symbolic and powerful and an emotional read.

Simple but really quite brilliant. The only issue is that it might not appeal to younger readers as it doesn’t have an obvious plot line, and rather follows along this theme of pushing on and fears. But the illustrations are enough to grab the attention of any little reader.

An extremely important book that will suit older readers – particularly girls and any potential artists. And although it has some complicated themes and a slightly dark feel, it ends in light and encouragement. It kinda made me a little teary actually.

Wonderful. Wonderful. Wonderful.

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Title: Girl On Wire

Author/Illustrator: Lucy Estela and Elise Hurst

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2018

Ages: 4+

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