1. Celebrations
2. Community
3. Families
4. Games
5. Historical fiction
6. Humour
7. Rural life
8. Schools
9. Visual literacy

‘Papa and the Olden Days’ offers is in-depth time capsule including both detailed activities and a visual feast inspired by the illustrator’s family history. Rachel Tonkin recorded and preserved her father’s stories about growing up in Thoona, a northeastern Victorian country town in Australia in the early 1900s. The town centrepiece is its well-stocked general store which rewards close examination. Here is a detailed exploration of the times including foods and drinks, kitchen utensils, household items, hardware, clothing and much more. There are verbal and visual jokes throughout such as yabbies planted in a camper’s bed and store window displays that play tricks to lure customers into the shops.

The detailed and lavishly coloured illustrations, possibly watercolours, offer a feast of minute detail. These include clothes worn during this period, games played like ‘egg in the hat’, household interiors and human activity such as women embroidering in households amidst period furniture, decorative wallpaper and artworks on the walls. Visually inclined readers will enjoy absorbing this feast of everyday activity lived in the 1900s in this location.

The general store features its own visual stories. It is stocked to the brim with an assortment of foods, household items, clothing, hardware and fascinating items from the time. It is also central to Christmas celebrations. The reader gains an insight into how time was spent with family and friends as these were the days with no electricity, television, radio or the internet.

1. Walker Books Classroom Ideas by Steve Spargo for ‘Papa and the Olden Days’ https://classroom.walkerbooks.com.au/home/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Papa-and-the-Olden-Days.pdf
2. Reading Opens Doors Blog review by Elise Ellerman of ‘Papa and the Olden Days’ https://blog.readingopensdoors.com.au/?p=1425
3. Buzz Words Books 17 Sept 2013 review by Anastasia Gonis of ‘Papa and the Olden Days’ http://www.buzzwordsmagazine.com/2013/09/papa-and-olden-days.html
4. Walker Books biographical profile of Rachel Tonkin https://www.walkerbooks.com.au/creator/tonkin-rachel/