ARTIST: Alison Lester
STORY: Isabella's Bed is a magical adventure story relating to family and love.
When Anna and Luis stay at their Grandmother's house they love to look through the souvenirs in a large sandalwood chest in the attic.
We go with them on a journey in Isabella's Bed where they learn about their grandmother's early life, the mysteries in the attic bedroom and the symbols on the bed. Both fantasy and reality intertwine as the children find themselves travelling in a bed to the foreign and far away land of their grandmother's love - South America. There is a sad song that the grandmother sings that is explained through the children's journey
ILLUSTRATIONS: The intricate details of Lester's artwork add mystery and visual depth to the story. I love how each turning displays both a large colourful drawing and a small drawing and that the music and lyrics of Isabella's song are included as an illustration.SNIPPET:
"We were swept along a wild and crooked river,
skimming past the lips of whirlpools.
In the overhanging branches slithered a snake
shimmering like the silver snake
on Isabella's bed."
AWARDS: Shortlisted book, Multi-Cultural Awards, 1992.
PUBLISHER: Hachette Children’s Books.
OTHER REVIEWS:
"The delicately colored, pen-and-ink drawings are perfect illustrations of dreamy illusion. An enchanting fantasy." - Ruth Semrau, Lovejoy School, Texas in School Library Journal.
"In fetching dreamscapes rendered in impressionistic brush strokes and intricate detailing, the children discover how each of the bed's ornaments fits into the past." Publisher's Weekly.
Isabella's Bed is available to purchase online
