Momo celebrating time to read: Stickboy by Rebecca Young illustrated by Matt Ottley

"Stickboy lived in wind and dust, where ancient rock loomed like waves waiting to break. Dust storms raged, pummeling the earth and stone while warm bodies huddled under cover willing the roar to fade."

This is one of those books where I would be tempted to share the spare text with no reference to the illustrations on a first reading with a group in a library. Then I would just let the children sit quietly giving them time to let their imaginations fly. Finally, I would share the book with the illustrations by Matt Ottley. This is one of those picture books (we do them very well here in Australia) that will work best with older students aged 10+. And do take time to linger over the end papers - different front and back.

Stickboy has been selected as a 2025 CBCA Picture Book Notable title. I imagine it has a good chance to make the final short list of six titles announced at the end of March.

Here are two Teacher-Librarians discussing how this book might fit into the curriculum (12 minutes). Here are the Scholastic Teachers Notes (shared by Pegi Williams).

... the potential for exploring parts of storytelling like visual features, figurative language, perspective and allegory is immense. On each page amidst the dry rock formations, for example, there is a nod to water elements – clouds like seafoam, a rock face like the bow of a ship. There is a discussion to be had about listening to the Earth and who might be positioned as a truth teller when it comes to environmental awareness. Story Links

The last spreads are wordless and say so much more than any words ever could. They are hauntingly beautiful. The colour palette reflects the bare and barren place perfectly. The reader’s eye is immediately drawn to certain images on each spread that enhance the storytelling. For example, Sometimes the earth creaked and shifted... and swallowed memories, whole. On the double spread Ottley has a huge metal ship that sits on a dry parched land and Stickboy and a wolf are small. The text gives Ottley room to shine his masterful visual storytelling. The images are allowed to speak and are not crowded by text. This picture book allows both the words and images to speak on so many levels to the reader as they seamlessly work together. Ottley’s use of light and shade dramatizes the story and the moments that are poignant. Buzz Words

Matt Ottley is a multi-modal artist working across visual arts, music and literature. He is an award-winning picture book writer and illustrator with over 25 picture books published. Ottley has written music for this book that will be recorded in Prague and this work will become the eleventh in his Sound of Picture series. It will be performed in Australia in 2025.Matt Ottley was our IBBY Australia Hans Christian Andersen Award Nominee illustrator for 2024. You should also share this book alongside other books illustrated by Matt Ottley: