A perfect wonderful day with friends by Philip Waechter

This is a warm hearted picture book about the outdoor adventures of a group of friends on a perfect sunny, summer's day. One quest leads to another, then that quest leads on again and so on until the whole community of friends is involved. Raccoon wants to bake a cake because he is bored, but finds he has no eggs. He goes to see Fox who needs a ladder to fix a leak in the roof. Together they seek out Badger who lives in the most extraordinary house, all clutter. but he also needs help solving a crossword puzzle so they all set off to find Bear. Along the way they meet Crow who joins their adventure. They find Bear fishing unsuccessfully at the river and debate about what she should use to catch the fish. All of the friends jump into the river and have a swim, lying in the sun to dry off afterwards. The five friends are having the best day out: fishing, swimming, picnicking and finally home to bake the cake, but find they must cook two cakes because bears have such big appetites.

The wonderfully funny look at a group of friends finding things to do without really trying is sure to appeal as they meander their way through meadows, pick blackberries, debate about the best way to catch a fish and finally come home to make a cake.

All the memories of a perfect summer’s day during childhood are here, meeting friends, doing nothing but being with each other. The illustrations stand out and children will love picking out the details, while the repetition of language and musical text make an irresistible read aloud begging children to join in.

I loved picking out the differences in the landscape from what we see in Australia, and children will delight in seeing the world from a different perspective.

Philip Waechter was born in Germany. A freelance graphic designer and illustrator in Frankfurt he is known for his beautifully classic illustration style. In 1999 Philip and Moni Port co-founded the community studio LABOR. This books is translated from the German edition by Melody Shaw.

Themes: Friendship, Fishing, Walking, Adventure, Cooking.

Fran Knight