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Mr Huff (Anna Walker, Viking)

‘If you have felt the clouds when the sky is blue, this book is for you,’ says Anna Walker in her dedication. It’s an apt introduction to her latest picture book in which one of the central characters is a large, grey amorphous mass with a melancholy expression. When Billy looks out of his window one morning he notices it is cloudy, with a chance of rain. It seems to set him off in a bad way: his dog chews his favourite sock, he spills his milk and his cereal is soggy. All day his personal dark cloud, Mr Huff, hovers above him, a cloud that grows larger and larger. It follows him to school, joins him in the bath and slides underneath his bed. Billy cannot make it disappear; he is afraid of Mr Huff. Until one day Billy sees his reflection in Mr Huff’s tears and decides to befriend him instead of running away from him; to accept him as he is. This is a poignant and understated book about those depressing days when everything seems to go wrong. Walker’s characteristically quiet and elegant watercolour drawings are a perfect accompaniment to her subdued prose. For older, primary school kids in particular, Mr Huff can be used as a means of exploring sadness and dejection. The fact that when Billy wakes up the next morning, the weather is still cloudy (albeit with a chance of sunshine) offers a sense of hope.

Thuy On is a Melbourne-based reviewer and books editor of the Big Issue

 

Category: Reviews