Katie Blackburn and Sholto Walker (Faber) 2015, unnumbered pages, $19.99
Writer Blackburn and illustrator Walker’s brisk but lovely kiddie book cheekily borrows the basic plot of the late lamented Maurice Sendak’s classic Where The Wild Things Are, gives it a contemporary, feminist-ish kick and winds up with something pleasing – if all over in about three minutes. 
A weary Mum goes on strike when Dad calls her a ‘Wild Thing’ and, leaving him with the baby, storms upstairs for a hot bath. Dozing off, she sails to, naturally, ‘Where The Wild Mums Are’, a fantastical place where stir-crazy Mums dance gleefully and she is soon crowned Queen of The Wild Mums, leading to more hoofing, a conga line and other carefree activities. However, our unnamed Mummy protagonist soon realises something important and, well, you can guess the rest and, if you can’t, it will all be revealed in about ten seconds as the story ends.
More a fairy tale for overworked, underappreciated mothers than children, this is charming enough to make you think that even the grim old Sendak might have smiled.
Dave Bradley
This title is available through the Allen & Unwin website. Click HERE to purchase your copy.
