Adelaide's secret world by Elise Hurst
Allen & Unwin, 2015. ISBN 9781743313350
(Age: 5+) Recommended. Courage, Loneliness, Friendship, City life.
The soft edged illustrations will thrill the readers as they see the
story of Adelaide finding her partner played out before them.
Adelaide works in a little shop in the city. As the workforce
reduces she is left alone.
She continues to make her little sculptures, but watches as people
come and go outside. At night she sits on the roof watching the
stars, by day she watches ships come into the port, and sees the
quiet ones like her, those who dream alone.
But one day she becomes restless and goes out into the city. When a
storm develops she sees Fox drop his book, and picking it up, runs
after him to return it. She cannot speak to him, but the astute
reader will have noticed the image of the Fox in pages before. She
leaves and returning home the wind swirls her around, and she makes
the courageous step of going back to Fox's house.
A charming story of taking the first step, of making a decision, of
taking a chance, this book will intrigue readers wishing for an end
to Adelaide's loneliness. The illustrations bring the city vividly
to life, with its sky hugging buildings, bridge spans, and swirl of
people, interspersed with small gardens with statues, and people
riding bikes, reading or dancing. Several pages ring with the
loneliness city life can impose on its inhabitants: the arch of
umbrellas, the tall buildings, the small alleyways and the cafe
where people sit alone.
But resolute Adelaide takes a risk, changing her life and that of
Fox for the better, instilling hope in the mind of the reader.
Fran Knight