Our Little Inventor

Description

'It's done!' said Nell. 'My invention is finished! I must show it to the people in the Big City as soon as I can.' Far from Nell's home in the countryside, the Big City is growing more polluted every day - and Nell has a brilliant mind and an ingenious invention. She sets off on the long journey, only to find that the problem is far worse than she'd imagined. But Nell is determined to succeed. A beautifully illustrated picture book about a small girl with a big dream to make the world a better.

Sher Rill Ng is a Melbourne-based illustrator. At age 9 she was inspired by the drawings of a fellow classmate and promptly acquired a 'How to draw' book, soon becoming 'that-kid-in-class-who-draws'. She graduated from RMIT with a Bachelor of Design, and has since been working as a web and mobile UX/UI designer. In May 2016, she took part in the Imaginism House Workshop, a month of intensive art training in Montreal, Canada, learning from some of the best artists in the Concept Art/Animation industry. Though she's dabbled in photography, music and games design, Sher Rill always comes back to her passion: art and illustration. Much of her work is inspired by animated films, and from the books she reads. Her illustrations have been featured on numerous websites, and she has exhibited in several group exhibitions, including the Light Grey Art Lab (Minnesota) and Gallery 1988 (Los Angeles).

'This story is a wonderful example of text and picture flowing together perfectly. The illustrations are dreamy and painterly with an almost fog-like blur, which reinforces the sense of smoke and soot that hangs over everything. Just the right amount of words are used to convey the strong environmental message. In fact, some spreads are wordless and read more like a graphic novel. This can make the story feel very filmic and sure to spellbind children with the high-stakes drama. However, on top of the pollution warnings is a lovely message to children to always keep trying and fighting for what they know is right, whatever the naysayers say. When Nell comes across a board room of "important" men at the council, who mock her brilliant plans, it only makes her more determined to succeed. The final double-page spreads shows the power of the people against "the man", and will fill every child with big dreams to make the world a better place.' - BookTrust