Sidney, Stella and the Moon

Emma Yarlett graduated from University College Falmouth in 2011 and since then has finished her debut picture book, created animation artwork for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize and has illustrated a non-fiction book by Julia Donaldson.

Twins Sidney and Stella do everything together, but like many siblings they have trouble sharing. They fight over everything-a carousel horse, a teddy bear, a trumpet. When they argue over their ball, it bounces out of the window and knocks down the Moon, smashing it into pieces. They hope that no one notices its disappearance, but in vain. Next morning, the town is abuzz with the outrageous news, depicted in a double-page foldout. The siblings search high and low for a replacement until Sidney stumbles on a glowing wheel of cheese. After a brief struggle with Stella's jump rope, the children reconcile their sharing problem and successfully launch the new "Moon" into the sky. Yarlett's cartoonish digital collages, speech balloons, and font size and style variations offer a plethora of hilarious details that enrich this imaginative story. Fans of Oliver Jeffers and Mini Grey should enjoy this short but comical romp, and all readers will benefit from a story about sharing that isn't heavy-handed or overly moralizing -- Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, * Chappaqua Library, NY * 'The book itself is gorgeous, full of deep blues and turquoise colours, offset with warm rustic reds. It is immensely strokeable.' * Rhino Reads * "This is a fun, story, with lovely illustrations that children will find engaging, particularly the fold-out middle pages" * Bookapoet blog spot *