1. Bravery
2. Emotions
3. Families
4. Fear
5. Literary devices
6. Parent and child
7. Visual literacy

A small boy and his dad spend a day at the beach. Dad seems to be afraid of nothing, until something appears that he is afraid of, and his son helps him to overcome his fear. This humorous and yet touching text is about the bond between father and son. The illustrator, Matt Ottley is a renowned picture book artist. Here he makes use of perspective and scale to explore the notion of being small and afraid versus being big and brave. He also uses comic panels as well as double page spreads, which creates a dynamic, visual storytelling style. Small children will immediately identify with these funny images and with the spare and often alliterative text (sharp shells, falling sandcastles, crazy crabs...).

Together these three artists have created a vibrant picture book with immense child appeal. Sally Morgan and her son Ezekiel Kwaymullina are descendants of the Palyku people of the Pilbara region of northwest Western Australia. A respected visual artist and writer, Morgan’s 'My Place' is an Australian classic.

1. Kids' Book Review 17 June 2014 '12 Curly questions for author Ezekiel Kwaymullina' http://www.kids-bookreview.com/2014/06/12-curly-questions-with-author-ezekiel.html
2. Morgan, Sally (1951-?) Indigenous Australia http://ia.anu.edu.au/biography/morgan-sally-17816
3. Illustrator Matt Ottley website https://mattottley.com/books/
4. Taylor, Sean ‘Top Ten Dads in picture books’ The Guardian 19 June 2016 https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2016/jun/19/top-10-dads-in-picture-books