My super uncle by Dannika Patterson & Seantelle Walsh

A warm and entertaining rhyming story of a beloved uncle, one who is always there when she needs him, and who fills her days with his wit and humour.

He may not be a super hero, a superman or someone well known, but he is able to read her mind, predict her wants and needs, and keep her smiling, happy and involved. He is her uncle, her favourite uncle. In rhyming stanzas, the things the girl and her uncle do together are revealed. From dressing up to playing sport in the back yard, playing lots of games, fixing her wounds, playing his guitar as they watch the stars, and using natural ingredients to make potions to repair broken skin, he is there when he is needed. He wows her friends with his jokes, is there to fix things that need repairing.

This lovely story slowly opens to the girl living in a female household, and readers learn that her uncle is her biological father. His part in her development is important and nourishing for all the family. It is a wonderful homage to the range of families seen in our world.

Illustrations are vibrant and heartfelt as the uncle is shown in all sorts of places; I love the image of him in a tutu and the first portraits as a superman, a lovely image of him from his feet up, giving him the look of a superhero.

The endpapers are filled with a child’s drawings of the household she lives in, cementing the difference and similarities to other households, families and ties between each of the members. And with an Indigenous element that adds a piquancy to the story.

Themes: Aboriginal themes, Heroes, Families, Donor sperm, Assisted reproduction, Humour.

Fran Knight