On the day you were born

Ron Brooks and Margaret Wild are big names in Australian picturebooks with some notable titles in their considerable backlists, so it’s with a little regret that I say that I think this one is a bit of a misfire. The text is a father’s story told to a toddler of what they did on the day of the child’s birth. It’s intended as a lyrical expression of family love, describing how, taken for a walk with his daddy, the new-born is welcomed by sunshine, and the creatures and plants of the natural world. However, I feel Margaret Wild has rather exceeded her poetic licence when she expects us to believe that a baby would be taken outside, introduced to a bunch of farm animals (who want to kiss and cuddle it) be lain quietly among the wildflowers, and not return home until night. The first double spread shows a house on the edge of a town but it’s a little disconcerting not to find any people or signs of habitation in any of the subsequent illustrations. Nor do we ever see the father and his child: rather some puddles (a particularly odd illustration); an owl; some bees; some ducks; an old tree (where daddy first met mummy!); a gathering of farmyard animals; some birds of prey; some berries, which Daddy was very tempted to pop into the baby’s mouth (not a good idea); ladybirds, butterflies and crickets; and, finally, the moon. This is so far from what might really happen on the day of a child’s birth that it cries out for more imagination and humour in the illustrations and rather less cloying sentiment.