Little Wing
A lovable picture book about birds, books and belonging from the talented creator of Squish Rabbit.
On the smallest island, in the tallest tree, lives the world’s smartest animal. But there are some things that even the world’s smartest animal doesn’t know . . .
Meet Little Wing.
"On the surface it is a charmingly illustrated picture book, aimed at pre-schoolers or junior primary students. However, when we delve beneath the surface we discover something with themes so universal it ... serves as a tool that has the potential to transform that audience."
- OZ Books 4 Teachers
Awards / Achievements:
Feature book for the interactive children's space at Brisbane Writers Festival (2016)
Premier's Reading Challenge - selected title, NSW (2017)
Chosen by the Indigenous Literacy Foundation to gift to remote communities (2017)
From Katherine...
"Little Wing is about learning to fly - both literally and metaphorically - and having the courage to really live."
"As a girl, I spent much of my time lost in books, fascinated by the other worlds captured within them. I loved to learn by reading about other people’s lives and, much like Little Wing, I was also looking for myself reflected in the pages. But I’ve had to learn to live outside of books, too. Eventually I had to stretch my wings and try things out for myself, taking risks and sometimes making mistakes, but eventually I found others in the world who were just like me. So it’s no surprise that themes of identity and the search for belonging have crept into my story."
About the Artwork...
"Little Wing is alone on his island, so his entire world is a crate of books that washed ashore when he was just an egg. I therefore wanted to create his visual world using real books as part of the illustrations."
"I have always collected vintage books - I am inspired by their design and the style of illustrations from centuries past. So I began photographing these books and collecting images from long out of print editions, building Little Wing's illustrations over the top using pencil, paint and digital media. You'll notice that Little Wing doesn't just read his books, he exists within them; much like we do when we really engage with a story."
You can see a few of the original vintage illustrations Katherine used below, many of which are from the 18th and 19th Century:
Little Wing Reading
Join Michael Balk as he reads Little Wing and discusses some of the story’s key themes.
Reading@HomeTV was created in collaboration with the QLD Department of Education and the Reading Centre to support language and literacy development for young kids who are learning from home due to the pandemic.
It originally aired on Channel 9Go! on Thursday 4th June, 2020.