1. Allegory
2. Alliteration
3. Animals
4. Art techniques
5. Book design
6. Climate
7. Courage
8. Deserts
9. Dystopian fiction
10. Endpapers
11. Environment
12. Fables
13. Famine
14. Fantasy
15. Figurative language
16. Individuality
17. Insects
18. Loss
19. Perspectives (Art)
20. Rejection
21. Self-reliance
22. Visual literacy
23. Water

‘Stickboy lived in wind and dust, where ancient rock loomed like waves waiting to break.’ These opening lines tells of a harsh unforgiving landscape, a place where survival is a daily struggle for everyone even more so for Stickboy who ’was always left behind’.

‘Stickboy’ is an unusual, thought-provoking, beautifully designed picture book. The text is lyrical yet spare and matched perfectly by the intense and stark nature of the artwork. The front endpaper shows mud coloured dust dry with fossils of long-gone sea creatures that lead you into a barren, yet dramatic landscape filled with images of wave-like rocks or huge ocean liner shaped cliffs. The colour palette is limited, shades of brown reflecting the harsh and dry world, other colours are saved for the detailed images of insects who inhabit this world, or the vivid blue eyes shared by Stickboy and his faithful canine- like companion.

This is a world of wind and dust, a waterless land where existence is tenuous and filled with the ‘hungry, thirsty and ferocious’ and their endless search for water. The hunters regard Stickboy as fey and damaged and dismiss the wisdom he receives from his grandmother or the premonitions he gathers from the wind. But he knows, he feels, and shouting ‘Water’, he stabs his staff into the ground opening a great abyss and he falls into the water he knew would return. The ending spread over two wordless double-page spreads some may find disturbing. They certainly provide a source of discussion for meaning or interpretation. The final endpaper with its swirling pools of water is a direct contrast to the book’s front endpaper – does it tell a new story perhaps?

‘Stickboy’ is a highly original picture book that provides endless possibilities for study and discussion. The dystopian setting, a desert landscape reminiscent of some ‘Star Wars’ movie planets or ‘Arrakis’, the desert planet in the ‘Dune’ books and movies. Or is it perhaps a future Earth? Despite our enormous oceans potable water is a limited resource and a potential cause of conflict. A powerful book to use with Older Readers.

‘Stickboy’ is part of Matt Ottley’s ‘The Sound of Picture Books’ initiative where he composes music to accompany his picture books. The music is currently being recorded and will be available for a free download. https://mattottley.com/product/stickboy/

1. Scholastic Teaching Notes by Rae Carlyle for ‘Stickboy’ by Rebecca Young and Matt Ottley https://www.pegiwilliams.com.au/pdfs/teachernotes/9781742994468.pdf
2. Storylinks 16 September 2024. Lara Cain Gray reviews ‘Stickboy’ by Rebecca Young and Matt Ottley https://storylinks.booklinks.org.au/2024/09/16/stickboy/
3. Books+Publishing 18 June 2024 Anthea Yang reviews ‘Stickboy’ by Rebecca Young and Matt Ottley https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2024/06/18/253012/stickboy-rebecca-young-illus-matt-ottley-scholastic/
4. Matt Ottley website https://mattottley.com/home/
5. Rebecca Young website https://www.rebeccayoung.com.au/