We Know a Place by Maxine Beneba Clarke

"We know a place that's mysterious-magic, 
a window to lives you can't even imagine."

The place is a bookshop on Ballarat Street. We have a town in Victoria here in Australia called Ballarat and there is a Ballarat Street in the city of Melbourne in the suburb of Brunswick but I love the way this story is universal. International and interstate readers do not need to relate to any real place - Ballarat Street just has a pleasant ring. Of course there is also a real bookshop in Ballarat Street, Yarraville also in Melbourne - The Sun Bookshop and just up the road the sweet little Younger Sun children's bookshop.

The children in this family enjoy their visit to the bookshop each week once their chores are completed but this week their new book is filled with trolls and they escape from the pages and cause havoc in the family.

Publisher blurb: Every Saturday, when the chores are done, two children set out on a journey to their local bookshop, a magical place where sneaky stories escape as you peep in the door and there's plentiful magic for each and for all. Monsters, giants, trolls and pirates ahoy! But what happens when some cheeky creatures follow the children home one day?

If there was a prize here in Australia for end papers I think I might give Maxine Beneba Clarke and her book, We Know a Place, first prize.

I am trying to anticipate the 2024 CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) notable titles which is the first step towards the short lists (Picture Book, Younger Readers, Early Childhood, Older Readers, Non Fiction and New Illustrator). This book might make the Early Childhood notable selection. The announcement is due in just over a week. 

Here are some teachers notes by Dr Robyn Sheahan-Bright for We know a place. Here are a few quotes from the author notes:

If you look closely among the pages of We Know a Place, you will find fairytale characters you may recognise from other stories, including a runaway gingerbread man, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, one of the Three Bears from Goldilocks and the Three Bears, pirates, monsters and more. 

The illustrations were drawn with watercolour pencil and soft lead pencil on heavily textured cardstock. As an illustrator, I always like to start with a coloured page, rather than a white page, as it means there is already a ‘mood’ on the page. This is why you will rarely see white backgrounds in any children’s books I have illustrated.

The notes also contain a list of other picture books about bookstores, reading and libraries.