1. Art motifs
2. Art techniques
3. Communication
4. Emotions
5. Empathy
6. Imagery
7. Imagination
8. Individuality
9. Kindness
10. Neurodiversity
11. Resilience
12. Self-reliance
13. Sound

‘The Curiosities’ is a multi-layered text about neurodiversity, difference and imagination. The Curiosities are depicted as wraith-like spirits who attach themselves to a young village boy called Miro. The village is comprised of thatched houses on stilts, bounded by wetlands, rice paddies, volcanoes and the sea.

He doesn’t notice the Curiosities at first, but they eventually manifest as a tingling feeling and an ability to see and do things differently. The Curiosities bring connection for Miro, as neighbours begin to notice and appreciate them. But other times they caused such a scene, by trilling and gurgling, ‘pulling at Miro’s arms and flapping at his legs’. Gradually the Curiosities become all anyone sees, and Miro becomes invisible.

Ultimately, in his darkest days, when the Curiosities are at their loudest, yowling and stomping, Miro pleads for peace. An elder appears, bringing a ‘single thread of knowing’. She helps him sow the threads, which grow and shed light around his community. Miro can never quite shake the Curiosities, but he manages them and appreciates seeing ‘all the oddments and snippets, all those hidden wonders and possibles waiting in the shadows’. Miro notices that the Curiosities choose to visit many other people too, in different ways.

In an author note, Zana Fraillon explains that she wrote the book about her child’s diagnosis of Tourette syndrome at the age of five. She hopes the story applies to anyone who feels different, saying: ‘People are disabled not by their impairment or their difference, but by the way they are treated by society’.

Illustrator Phil Lesnie explains that he based the Curiosities on the ‘aswang’ of Filipino folklore—shape-shifting ghouls and monsters—and the elder on the historical figures of Babaylan—female or female-presenting priestesses with unique access to the spiritual world. Sometimes chosen for leadership roles because they exhibit neurodiverse traits such as hallucinations, tics or seizures, Lesnie reflects on a community ‘where brain differences actually afford one political power’. Lesnie created his art for ‘The Curiosities’ digitally using Procreate. He employed as few ‘brush strokes’ as possible. This he hoped would give the shapes the appearance of dripping out of a pen into a dollop of milky light’. (Lamont Books Teachers Resource) Colours are predominantly dark with silhouettes, shades of light, and images overlaid giving an appearance of worlds intersecting with one another.

1. Lamont Books Teachers Resources by Robyn Sheahan-Bright for ‘The Curiosities’ https://www.lamontbooks.com.au/media/186683/publishers-notes-the-curiosities.pdf
2. The Aswang Project Ferdinand Blumentritt’s Dictionary of Philippine Mythology Aswang/Filipino mythology https://www.aswangproject.com
3. Tourette Syndrome Association of Australia Inc https://tourette.org.au/about-tsaa/what-is-tourette-syndrome/
4. Paperback Blog by Joy Lawn 29 Sept 2021 Interview with the author and illustrator, including excerpts of Zana Fraillon’s early drafts https://paperbarkwords.blog/2021/09/29/the-curiosities-by-zana-fraillon-illustrated-by-phil-lesnie%EF%BF%BC/
5. Kids’ Book Review 27 Oct 2021 review by Anastasia Gonis of ‘The Curiosities’ http://www.kids-bookreview.com/2021/10/review-curiosities.html