Illustration from Coming Home to Country by Dr Bronwyn Bancroft

The creative process of the artists is presented in the physical objects: a paintbox belonging to the original fairy queen of early twentieth-century Australian children’s books, Ida Rentoul Outhwaite; dummy books from the recently acquired archive of Pamela Allen; pencil sketches, drafts, and manuscripts. There is a riveting timelapse film of Maxine Beneba Clarke’s hands creating the pictures for When We Say Black Lives Matter; a video projection of artists talking about their inspiration and process; and the finished art collages, watercolours, pencil drawings, and digital art that have become pages in best-loved books.

The introduction to the List of Works states: ‘Australian authors and illustrators … use picture books to connect young readers with important issues in a gentle and accessible way.’ To reinforce this, the diverse artworks have been grouped within the exhibition space by themes such as Our Natural World; Courage; Belonging. Much of the marketing of picture books for children in the third decade of the twenty-first century relies on these depressing categorisations, which answer the adult consumer’s question ‘What’s it about?’ Extrapolation of the idea that ‘the books we love as children stay with us for the rest of our lives’ is steering parents and educators to weigh their choices in favour of the informative and improving. Stories about Grug, and Crusher, and many others beloved by their target audience, resist this.

Original illustration for Mr McGee Goes to Sea, by Pamela Allen (courtesy Pamela Allen).

Cloud-shaped didactics are positioned near selected artworks, instructing the viewer that ‘Pictures are full of messages … once you crack the code!’ (their bolding.) The brief description of a scene invites reflection of placement of the graphic elements of the picture, beyond mere description of media – I can’t remember any other recent exhibition that has attempted this. Pencils and paper are offered, at opposite ends of the space, so that viewers can create and exhibit their own responsive creations – on the day I visited, adults were happily scribbling. Published copies of the picture books are provided in a quiet nook for sharing by families.

Ursula Dubosarsky’s two-year term as Australian Children’s Laureate in 2020–21 began with a ceremony at the National Library of Australia. At that event, she shared the story which became, with Tohby Riddle’s artwork, The March of the Ants (Book Trail Press, 2021).

‘The best stories never end,’ said the littlest ant, ‘they keep on going, inside you.’

Imagine … the Wonder of Picture Books is at the State Library of New South Wales until 9 July 2023.